Men have fewer sperm in their semen, which reduces fertility. Scientists tend to attribute this to lifestyle changes. For example, physical activity is known to improve sperm quality, but more and more young men spend a lot of time sitting.
If you review the advice given by doctors on what to do to make your attempts to conceive a child more successful, you will find that men are generally advised to wear looser pants and walk more.
But there is another problem. Shanna Swan, a New York-based reproductive science researcher, believes that chemicals used in plastic production are harming male fertility too.
For example, phthalic acid esters, better known as phthalates. These chemicals help regulate the plastic’s flexibility, transparency, and environmental resistance. They are everywhere, in clothes, dishes, baby products and building materials. Although the use of phthalates is restricted, it is not always followed.
Studies show that phthalates disrupt hormone balance and can cause a variety of problems, from diabetes to infertility. Swan says that phthalates not only reduce men’s reproductive health, but also women’s libido.
What’s more, according to Swan, the problem is only growing. Phthalates affect even unborn children – mothers pass phthalates to their children through the placenta. Then, growing up, a person comes into contact with phthalates again and again, experiencing strong effects throughout the whole life. And so this cycle continues again.
The strangest thing is that the negative effects of phthalates are relatively well known, so the use of these chemicals is regulated in the European Union, Canada, and the United States. The Dutch office of Greenpeace is even calling for a ban on the use of phthalates in sex toys. More research is needed to completely eliminate these chemicals, and of course, to find a less harmful alternative.