Drinking from rigid, clear plastic bottles or from cans raises urinary levels of bisphenol A. This compound, known as BPA, has been identified as an endocrine disruptor.
Now research from Korea indicates that it can also raise blood pressure. The investigators recruited 60 subjects who drank soy milk either from cans lined with BPA-containing plastic or from glass bottles. In the cross-over design, each subject served as his or her own control.
Consuming soy milk from cans raised urinary levels of BPA 16-fold. As BPA increased, systolic blood pressure readings also rose.
The mean systolic blood pressure increase was 5 mm. That may not seem like much, but at a public health level it is important. That is about how much most antihypertensive medications lower systolic pressure.
The American Chemistry Council, an industry trade group, objects to the study and considers the findings overstated. Nonetheless, it may be wise for people who are susceptible to high blood pressure to reduce their exposure to BPA by avoiding beverages and foods packaged in cans.
