Should We Be Afraid of Phthalates?

What are phthalates? Should we be afraid of them?

According to the CDC, phthalates are a group of chemicals used to make plastics more durable and can be found in lots of household products such as shampoo, vinyl flooring, garden hoses, and medical tubing.

Should we be afraid of phthalates? I’ll give you a big fat maybe. Meh. Shrug emoji.

Here’s what we know: Phthalates are in so many products. When phthalates are broken down by the body, we call the products metabolites, and metabolites have been found in human urine. Women have higher levels of metabolites in their urine than man. In animal studies, high levels of phthalates have affected the reproductive system. Some phthalates in high doses have caused cancer in lab rats. Diets high in dairy and meat are correlated with high levels of phthalate exposure.

Here’s what we don’t know: How each type of phthalate affects humans. How much of each type of phthalate is harmful.

Should we be afraid of phthalates? Some can harm us and some we don’t know enough about. Definitely avoid the ones we know are harmful. Try to avoid the other ones as much as possible. Choose “phthalate-free” when it’s reasonable to do so. Use “microwave safe” containers, which are better at keeping the plastic particles in the plastic when heated, rather than leeching them into your food. Limit foods associated with high levels of phthalate exposure.

But, I wouldn’t lose sleep over it. It’s not the biggest and most immediate danger. Avoid phthalates when practical and let your body take care of the rest. There are also other reasons to limit plastic use anyway. I’m probably not exposed to enough harmful phthalates to cause cancer and I don’t think my kids are either.

Sources:

https://www.cdc.gov/biomonitoring/Phthalates_FactSheet.html

https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/features/what-are-phthalates