Like a hefty helping of tomatoes with your meal? Then you're in luck. A new study from the UK's Reading University shows that tomatoes may help control hunger.

If you thought BPA was only hiding in your plastic, here's a health update: the December 2009 issue of Consumer Reports tells us BPA is in a variety of name-brand canned food items including Progresso Vegetable Soup and Campbell's Condensed Chicken Soup.

Now for a light-hearted link we love: 10 workout videos to get you LOLing at your desk, if not well, exercising. Hey, laughter burns calories too.

If you're expecting, not only should you not count calories, you should be wary of pesticides too, according to recent reports. In studying childhood obesity, researchers discovered a strong link between chemical contamination in the womb and cases of obesity in children. Just why this link exists is not yet clear, but it's thought that these findings could forever change the way foods are processed worldwide.

Chemicals that showed a link to obesity (called Obesogens) include organotins, bisphenol A (BPA), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), and phthalates. Unfortunately, it's believed the nearly everyone in the world has traces of these chemicals in their bodies.

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With all the concern over bisphenol A (BPA) in baby bottles and water bottles, we're hearing louder rumblings of BPA-free alternatives. However, beyond tainting baby and water bottles, BPA is also in many canned goods, which has made me wonder if there are any BPA-free cans on the marketplace. BPA is linked to precancerous tumors, urinary problems and early puberty in animals. It's also a known endocrine disrupter.

Julie's Health Club just turned me on to Eden Organic Beans. According to Eden's website, they spend 14 percent more to can all their bean varieties in a BPA-free steel can. They're the only U.S. company using this type of can, lined with an oleoresinus (a natural oil and plant resin mix) c-enamel. Eden also states the acidity of their canned tomato products do require an epoxy-based coating which may contain BPA, however they claim it's a minute amount.

So there you have it -- organic, canned beans without any BPA. While I'm not a big canned goods consumer, beans are my number one canned goods purchase. Nice to know Eden's been using BPA-free cans for nearly a decade.

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I'm very particular about what I strap to the outside of my backpack. I don't want anything heavy swinging around to distract my cadence, especially when I'm peeling off significant miles. Gear strapped needs to be lightweight and of the utmost necessity (e.g. tarp, hat, suntan lotion).

Bethany over at DIY Life recently highlighted a new, intriguing product that fits my ultralight hiking standards and makes for a greener footprint, too. The new LightCap 200 by SolLight is a 2.6 oz cap that screws onto any standard wide mouth water bottle to create a solar-powered lantern. No more lantern batteries to carry, no dripping candles to burn. Four SuperBright LEDs offer six hours of light on a full charge. Unscrew the cap from the bottle and you've scored a mini-flashlight, too. The cap costs $19.95 -- photo from www.sollight.com.

The arrival of this new product couldn't be more timely. By now you've likely read about heightened concern surrounding water bottles (e.g., Nalgenes) and other products containing the controversial chemical BPA (bisphenol A). BPA is linked to a host of ailments in animal studies. Major retailers are shunning some BPA-tainted products, and Nalgene amazingly announced last week they will no longer be manufacturing water bottles with BPA. Turning your old BPA water bottle into a solar-powered lantern is a good solution. I know I'd be willing to snap this solar cap on my pack.

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The last couple weeks were 'bad news' weeks for the controversial chemical BPA (bisphenol A) used in products such as baby bottles, polycarbonate water bottles (e.g., Nalgenes) and the lining of canned goods. The National Toxicology Program and the Canadian government have raised red flags over its safety, and many large retailers are pulling BPA-laden products from shelves. Then came the big surprise -- Nalge Nunc International Corp. backed down from strong consumer/market pressure and officially announced they would remove BPA from their Nalgene water bottles,.

After this move, I figured somebody would slap the maker-of-everything-Nalgene with a lawsuit. This past Tuesday, the first consumer class action lawsuit was filed -- by a California mom. Lani Felix-Lozano, mother of two daughters ages 11 and 13, alleges Nalgene continues to claim BPA is safe after a multitude of animal studies have linked the chemical to hormone disruptions, infertility, early puberty and cancer.

The lawsuit focuses on the premise Nalgene dowplayed the risks of BPA. On the company's website, Nalgene cites the Food and Drug Administration's stance that BPA is safe, but fails to cite many other studies revealing BPA's risks. Could you just imagine Nalgene's tremendous liability if Felix-Lozano wins this lawsuit? I'd hazard a guess a large majority of teens, young adults and middle-aged fitness fans own more than one colorful Nalgene made with BPA. I already recycled my evidence and have opted for BPA-free hydration instead -- but I think there's one lone, never-used Nalgene soldier rolling around the corner of my bedroom.

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Anti-bisphenol A (BPA) consumers are shouting so loud, the manufacturing king of the popular Nalgene water bottle is finally listening. Consumers are snapping their wallets shut to BPA water bottles, and major Canadian retailers, the likes of WalMart Canada and Sears Canada, are pulling the BPA plug. It's looking like the market has forced Nalge Nunc International's hand to pull the chemical.

