The clothes you wear when you work out may do you more harm than helping you to stay healthy as you hit the gym. This is because research has revealed alarming levels of bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical compound linked to significant health risks in several sports wear, including sports bra, leggings, and athletic wear. The Center for Environmental Health (CEH), which is a nonprofit consumer advocacy group has brought these concerns to light, and have raised awareness about the potential danger and damage these sports wear can cause because of the common chemicals used.

What is BPA? Is it concerning?

Bisphenol A, or BPA is a chemical that is used to make plastics and resins. It is also used in certain fabrics and is known for its endocrine-disrupting properties, which can also interfere with one's hormonal balance. There have been studies, including a 2019 study titled The adverse health effects of bisphenol A and related toxicity mechanisms that have linked BPA exposure to various health problems, including asthma, cardiovascular diseases, obesity, diabetes, and even cancer.

Many of research which have been conducted focus on the ingestion, which can happen when you store food in BPA-lined containers. Among them, some of the more recent studies show that skin absorption is also a pathway. This means when you are handling receipts which are printed on thermal paper, or wear BPA-containing fabrics, the chemical can seep through your skin and enter your bloodstream.

Though it is also true that BPA is exposed from the body within days, however, continuous exposure from multiple sources can be concerning.

Sports Wear and the harm it may cause you

CEH also tested popular athletic wear in October 2023 and found BPA levels were exceeding California's safety standards by as much as 22 times.

Testing also showed that top brands contained up to 40 times the permissible limit of BPA.

What do the laws say?

As far as laws are concerned, under California's Proposition 65, the maximum allowable dose for BPA exposure via skin is 3 micrograms per day. While this law is among the strictest in the United States, it highlights a broader issue of chemical safety in consumer products nationwide.

Ana Soto, an immunologist with decades of research on BPA, even low doses of dermal and oral exposure can combine to create a significant health risk. She also warned that prolonged exposure through fabric, especially when you are exercising, as your pores are open and sweat is present, can in fact, amplify these effects.

How does BPA affect your health?

BPA can disrupt your body's endocrine system, which is a network of glands and organs that produce hormones that control many bodily functions. These include growth and development, metabolism, and reproduction, to name a few. BPA can mimic natural hormones like estrogen and interfere in those bodily functions.

Studies also link it with obesity and diabetes, respiratory issues, especially asthma risk in school-aged children, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer risks.

How can you be safe?

There are certain steps you can follow to protect yourself:

• Avoid wearing BPA-lined sports-wear
• Change immediately after your workout
• Do not wear sports-wear for an elongated period

For many young and middle- aged adults, headaches or brief dizzy spells often feel routine — attributed to long work hours, stress, or poor sleep. Occasional blackouts or “spacing out” episodes may be brushed aside as fatigue or skipped meals.

What makes these symptoms particularly dangerous is that they are often mistaken for burnout, stress, migraines, or exhaustion — especially among younger working professionals. While most headaches are harmless, persistent neurological symptoms that disrupt daily life should never be ignored.

But there are neurological symptoms you should never ignore: sudden seizures, memory loss after brief collapse, repeated headaches, unexplained weakness, or changes in personality. These can sometimes point to an underlying brain disorder — and, in rare cases, to Glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is one of the most aggressive and fast-growing forms of brain cancer in adults. It develops in the supportive tissue of the brain and can quickly affect memory, speech, movement, personality, and other neurological functions. Because the tumour tends to spread into nearby healthy brain tissue, complete surgical removal is often difficult, making timely diagnosis and treatment extremely important. While brain tumours are often associated with older adults, specialists are increasingly seeing younger individuals dismiss early warning signs as work-related fatigue, lack of sleep, stress, or lifestyle burnout. Delayed recognition can sometimes postpone critical medical intervention. In India, there are around 23,000 glioblastoma cases per day, considered higher incidence rates along with North America, Australia, Northern and Eastern Europe. Seizures and persistent headaches are often among the earliest symptoms that prompt medical investigation.

