1. Household chemicals
Common household chemicals are rife with sulfates, Triclosan, chlorine, and a host of others that are both damaging to the environment and to your health. Exposure to chemicals such as BPA (Bisphenol-A), an endocrine disrupter, could “be playing a role in reproductive disordersâ€, and I’m sure it doesn’t stop there.
2. Pesticides
Pesticides, be they on the plants in your garden or on the food you eat, contain chemicals such as DDT, DPCP, and Atrazine. While they are very effective against insects and pests, they can also kill sperm (DDT and DPCP), and lower sperm levels in humans and act as an estrogen disrupter in animals (Atrazine).
3. Red meat
Red non-organic meat, specifically things like beef, is famed for being as riddled with hormones as a teenager. In fact, a steady diet of this meat is believed to induce early puberty in girls. These “synthetic hormones that mimic the effects of estrogen†can also have an adverse effect on your fertility.
4. Genetically Modified Foods
GMOs-genetically modified foods are ones whose natural state has been tampered with, to effects we are as yet unaware of. While producing GMOs has been for some (see: Monsanto) quite lucrative, the effects GMOs have on humans is still being discovered, but studies have shown that GMOs could have “a damaging effect upon the reproductive system.â€
5. Air pollutions
It is to our great detriment that fresh air isn’t so fresh anymore, and constantly breathing in the output of cars, buses, and factories doesn’t do anyone any good. This is backed, of course, by an American Fertility Association article which says “that too much exposure to air pollution can impair fertility in both men and women.â€
6. Technology
Even with all the developments and progress mankind has made with technologically in recent times, it seems that we still have not been able to produce laptop computers, netbooks or even mobile phoness that are 100 % risk-free. For men, keeping your laptop as the name suggests-on your lap-can redude your sperm count, simply due to the amount of heat produced from the device. For women, exposure to the computer for “more than twenty hours per week†could put you “at a higher risk for pregnancy loss because of electromagnetic radiation (EMR).â€.â€
7. Cigarette smoke
Whether you are a smoker yourself, have a friend or other half who smokes, or are just unlucky enough to be stuck behind a smoker while walking to the bank, inhaling cigarette smoke exposes you to tar, formaldehyde, arsenic, ammonia, and many 1000's of other chemicals and toxins.These chemicals are what can can cause a whole host of problems, ranging from reduced sperm count to all the way to spontaneous miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy.
8. Medicine
While having children is possibly the last thing someone would think about during cancer treatment, depending on age, the medicine you take could damage sperm, and thus your chances of reproducing post-recovery.
9. Cosmetics
10. Plastics
Are everywhere, and unfortunately can often contain BPA, which a great deal of research goes on to say can causes women to have “repeat spontaneous abortionsâ€.
What can be done?
Common household chemicals are rife with sulfates, Triclosan, chlorine, and a host of others that are both damaging to the environment and to your health. Exposure to chemicals such as BPA (Bisphenol-A), an endocrine disrupter, could “be playing a role in reproductive disordersâ€, and I’m sure it doesn’t stop there.
2. Pesticides
Pesticides, be they on the plants in your garden or on the food you eat, contain chemicals such as DDT, DPCP, and Atrazine. While they are very effective against insects and pests, they can also kill sperm (DDT and DPCP), and lower sperm levels in humans and act as an estrogen disrupter in animals (Atrazine).
3. Red meat
Red non-organic meat, specifically things like beef, is famed for being as riddled with hormones as a teenager. In fact, a steady diet of this meat is believed to induce early puberty in girls. These “synthetic hormones that mimic the effects of estrogen†can also have an adverse effect on your fertility.
4. Genetically Modified Foods
GMOs-genetically modified foods are ones whose natural state has been tampered with, to effects we are as yet unaware of. While producing GMOs has been for some (see: Monsanto) quite lucrative, the effects GMOs have on humans is still being discovered, but studies have shown that GMOs could have “a damaging effect upon the reproductive system.â€
5. Air pollutions
It is to our great detriment that fresh air isn’t so fresh anymore, and constantly breathing in the output of cars, buses, and factories doesn’t do anyone any good. This is backed, of course, by an American Fertility Association article which says “that too much exposure to air pollution can impair fertility in both men and women.â€
6. Technology
Even with all the developments and progress mankind has made with technologically in recent times, it seems that we still have not been able to produce laptop computers, netbooks or even mobile phoness that are 100 % risk-free. For men, keeping your laptop as the name suggests-on your lap-can redude your sperm count, simply due to the amount of heat produced from the device. For women, exposure to the computer for “more than twenty hours per week†could put you “at a higher risk for pregnancy loss because of electromagnetic radiation (EMR).â€.â€
7. Cigarette smoke
Whether you are a smoker yourself, have a friend or other half who smokes, or are just unlucky enough to be stuck behind a smoker while walking to the bank, inhaling cigarette smoke exposes you to tar, formaldehyde, arsenic, ammonia, and many 1000's of other chemicals and toxins.These chemicals are what can can cause a whole host of problems, ranging from reduced sperm count to all the way to spontaneous miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy.
8. Medicine
While having children is possibly the last thing someone would think about during cancer treatment, depending on age, the medicine you take could damage sperm, and thus your chances of reproducing post-recovery.
9. Cosmetics
10. Plastics
Are everywhere, and unfortunately can often contain BPA, which a great deal of research goes on to say can causes women to have “repeat spontaneous abortionsâ€.
What can be done?
About the Author:
Kate Fathers of Mindful Mum is a Canadian writer living and working in Glasgow who has a BA in English Literature and Creative Writing from her hometown university, the University of Windsor. Mindful Mum is an online magazine with help and tools for mums ranging from ovulation calculators to healthy recipies.