My old Nalgene bottles are just fine, thank you

I've always been skeptical of health-related fads, frenzies and hysteria. You won't find me going out of my way to purchase anti-oxidant foods, for example. Just eat fresh food, I say. And you won't find me quitting my Diet Coke habit  because some crazies think that aspartame is going to kill me.

If I reacted to every single report that this or that is healthy - or bad for me, or might prolong my life, or shorten it, or dwell on the fact that, as some studies show, certain people may benefit from it at certain times of the day, when combined with a healthy lifestyle and exercise (tongue firmly in cheek) - I would no time left in the day.

And so the latest plastic hysteria comes to an end. The NY Times published a great piece on 10 Things to Scratch From your Worry List. See #6 in the list and note the last paragraph...

From NY Times:

6. Toxic plastic bottles. For years panels of experts repeatedly approved the use of bisphenol-a, or BPA, which is used in polycarbonate bottles and many other plastic products. Yes, it could be harmful if given in huge doses to rodents, but so can the natural chemicals in countless foods we eat every day. Dose makes the poison.

But this year, after a campaign by a few researchers and activists, one federal panel expressed some concern about BPA in baby bottles. Panic ensued. Even though there was zero evidence of harm to humans, Wal-Mart pulled BPA-containing products from its shelves, and politicians began talking about BPA bans. Some experts fear product recalls that could make this the most expensive health scare in history.

Nalgene has already announced that it will take BPA out of its wonderfully sturdy water bottles. Given the publicity, the company probably had no choice. But my old blue-capped Nalgene bottle, the one with BPA that survived glaciers, jungles and deserts, is still sitting right next to me, filled with drinking water. If they ever try recalling it, they’ll have to pry it from my cold dead fingers.