Recently, a 34-year-old woman presented to Apollo Hospitals, Bannerghatta with seizures and memory loss. Her first seizure occurred one morning at home — she collapsed briefly, with twisting of arms and legs, and woke with total memory loss of the episode. Like many young professionals struggling between work and personal commitments, she first considered the cause to be work-induced stress. The family did not suspect that these seemingly routine headaches and blackouts could indicate a serious neurological condition. Before that, she had minor headaches — the kind most people ignore. An MRI scan revealed brain swelling, and anti-seizure medication was prescribed. A second opinion at month’s end showed swelling reduction.

The turning point came in late, during a road trip, when she suffered three seizures in two hours. A burr hole biopsy of a right frontal lesion suggested a diffuse low-grade glioma. Subsequent evaluations at Apollo Hospitals upgraded the diagnosis to bifrontal Glioblastoma — a clinically challenging case due to its location. This is a clinically unusual case because most of the time, GBM is diagnosed with MRI with contrast, MR spectroscopy, and biopsy to confirm the type and grade of tumor. In this patient’s case, imaging revealed widespread bifrontal involvement — making conventional surgery high risk. Her care team opted for a non-surgical precision radiotherapy approach. She had 25 high precision image guided radiotherapy (IGRT) sessions using RapidArc technology. This was followed by two CyberKnife boost sessions to high-risk tumour areas - a plan to boost treatment precisely where it was most needed. All sessions went smoothly, with no major side effects. Since October 2024, she has been undergoing her cycle of monthly chemotherapy treatment alongside her regular scanning.Happily, she was also able to slowly get back to work, engage in recreational activities, and gain a semblance of normal life despite the ongoing cancer treatment.

Signs that point to headaches along with seizures, vomiting, blurred vision, confusion, personality changes, weakness, or an increasing frequency of symptoms should be evaluated medically without delay. Even one seizure is not an issue to ignore.

Some symptoms you must mention to your doctor will be:

• Dizziness or headaches

• Constriction
• Trembling and weakness or paralysis
• Memory loss or other indications of memory disorder
• Visual difficulties

It may help you diagnose your problems effectively if you see a neurologist, conduct MRI brain imaging and have consultations from an early stage. While some headaches or seizures do not necessarily mean having a tumor in the brain, regular occurrence of such symptoms with no reason is likely to be examined by an expert. However, although a proper healthy lifestyle may help your brain remain healthy, it will be ineffective for illnesses like GBM.

Glomerular Diseases affect the glomeruli, which are very small filtering units in the human kidney, and when they get damaged due to disorders, the filters leak blood and vital proteins into the urine and fail to remove waste efficiently. Eventually, these problems can lead to chronic kidney disease or kidney failure. As per its treatment, medications are used to slow kidney damage, manage blood pressure, and reduce protein leakage.

Notably, a new study has revealed hope in this condition by finding that a well-known drug can be very effective in slowing damage if the patient has Glomerular Diseases, and that common drug is Finerenone, which is often prescribed for heart and kidney diseases associated with type 2 diabetes.

The trial was participated in by 903 participants with glomerular diseases. The drug finerenone was given to them. The results show that compared with placebo, it slowed kidney damage, reduced albuminuria, and lowered the risk of kidney failure or sustained loss of kidney function.

Thus, the study clearly indicates that the drug called finerenone may play an important role in protecting kidney function in patients with glomerular diseases.

The research was conducted through subgroup analysis of a phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted across 24 countries and regions, focusing on participants with an investigator-reported glomerular disease.

The study was conducted on a large scale, having conducted the research for months in 24 countries and regions. The trial also took care of other important details and implemented all required paperwork, thus securing approvals by regulatory authorities along with ethics committees in every center. Other than that, the participants were required to submit written informed consent. Moreover, an independent data monitoring committee performed safety monitoring throughout the tests.

How To Keep Kidneys Healthy?

