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Disturbing Trend – Phthalates
By Mark Schauss | May 4, 2010
Over the years, I’ve lectured and at times ranted about the problem with phthalates in our environment. Well, I’m here to rant a little more because of a disturbing trend I’m seeing. When I get a call from a university medical center concerned with a dramatic increase in the number of under 30 year old males with low testosterone levels, I get concerned.
Phthalates are known to depress testosterone levels in males so I began to dig into my database of thousands of urinary toxin tests and lo and behold, I’m finding hundreds and hundreds of young males with high levels of phthalates showing up in their urine. This is truly disturbing. Research has suggested that males are now more infertile than females for the first time in human history. Can this be one of the culprits? I think it is a strong contributing factor.
We know that phthalates can damage DNA in male sperm, cause insulin resistance, shorten the length of pregnancies and affect the ano-genital distance in male fetuses aside from the testosterone effect. You can find many of the studies at the website of the journal, Environmental Health Perspectives. How long as a society should we put up with a product that hurts us and future generations? You know my answer, never. But when money and greed step in and politicians lack the back bone to do what is necessary, we doom ourselves to continue hurting ourselves.
Topics: Health, Healthcare, Laboratory Tests, Opinion, Research, Solvents | No Comments »