There are primarily three approaches to consider when choosing how to purchase fruits and vegetables: fresh right from the garden and/or orchard, frozen, or canned. While virtually everyone would agree that the best approach is to regularly consume all natural fresh fruit and vegetables; in many instances, doing so requires a little more effort.

For instance, fresh produce will spoil much more quickly than the other two approaches. This being said, in general, fresh produce will need to be consumed fairly quickly to avoid spoilage and will last longer if refrigerated.

However, while canned foods offer a convenient, although less flavorful alternative to fresh foods, researchers are now citing one more reason to avoid consuming them in large quantities.

It’s a non-debatable long-standing fact among the researchers and scientists that canned goods contain the dangerous compound BPA (bisphenol A), however, it’s also now believed that the levels of BPA in canned foods are much higher than previously thought.

Eating Canned Food Regularly Drastically Increases Blood BPA Levels

The new conclusions regarding the link between canned food consumption and blood BPA levels were discovered in a study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health.

The study comprised 75 participants with an average age of 27. The subjects were broken into two groups, with one group eating 12 ounces of canned soup each day and the second group eating the same quantity of fresh soup on a daily basis. The researchers collected urine samples from all participants following days 4 and 5 of the BPA study.

While all of the subjects in the canned soup group were found to have BPA in their blood, 77% of the fresh soup group were found to have the same. The alarming difference came in the differing levels of BPA between each group.

A 20-fold Increase in BPA Levels

The average participant in the canned soup group had 20.8 micrograms of BPA per liter in their blood, while those in the fresh soup group only had 1.1 micrograms per liter. Karin Michels, the lead author of the study, described the difference as “quite surprising.” She went on to say that BPA blood levels among the general population typically range from 1 to 2 micrograms per liter.

A separate study conducted by the National Health and Examination Survey found that only 5% of participants had BPA levels exceeding 13 micrograms per liter when following their typical diets without any dietary instruction.

Just How Dangerous is BPA?

BPA, contained in most canned foods, is a byproduct of corrosion-preventing chemicals. In 2008, a large study (1,455 participants) concluded that higher BPA levels were related to a number of serious health conditions including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, pregnancy complications and excessive levels of various liver enzymes. The study was comprehensive and thorough, compensating for factors like smoking, body mass index and age.

The study researchers said that while eating canned food occasionally shouldn’t pose any serious health risks, doing so on a daily basis could be very dangerous. A few canned food manufacturers have already started to remove BPA from their cans, though the majority of the industry has yet to take the same action.

BPA in Canned Foods: The Bottom Line

Eating canned food on a daily basis for even four or five days can significantly raise the levels of BPA in your blood. Higher BPA levels have been tied to numerous health risks, ranging from cardiovascular disease to pregnancy complications. While the occasional can of soup shouldn’t provide more BPA than your body can safely process, it’s still better to eat fresh food than canned food whenever possible.