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Whether it's a bottle of water, a lid for coffee cups, a pre-packaged salad container or just that huge jug of water on the water cooler, it seems that we encounter so many plastics products in our everyday drinking and eating. Recent studies have provided evidence that several types of plastics are evidently unsafe for use; these plastics are used in many everyday household products. You want to avoid using these plastic products so that you do not swallow bad chemicals along with your food and drink. What alarms me the most, is that many products made for babies and small children are made from these harmful plastic types including sippy cups and baby bottles.

Most plastic products are marked with a number that corresponds to the type of plastic it is made of. The number, known a as 'recycling code,' can be found within the triangular recycling symbol (see above) that recyclable plastics are marked with. The plastics you want to avoid are numbers 3, 6, and 7- these are the types that can release nasty hormone disruptors and carcinogens into your food and drink.

#3 Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) has di-2-ehtylhexyl phthalate (DEHP). DEHP is an endocrine disruptor and a likely human carcinogen.

#6 Polystyrene (PS) likely will leach styrene - which is another possible endocrine disruptor and probable human carcinogen- into your drink or food.

#7 Polycarbonate contains bisphenol-A, a the hormone disruptor. This chemical can leach out when it is heated or exposed to acidic solutions. This type of plastic is very common in sports bottles and is used in most baby bottles and 5-gallon water jugs - watch for this one!

Below are some tips for some basic practices that you can adopt for safer 'plastic use.'

- Use Baby Bottles made of tempered glass or polypropylene (#5) or polyethylene (#1) (these do not contain bisphenol-A).

- Keep plastic products away from heat - heat tends to promote the leaching of chemicals. Even the safer types of plastics (see below) may leach chemicals due to heat or prolonged storage.

- Reusable containers or cups with stainless steel or ceramic interiors are a good substitute to your plastic ones.

- Do not reuse plastic drink bottles that were intended for single use.

- Bottled drinks should be used quickly as chemicals from the plastic leach over time...don't buy plastic bottles of drinks if it has been on store shelves for a long time.

-Taste - if your drink has even a bit of a plastic taste to it, don't drink it!

#1 polyethylene terephthalate, #2 High Density Polyethylene, #4 Low Density Polyethylene, #5 Polypropylene are deemed the 'safer' plastics.