BPA Linked to Male Infertiltiy

BPA is bad. We got it, we got it already. Bad for women, bad for baby bottles. Bad to cook in the microwave. Now there’s even more reason to hate it. According to a new study in the New York Daily News, BPA, used for decades in the mass production of food containers and baby bottles has been linked to male infertility for the first time.

In large quantities, BPA interferes with the release of hormones. Earlier studies have linked the chemical to a slower libido, impotence and DNA damage in sperm. It is a known endocrine disrupter.
The most recent study on BPA analysed the semen of 514 factory workers in China. Over the course of 5 years, researchers determined that men whose urine contained higher BPA levels had more than 3 times the risk of lowered sperm concentration and vitality, more than 4 times the risk of a lower sperm count and more than double the risk of lower sperm motility.
The Environmental Working Group has tips to avoid BPA:
• Almost all canned foods sold in the United States have a BPA-based epoxy liner that leaches BPA into the food. EWG tested 97 canned foods and found detectable levels of BPA in more than half of the foods.
• BPA is a component of non-metal dental fillings, it is in thermal paper for many receipts, and it is increasingly used in medical devices. There is little research about the magnitude of exposures from these products.
• Polycarbonate plastics are rigid, transparent and used for food storage containers and water bottles, among other things. Trace amounts of BPA can migrate from these containers, particularly if used for hot food or liquids. Soft or cloudy-colored plastic does not contain BPA.