In an article published on December 8, 2014 by the Time magazine, journalist Alice Park reports about a new research study investigating the link between consumption of liquids from cans or bottles lined with bisphenol A (BPA) and increased blood pressure. The new study was published online on December 8, 2014 in the peer-reviewed journal Hypertension by the South Korean researchers Bae and Hong. The authors conducted a randomized controlled trial with 60 adults aged 60 years and older. Participants visited the study site three times. They were provided two servings of soy milk during each visit, either in two glass bottles, two cans, or one can and one glass bottle. For each participant, urinary BPA concentration was measured along with blood pressure and heart rate variability two hours after the consumption of each beverage. The urinary BPA concentration showed a 1600% increase after consuming soy milk from cans in comparison to glass bottles. This difference resulted in a change of 4.5 mmHg in systolic blood pressure. Senior author Yun-Chul Hong of the Seoul National University, Republic of Korea stressed that an increase of 20 mmHg doubles the risk of heart disease. Therefore, the observed acute increase in blood pressure from BPA exposure is of concern. The study was published just a few days after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had updated its safety declaration on BPA stating it is safe at the current levels found in foods (previously reported on by the FPF). Consumption of canned beverages can lead to increased BPA exposure that can subsequently cause an increase in blood pressure, the authors concluded. Therefore, when doctors evaluate patients for high blood pressure, questions about their canned product consumption might be relevant.
Read more
Alice Park (December 8, 2014). “The other reason canned food is raising your blood pressure.” The New York Times
Reference
Bae, S., Hong, Y-C. (2014). “Exposure to Bisphenol A from drinking canned beverage increases blood pressure: randomized crossover trial.” Hypertension (published online December 8, 2014)
