Endocrine Disruption? Sperm Count? The Effect of Plasticisers? Is It All Down to Environmental Hormones?

An analysis of the links among endocrine disruption, falling sperm counts and exposure to plasticisers, and of how envir...

EN Laundry2025-10-31 09:39Views: 636

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Sources of plasticisers in everyday life 

Environmental hormones can interfere with the body’s normal hormones. They may lead to endocrine disruption and an insufficient sperm count, and cause long-term chronic harm. Environmental hormones are everywhere around us — how can you test for toxins in the body?

 


As times change, we inherit technology and convenience, and while people enjoy the benefits, the body also keeps accumulating toxins of different kinds that are hard to metabolise. Have you ever wanted to know, right now, how many heavy metals or carcinogens are circulating in you?

What are environmental hormones? Do they affect hormones?

Environmental hormones are also called “endocrine-disrupting substances.” According to information published by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the disrupting substances are chemicals, or enter the body through air, water, soil or food, and then affect an organism’s growth, development, the maintenance of homeostasis and reproduction, and may even endanger the health of later generations.
Source:Taiwan Food and Drug Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare | Getting to know endocrine-disrupting substances

Hormones — the substances that carry messages between organs in the blood — may well be affected by environmental hormones, causing “over-stimulation of an organ,” or, because an environmental hormone occupies the site, leaving the body’s own hormones “unable to pass on a message” or “passing on the wrong message.”

Environmental hormones: a quick briefing

  • They are chemical substances from outside, and they are also present in nature — for example in air, water, soil and food.
  • Environmental hormones can interfere with or affect the body’s endocrine system, and cause a “negative effect.”
  • The harm they do to an individual can be at different levels — for example an insufficient sperm count in men, endocrine disruption in women, and so on.

What effects do environmental hormones have on people??

Once we understand that environmental hormones, as the name suggests, “enter the body through various environmental routes” and cause a negative effect, then when we are in contact with them or use them over a long period and to excess, it is easy for different diseases to appear.

The link between environmental hormones and an insufficient sperm count and reduced sperm motility in men?

Among the possible reasons for an insufficient sperm count or reduced motility in men, “heavy metals” and “environmental hormones” are one. Because environmental hormones are similar to “the body’s natural hormones,” the body misreads them. They not only affect clinical pregnancy rates and endocrine function; in serious cases they can also lead to infertility.

For men, besides a possible effect on sperm count and motility, a long-term build-up of “heavy metals” and “environmental hormones” may also cause anxiety, insomnia, enlargement of the prostate, and other chronic conditions.

A “protect the sperm” action — protecting sperm count and motility

According to material from Lee Women’s Hospital in Health Vision, avoiding contact with paint, insecticides and the like, and eating whole, unprocessed foods as much as possible, are several keys to staying away from environmental hormones.

Endocrine disruption? Why do women have problems with endocrine disruption? What is the effect of environmental hormones on women?

There are four common causes of endocrine disruption:

  1. Irregular daily routines
  2. High stress in daily life
  3. Innate heredity
  4. Environmental hormones

In women’s everyday lives, the cleaning products and cosmetics they come into contact with may all contain environmental hormones. So besides seeking a doctor’s help, and besides the importance of keeping a regular routine, avoiding chemicals in the environment that interfere with the body’s hormones may also help the body return to a steadier state.
Source:National Environmental Toxicants Research Center | Getting to know endocrine disruptors — definitions used by international organisations
 

Where are environmental hormones found?

Environmental hormones are found in everyday food, clothing, housing, transport, education and leisure. The range they cover is wide, and the effects run deep. We have listed the common environmental hormones:

Common sources of environmental toxicants
Area
Item
Notes
Food
Dairy products
  • More than 90% of the dioxin in the human body comes from food, and dioxin is mostly stored in animal fat.
  • According to Department of Health statistics on dioxin content from high to low, the first to be hit are marine and brackish-water fish, duck meat, freshwater fish … dairy products and so on. There may well be no completely uncontaminated food to choose from.
Fish and meat
Vegetables and fruit
Agricultural pesticides and insecticides are one of the main items listed as environmental hormones.
Processed foods
To achieve a long shelf life or to add flavour, besides a loss of nutrients they also interact with the storage container, and chemical substances are left behind.
Plastic or Styrofoam containers
  • Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is a kind of plastic. It is not only in containers; it is also the raw material of a large number of everyday products. From production through to use, it readily releases substances that harm health.
  • Expanded polystyrene (PS) is commonly known as Styrofoam. Not only have environmental hormones been detected in it; when it meets acid or heat it also readily releases carcinogens.
Metal cans
Metal cans often use “bisphenol A” as a surface coating, to isolate the food from the inner wall of the can, and bisphenol A is one kind of environmental hormone.
Clothing
Bright colours
  • Lin Jieliang, director of clinical toxicology at Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, has pointed out that NPE, a chemical used in making clothes, makes dyes still more vivid. NPE breaks down into nonylphenol (NP), which is internationally recognised as an environmental hormone.
  • Although many countries internationally have banned it, garments made in countries that have not yet banned it still circulate on the market.
Place of origin
Housing
Cleaning products
Whether shampoo, body wash or household cleaners, when a fragrance is added, phthalates are often added as well as a fixative.
The home environment
Electronics, furniture and all kinds of products at home silently release endocrine-disrupting substances everywhere, and they attach themselves to dust, which the body then inhales.
Home decoration
In renovation, to meet demands such as fire resistance, insect resistance or other properties, formaldehyde (HCHO) may be added.
Transport and surroundings
Rivers
Industrialised areas use large amounts of chemicals. The wastewater they discharge not only affects water sources; aquatic life, and later the food people eat, also pay a considerable price.
 
Industrial zones
The main source of dioxin is waste incineration; the exhaust gases and fly ash are silently mixed into the air.
Leisure
Plastic toys
Play equipment and toys, because of sun, wind and long use, are mostly made of plastic, and easily give rise to plasticisers and environmental hormones.
Play equipment

 

Source: https://www.genehealth.com.tw/knowledge/178

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