Nalge Nunc International announced today it will substitute BPA-free water bottles to replace its Nalgene Outdoor line, made with the controversial chemical. Over the next few months, bisphenol A-containing Nalgenes will be pulled from stores. The announcement is hardly out of the blue. The National Toxicology Program just stated concern over BPA's link to changes in behavior and the brain, early puberty and possible precancerous conditions in the prostate and breast in animal studies. Canada is likely poised to declare BPA toxic.

I'm not surprised by Nalgene's official PR dance surrounding the issue. The company's GM stated Nalgene believes their BPA-containing products are safe -- the new move is in response to customers requesting BPA-free alternatives. Environmental groups have been alarmed about BPA for years. Multiple animal studies link BPA to a host of ailments. Yet in the end, money talks.

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Environmental groups have been warning us about the risks of BPA -- a compound commonly found in plastic goods -- for years. The FDA says it has found no reason to ban or restrict its use so far, but a government research study done by the National Toxicology Program agreed with previous studies -- in lab animals, small doses of BPA does lead to precancerous prostrate tumors. Not only that, the chemical also causes urinary problems and early puberty in the animals.

Perhaps most alarming, BPA is found in popular brand name baby bottles, as well as the lining of cans and bottles of formula. It's also used in food containers, plastic water bottles, and dental sealants.

Sandy over at our sister site Parent Dish recently wrote a post about how to tell if your plastic is a safe one. If your product is hard and clear, chances are it contains BPA. You can also flip it over and look at the bottom. If its stamped with a 3,6, or 7, it's not safe for use. The numbers 1 and 5, however, are concerned safe for single use.

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Julie's Health Club recently wrote about the rising health concern over polycarbonate plastic (e.g., Nalgene). I first heard the buzz a couple months back when an acquaintance recommended my kids stop drinking from polycarbonate plastic water bottles. She said research is linking this type of plastic to hormone problems. My son sips from a kid-sized Nalgene every day during kindergarten snack.

Now Globe and Mail reports Canada's largest specialty outdoor-goods retailer, Mountain Equipment Co-op, is pulling polycarbonate plastic food and beverage containers from its shelves over health concerns. Polycarbonate plastic is made from bisphenol A (BPA), derived from petrochemicals and said to mimic estrogen. Independent studies have tied this chemical to illnesses potentially triggered by hormone disruption. Bisphenol A-makers state their research proves the chemical is safe.

According to Globe and Mail, Health Canada is embarking on its own assessment of the controversial chemical, with preliminary results due next spring. Mountain Equipment is following the controversy, and stated that concern over bisphenol A has risen among a portion of the company's membership. The retailer, with about $222 million in annual sales, charges a membership fee to customers.

Wow. When a retailer that large makes such a bold move, I am paying attention. I, too, am pulling that purple Nalgene out of my son's snack bag. To remain on the safe side, I will be purchasing water containers without bisphenol A. Nalgene does sell containers without the chemical, and I just wrote a post the other day on SIGG aluminum water bottles -- a choice to consider. SIGGs do not contain bisphenol A -- see this letter assuring this fact from SIGG USA's president, Steve Wasik, which I linked to via SIGG's frequently asked questions section of their website.

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Parents have been feeding their babies with plastic bottle for years, but new evidence is emerging that clear plastic bottles may be harmful to a baby's health. It all comes down to a checmical known as bisphenol A, which The National Toxicology Program Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction is concerned can cause problems to fetuses in utero, including birth defects. The full report won't be available until later this year but they've provided a brief summary.

Meanwhile, bottle manufacturers have been quick to point out that the findings so far don't mention many major risk, so they're telling us to keep using plastic bottles. Do you think it's a good idea, or should we switch to something else in the interest of safety?

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I've been waiting for this news to hit the mainstream media, and finally it has arrived. The National Institute of Health is finally taking seriously laboratory tests that indicate that plastic baby bottles and sippy cups may be leaching chemicals and feeding babies and children more than their parents have bargained for.

The chemical in question is bisphenol A, and it's used to make plastic food ware, including five popular brands of baby bottles. Environmentalists have been warning of the danger of the chemical for quite some time now, and fear that it may cause neurological or reproductive problems in exposed children down the line. The NIH agrees that the chemical mimics female sex hormones and causes reproductive issues in lab animals, and has agreed to to review recent tests.

Manufacturers defend themselves, saying that the amount of chemicals that leach into liquids are so small that they don't cause harm to young children and that the tests that environmentalist groups rely on for information are sensationalized. I can't tell you who to believe, because until all the research is in the debate is still on. But I can tell you that shortly after I first heard this news, our plastic sippy cups found themselves in the recycling bin and were replaced with these. Just in case.

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