Plastic water bottles have a strange place in the lives of healthy Americans. For decades, health-conscious people have carried them around all day to be able to regularly drink fresh, healthy water. But now there is new concern that an ingredient in plastic water bottles, bisphenol A (BPA)—common in bullet-proof glass, water containers, dental sealants, microwave oven dishes, and epoxy resins that line the inside of cans of food—might be unhealthy. What’s more concerning is that BPA is also present in many plastic baby bottles.

In an effort to keep you up-to-date on the ongoing debate about BPA, we’ve put together some information for your consideration. Keep in mind, the AVMA doesn’t have a stance on this particular issue, and it seems the jury is still out on BPA. The FDA, on the other hand, has issued statements on the safety of BPA, but left the door open to reassess its findings. Many studies have shown little problem with BPA at the low levels found in consumer products like cans and bottles. But at high levels, BPA in lab animals has been shown to cause pre-cancerous lesions in mammary glands and the prostate. The best idea right now is to make informed decisions.

Why shouldn’t we just follow the FDA’s analysis? Well, there have been studies that are concerning, primarily one published in the Journal of the American Medical Association indicating that there is a correlation between BPA and heart disease, diabetes and other metabolic disorders. In a nutshell, the study found that people with the highest urinary levels of BPA were more than twice as likely to report ever being diagnosed with cardiovascular disease or diabetes, compared to people with the lowest levels.

There is a concern that BPA could impact reproduction and child development. Scientists are concerned that BPA may mimic the female hormone estrogen in the human body, causing a number of potential problems. But a study published this year by the U.S. National Toxicology Program found “there is no direct evidence that exposure of people to bisphenol A adversely affects reproduction or development.” That said, the study also stated that it is possible that BPA does have an impact on reproduction. Canadian legislators have taken action to ban BPA from baby bottles, and many stores, like Wal-Mart, have announced plans to remove baby bottles containing BPA from store shelves.

If you decide that perhaps you would like to avoid BPA in products you and/or your children use, don’t worry, manufacturers are very responsive to those concerns. The easiest way to avoid it is to switch to glass or metal containers, but that’s not required. BPA-free plastic baby bottles and other products are already widely available. Contact the manufacturer for more information.

The National Institute of Environmental Health Scientists (NIEHS) has reviewed numerous studies and, like the FDA, isn’t recommending people flee from BPA. Instead, it issued a statement reporting “some concern,” and offered some simple tips on how to avoid it if you are concerned. For example, the NIEHS recommends against heating food in a plastic microwave dish, as this seems to increase the amount of BPA transferred from the plate into the food.

We at Keep Our Food Safe hope you’ll seek out additional information and make an informed decision on BPA.