According to relevant surveys, the incidence of male infertility is second only to cardiovascular diseases and tumor diseases. Who has moved our sperm?
1, food packaging and cosmetics
German research association recently issued a press release said that the past few decades, the global decline in the number of male sperm may be related to a chemical called phthalates.
Phthalates are a class of chemicals that can play a softening role. It is commonly used in toys, food packaging, vinyl flooring, wallpaper, cleaners, lubricants, nail polish, hair sprays, soaps and shampoos, and hundreds of other products. Studies have shown that phthalates can interfere with endocrine secretion, causing a reduction in the number of male sperm, low motility, abnormal morphology and, in severe cases, testicular cancer, making them the “culprit” for male reproductive problems.
Among cosmetics, nail polish has the highest phthalate content. It enters the body through women’s respiratory system and skin, endangering the reproductive system of their future male children.
Phthalates can also enter the body through food and water packaged in plastic containers, such as the inner coating of food cans, recyclable milk and mineral water bottles. Studies have shown that the higher the fat content of canned foods, the more susceptible they are to contamination, such as pork, anchovies, and sardines. Fetuses, infants and adolescent children are the most sensitive to it and the most vulnerable to health violations.
To reduce the risk of phthalates to humans, it is usually best not to use Styrofoam containers to soak instant noodles and not to use plastic containers containing polyvinyl chloride to heat food in the microwave oven. The correct approach is to put the food into heat-resistant glassware or ceramic utensils to heat.
2.Car exhaust
Car exhaust contains a lot of harmful substances, such as sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, etc.. The human body is exposed to these substances for a long time, accumulative damage will occur, not only affect reproductive health, but also may increase the incidence of tumors and other diseases.
The most serious is that the dioxin contained in car exhaust is a strong environmental endocrine disruptor, which can cause changes in the testicular morphology of men, reduce the number of sperm and reduce sperm production capacity.
3, smoking, alcohol
Smoking has always been a major enemy of health, and the impact on semen is equally obvious. Early foreign studies have shown that smokers have significantly lower semen quality compared to non-smokers, with higher sperm malformation rates and an increase in the number of white blood cells in semen. Nicotine and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons produced in tobacco can cause testicular atrophy and sperm morphological changes. Alcohol has a direct effect on both the human liver and the male testes. Studies have found that patients with chronic alcoholism develop testicular atrophy, leading to decreased semen quality. Therefore, men must avoid regular excessive alcohol consumption.
4, estrogen
Estrogen can have a significant impact on the male reproductive system, including affecting the level of androgens, triggering structural changes in testicular tissue, causing testicular cancer, reducing the number of sperm in semen, causing gynecomastia, and leading to endocrine disorders. Short-term use of estrogen-containing drugs by men does not significantly affect the reproductive system, but long-term exposure to estrogen-containing items in life can cause greater harm to reproductive health. For example, some men casually use female cosmetics in their skin care. Some of these cosmetics developed specifically for women contain certain estrogen, and long-term use can damage male reproductive health and cause hypogonadism.
5, trace elements
The trace elements associated with male fertility mainly include zinc, selenium, copper, calcium and magnesium. Zinc is an important element in the reproductive system, lack of zinc will affect the development of male reproductive organs and secondary sexual characteristics during puberty, reduce the mobility of sperm, weaken the body’s immune function, making men vulnerable to prostatitis, epididymitis and other infectious diseases. And selenium deficiency will increase the concentration of peroxide in the body, causing damage to the male reproductive system and testicles. Therefore, men should usually eat more food containing higher zinc and selenium, such as milk, corn, black rice, black beans, etc.
6.Temperature
High temperatures can produce damage to the testicles, but how high the temperature and how long the exposure to this temperature will affect the testicles is still debated in the academic community. In animal experiments, fertility in males was reduced after being exposed to 38.5°C for 55 minutes. In reality, men should try to avoid staying in a hot environment for too long, such as taking sauna baths and soaking in hot water.
7.Drugs
Drugs such as anti-cancer, hormones and antibiotics can impair male gonadal function, causing a decrease in sperm quantity and quality, or by affecting the endocrine function of the gonads, leading to sexual dysfunction. The impact of drugs on male fertility is affected by the type of drug, dose, course of treatment, the age of the patient and other factors. Generally, the higher the dose of drugs used, the longer the course of treatment, and the younger the patient, the more serious the damage to fertility and the longer the time needed to restore fertility.
At present, the society is flooded with sexual health products, some of which contain sex hormones or similar ingredients that may affect the normal sperm production function of the testicles, unmarried infertile people should be extra careful when choosing.
8, noise
With the development of modernization, the impact of urban noise on health is more prominent. Noise is a kind of environmental pollution. In recent years, some experts have proposed the “environmental hormone” theory, pointing out that there are chemicals in the environment that can affect the endocrine function of the human body like hormones, noise is one of them. It will make the human endocrine disorder, resulting in abnormal semen and sperm. Long-term noise pollution can cause male infertility; for women, it can lead to miscarriage and fetal abnormalities.
9, radiation
Radiation has been determined to have a clear impact on human health. Large doses of radiation can cause changes in testicular tissue structure, increase the rate of sperm malformation, reduce the number of sperm, sperm density and other important indicators. However, there are no definite research results on whether small doses of radiation can cause infertility. There is a great controversy in the academic community whether the electronic devices we use everyday, such as cell phones and computers, can cause infertility. Therefore, men should usually try to reduce contact with radiation sources, but there is no need to overstress.
10, drugs
There are many people who take drugs in our country, and some drugs, such as marijuana and cocaine, have an impact on semen quality. Marijuana can lower the level of androgens in the blood, sperm density, leading to male breast development; cocaine will make the sperm density drop.
Sperm quality is a major issue related to human survival and reproduction. For these factors, on the one hand, we must take a high degree of vigilance, timely attention and avoid; on the other hand, we must also call on all forces of society to improve our living environment.