Dietary habits can contribute to kidney strain, particularly when busy schedules encourage reliance on convenient foods that are often high in sodium and low in nutritional value.

Hydration habits are additional concerns among office workers. Many professionals rely heavily on coffee, energy drinks, or sugary beverages during long workdays, often replacing plain water as the main source of fluid intake.

Protecting kidney health often begins with small lifestyle changes. Reducing processed food consumption, limiting excessive salt intake, staying adequately hydrated, and maintaining regular sleep schedules can all support kidney function.

Taking short movement breaks during long work hours and managing stress through regular physical activity or relaxation techniques may also help reduce the long-term strain that modern work routines place on the body.

Convenience foods have become the defining feature of urbanization. From ready-to-eat breakfasts to microwavable dinners and takeaway lunches, packaged food fits into all our lives.

But behind this convenience, what lies underneath are the tiny plastic particles, also referred to as microplastics, which are accentuating health concerns across the globe. Unknowingly, these microplastics are seeping through the plastic cutlery, food packaging, etc., potentially into our bodies. Plastics have been widely used for ages due to their higher affordability, durability, and extensive applications in various industries.

What Are Microplastics?

As per a recent literature quoted by Zhang et al. 2025, only about 20% of the plastic waste produced is recycled, whereas the rest is either abandoned in landfills or dispersed into the environment. Microplastics are the new emerging pollutant category in the modern era, raising prominent concerns in both health & environmental contexts. As per scientific literature, microplastics are plastic fragments with a diameter of less than 5mm.

Food Packaging Contributes to Microplastic Exposure

Plastic food packaging dominates the global food system, since it can be designed in any form (container, wrapper, pouch, etc) while keeping food fresh for longer periods.

Microplastics are released from food packaging(s), especially when they are exposed to prolonged heat, abrasive forces, and undue environmental stresses. Heating and/or reheating food in plastic containers or choosing to decant packaged food commodities in plastic containers and maintaining them under unfavorable circumstances can all increase the likelihood of microplastic release.

Bottled Water and Everyday Sources of Microplastics

Bottled water has also proven to release thousands of microplastic particles into the water they contain when exposed to sunlight/ heat. We never give a thought to such bottles being sold by the roadside vendors, wherein these plastic bottles are hung for indefinite days on that kiosk.

Those bottles are in constant light exposure all day without even pondering about the ill effects it may cause to the consumers. Similarly, single-use tea bags have also been shown to release billions of microplastics when steeped in hot water. These findings highlight a troubling paradox that products marketed for convenience and safety may be introducing new risks that consumers never thought about.

What Does Research Say About Health Risks?

The health implications of ingesting microplastics remain an active area of research, but early findings are enough to raise concerns. Studies have demonstrated microplastics in human blood, lungs, and even placental tissue. This suggests that upon ingestion, these particles may not simply pass through the body. Instead, they would accumulate in tissues or interact with biological systems in ways that are not yet fully explored.

One of the major health implications pertaining to microplastic ingestion is inflammation. These particles can trigger irritation in tissues, eventually impacting the immune responses.

Plastics often contain additives in the form of plasticizers, etc., which may disrupt hormone function and impair the normal cellular function.

Infants and children are more often vulnerable as their food is also packed in plastic packaging or containers (like plastic sippers, feeding bottles, baby food pouches, etc.), raising long-term exposure risk during critical stages of growth.

Steps to Reduce Microplastic Exposure

The issues relating to plastic usage also reflect a broader tension in the modern era, where convenience seems to intersect with health! For people or families juggling work and financial burdens, avoiding packaged foods mostly sounds unrealistic.

Still, some small and consistent actions can help us reduce the exposure to microplastics, like opting for glass or paper packaging wherever possible. Avoiding heating food in plastic containers or opting for biodegradable packaging options could prove to be beneficial in the future. Though microplastics are invisible to our naked eyes, what we do next to curb them would help us shape a healthy future.