Spanish scientists have drawn a link between exposure to the plastics intermediate bisphenol A (BPA) & type 2 diabetes following a study on mice. This is the first experimental evidence of an endocrine disrupting chemical causing the illness. Researchers found that small daily doses of BPA led to mice overproducing insulin after only 4 days. They also found insulin resistance & reduced glucose tolerance (symptoms of type 2 diabetes).The effects were greater with higher doses of BPA, but were evident at a fifth of the daily dose of 50 micrograms per kg/day that the US EPA classified as potentially harmful to humans. BPA is used in epoxy resins & plastic polymers & has been shown to mimic the effects of the naturally occurring sex hormone estradiol. The authors believe the hormone plays a role in maintaining insulin producing cells & can cause insulin resistance.
