There has to be some balance. I want my household to be healthy, but I don't want it to be too inconvenient.
My Brother and I were recently talking about using plastic in the microwave. I went online to find out more and I found a lot of information. After reading many articles it seems like we shouldn't microwave anything in plastic. I guess "microwave safe" means the container won't melt, not that it won't leak toxins into our food.
Numbers 3, 6 and 7 seem to be the worst for any household use, they contain PVC's, polystyrene and bisphenol-A respectively. It is recommended not to store anything fatty, liquid or acidic in any type of plastic, as these substances can breakdown plastic chemicals and transfer them into our food.
So, I'm thinking......Why did I stop eating hydrogenated oil, but I'm still microwaving plastic.
A lot of the articles I read were very technical, they listed all of the components in plastic and gave links to studies on how they effect our health. The bottom line was most of the things used to make plastic aren't good for you. Here's a link to an article that has some suggestions about how to limit your family's exposure to plastic chemicals.
http://www.deliciousorganics.com/Controversies/plastic.htmTo start I'm going to stop microwaving and storing my food in plastic containers. If there is a convenient alternative I will buy something in a paper carton rather than a plastic one.
We'll see how much this inconveniences my life and if it's not too bad maybe I'll take some further steps.