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Are sperm taking a hit, starting in the womb?
Scientists around the world have been concerned about declining sperm counts. Late last year, for example, the European Science Foundation issued a report warning that at least one in five men age 18 to 25 is “subfertile.”
Now, in the International Journal of Andrology, scientists report that fertility in Finnish men — who have been considered to have some of the most robust sperm counts (who knew?) — could be taking a serious hit.
The study looked at men born between 1979 and 1987 and found that the ones born later in the sample had lower sperm counts on average. They also found rates of testicular cancer on the rise.
“These simultaneous and rapidly occurring adverse trends suggest that the underlying causes are environmental and, as such, preventable,” say the researchers.
You’ve heard the usual suspects like BPA, insecticides and and so forth. So is sperm taking a major hit, and, if so, is there anything couples can do about it?
Moms-to-be carrying toxins too
A study from the University of California-San Francisco, published today in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives finds an overwhelming percentage of moms-to-be have multiple no-no chemicals in their systems.
Tracey Woodruff, an author on the study and director of the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment at UCSF, says her team tested 163 chemicals, many of which are known to be detrimental to health and found that multiple chemicals were present in almost all the moms.
Of the 163 chemicals measured, 43 were found in more than 99 percent of the pregnant women in the study. Here are some of the chemicals she found (get ready to re-think your PJ’s, sunscreen, cans, and non-stick omelet pan): Continue reading »
BPA baby bottle ban
The European Commission announced yesterday that it will ban the chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) from baby bottles throughout the EU as of mid-2011.
The EU is taking a “better safe than sorry” approach to regulating BPA, which has accumulated a lot of research suggesting it could a have deleterious effect on all of us, but particularly young children.
A month ago, Canada declared BPA a “toxic substance,” and it’s highly restricted in Canada and Denmark. Some U.S. states have imposed bans on BPA in baby bottles.
Here’s a quick look at some of the recent findings on BPA:
BPA is considered an “endocrine disruptor” meaning that it affects the body’s hormone levels — it mimics estrogen, so it could potentially throw off the body’s natural balance of hormones. Continue reading »
Touching, not just eating and drinking BPA
We hear a lot about how bisphenol A (BPA) makes its way into our bodies through food and drink, but a study released last week in the journal Chemosphere finds that BPA is “efficiently” absorbed through the skin as well.
French toxicologists found that “free” BPA — which is BPA in an unlocked chemical form, so to speak — can easily be transferred through the skin. They radioactively labeled BPA and watched how it moved through the skin of a pig’s ear, as well as through human skin.
The BPA absorbed at a rate of 65% for pig skin and 45% for human.
What common objects contain “free” BPA that could transfer through touch? Continue reading »
Chemical in plastics linked to low sperm
An epidemiological study in the journal Fertility and Sterility finds a link between exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) and sub-par sperm.
BPA has been called out before for its effects on reproduction, but most findings have come from mouse models. This study used human men. The researchers found that men with high levels of BPA in their urine also had four times the risk of low sperm count, and two times the risk of having low sperm motility.
Why would BPA bring down sperm, and should we worry? Continue reading »
Canned food is a major source of BPA exposure
A new study written up in the New York Times Green blog today says that we’re all being exposed to more BPA than we think.
A lot more. We’re taking in about 8 times the amount the EPA considers safe, every day. That amount is a red flag for those who are concerned about the chemical’s ability to mimic human hormones. It’s also an inidicator that we absorb BPA from sources that scientists don’t clearly understand yet.
Awesome.
While the debate over the health effects of BPA rages in Congress, studies like this one move scientists ever closer to a clear understanding of what the checmical does to our bodies. And it’s not pretty.
What’s worse than finding out that your bottled water and canned goods have all been tainted with the toxic chemical BPA? How about finding out that you paid good money to have that same toxic chemical professionally installed in your child’s mouth?
According to a new study, if you’ve had dental sealants applied to your child’s teeth, that is exactly what you’ve done. Continue reading »
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