I've made no secret of my disdain for the GMO industry. Hell, I wrote Part I of my series for that purpose alone. Therefore, it came as no real shock when I found this article in my news feed this morning: 13 Surprising Sperm Killers.
Granted, probably not the title I would have chosen, but the title did serve it's purpose as click-bait because, damn it, I clicked on it!
However, the article's opening paragraph got my attention:
Sperm killers are everywhere. They saturate you in the shower, seep into your skin in the checkout line, and even ooze into the convenience food you grab on the run. No matter the point of entry, many everyday chemicals are zapping their sperm counts and even silently scrambling DNA sperm data for men all over the world. Some cause sperm mobility problems, leaving your swimmers not swimming so well. And since the last time we wrote about this, a few more sperm busters have crossed our radar screen.
As I read it, I had two prevailing thoughts. 1.) Thank goodness I'm done have children; and, 2.) Is there nothing that won't kill you or lead to untold horrors for your offspring these days? Seriously, I might as well start living in a friggin' bubble to protect myself from all this crap!
Honestly, those were my first two thoughts.
My third thought was, 3.) Thank goodness I was blessed with two healthy children.
Suffice it to say, the article was quite thorough in its research. To save you from having to read the entirety of the article, here are the highlights for things men should avoid as they contemplate the starting of a family with their spouse (italicized text represents quoted text):
Bacon (and processed meats) - interviewed men visiting a fertility clinic and found those who ate just one piece of sausage or slice of bacon a day saw a 30 percent decrease in normal sperm. Instead, their sperm was more likely to be misshaped and puny.
Cash Register Receipts - coated with the hormone-disrupting chemical bisphenol A (BPA), which has been linked to fertility problems and heart disease... men with higher BPA levels in their urine experienced low sperm counts and lower sperm quality than men with lower levels.
Canned Foods - almost all of those metal cans are coated with a BPA resin, which migrates into the food. Acidic canned products, such as tomato paste or sauces, are particularly saturated with BPA.
Vinyl Sex Toys - devices made of vinyl... unleashes phthalates, plastic-softening chemicals linked to cancer, allergies, birth defects, and infertility.
Shower Products - Phthalates don't just linger in your sex toys, but also in scented soaps, shampoos, and cleaners, and in vinyl shower curtains.
Produce - Pesticides are designed to kill pests... [but] don't see much difference between your precious seed and a hornworm.
Heated Car Seats - Heated car seats, heating pads, and even prolonged time in a hot tub heat up testicular temperatures just enough to decrease sperm production.
Fish/Seafood - PCBs... are banned, but the ones that are already out there will remain in the environment indefinitely, where they especially accumulate in fish.
Non-Stick Cookware - Nonstick chemicals used in pots and pans and in raingear often contain perfluoroalkyl acids, known as PFAAs; common types include PFOA or PFOS... men with the highest levels of PFOS and PFOA had half the number or normal sperm cells compared to men with smaller amounts of the chemicals in their bodies.
Natural Gas Drilling - The industrial solvent benzene isn't just a cancer causer, it's also a sperm mutator... benzene-exposed men exhibited significantly higher genetically damaged sperm compared to unexposed workers, increasing the risk for birth defects in their children.
Preservatives - Parabens are used in many cosmetics, cleaners, and even some processed foods as preservatives due to their cheap chemical antimicrobial activity... studies have linked parabens to not only breast cancer, but also abnormal genetic changes in the sperm of male mice fed parabens.
Flame Retardants - once-popular flame retardants polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs) are phased out due to health concerns surrounding them, their replacements may cause their own issues... men living in higher household-dust concentrations of the chemicals displayed lower sperm counts and declining thyroid hormone levels.
Sugars - Hidden in almost every type of processed food... added sugars are likely killing your sperm count... researchers found that when they fed mice sugar similar to what the average American eats daily, they were 25 less likely to successfully reproduce. Interestingly, the mice generally didn't get fat or show signs of high blood pressure, but were more likely to die and have fewer babies.
Between this new information and the GMO research I've done, plus the doctoring of, and the increase in, vaccinations, it just seems to me that the entirety of science these days reeks of an un-holy trinity of mayhem and destruction for the human race...
Click on the link I provided above to read the full article and see what steps men can take to avoid these chemicals.