This article about how Bisphenol A causes erectile dysfunction in human males was written by Jason Brick.
Before I pass you onto him, I want to mention something not discussed in the article that goes beyond BPA’s negative impact on erections.
In 2013 a Chinese scientist by the name of Caili Zhang was trying to figure out a way to give mice testicular atrophy.
Why?
So he could verify claims that goji berries reverse testicular atrophy in rodents and humans, and he demonstrated this quite convincingly.
But his initial challenge was giving these mice testicular atrophy in the first place, which he was eventually able to do.
And what did he settle on? You guessed it…Bisphenol A.
The mice exposed to BPA in this trial suffered what could only be described as devastating testicular atrophy…so you can go ahead and add this negative side effect to all the others listed below (source).
One more thing….
Jason mentions thermal cash register receipts, but I need to give you a little more detail on this because it’s so important.
The fine powder you feel on a thermal receipt when it’s passed onto you by a cashier is made from a developing solution that contains BPA.
Now here’s where things get interesting…
In 2009 when I first wrote about this on my low testosterone site I was contacted by a guy who had been working as a cashier in Europe for several years.
And when he emailed me he hadn’t seen a usable erection in more than 2 years. So after reading the article he decided to start wearing gloves to work every day.
Seven months later he contacted me again to let me know his erections had slowly but surely returned full force once he started wearing the gloves.
Needless to say, I go out of my way these days to avoid thermal cash register receipts and I suggest you do the same.
Now here’s Jason with much more detail on BPA and ED…
How Bisphenol A Causes Erectile Dysfunction – Part 2
You’ve heard about Bisphenol A (BPA) in the news. You’ve seen the labeling on packaging proudly proclaiming a food container or carseat to be “BPA-free!”
Awareness has grown since the mid-2000s, and from some discussions you’d think the stuff was almost as dangerous and feared as gluten.
But it’s much worse than gluten. And harder to avoid.
What is Bisphenol A?
Bisphenol A is a chemical produced in huge quantities worldwide, and used mostly to produce the plastics found in too many common household and consumer products to list.
It’s especially troubling because of how often it’s used in food containers including (but not limited to) bottle tops, water bottles, take-out containers and chemical liners inside canned foods.
Scientists have published a rash of studies that link frequent or regular exposure to BPA with health problems in adults and children, including:
• Obesity
• Brain development
• Behavior disorders in children
• Several kinds of cancer, especially breast and prostate
• Heart problems
Here and now, we’ll talk about the ruinous things BPA can do to your sexual health.
BPA Causes Erectile Dysfunction In Human Males
A recent study compared the sexual health of men in China who worked in factories that exposed workers to large amounts of BPA against a population that wasn’t so frequently exposed.
The exposed group was seven times more likely to have difficulty ejaculating, and four times more likely to experience erectile problems. In general, the non-exposed workers reported higher satisfaction with their sex lives and greater libido (source).
This study establishes correlation, not causation, but the link is very clear. We’ll need more studies before we know exactly why this link is there. Meanwhile, here are two ways we already know BPA can impact men’s sexual health.
BPA Is an Estrogen Mimic
Here’s something you probably already know: estrogen is a hormone responsible for much of what makes people female, and testosterone is a hormone responsible for much of what makes people male.
Both genders have some of both in their system, but too much of the hormone for the opposite sex can make for sexual and reproductive problems.
We’ve already talked about how foods that stimulate your body to make extra estrogen can cause or exacerbate erectile dysfunction for a variety of reasons. BPAs don’t do that, exactly.
Dr. Hugh Taylor of Yale University exposed mice to BPA to explore its effects on sexual and reproductive health.
The chemical was ruinous to female mice, causing developmental issues in the ovaries, uterus, eggs and vagina, as well as breast cancer and early puberty.
Male mice experienced reduced sperm production and increased prostate size, as well as lesser occurrences of a host of other sexual issues.
This happened because BPAs look so much like estrogen at the molecular level that a body mistakes it for estrogen.
It actually binds to estrogen receptors and reacts as if you had excess estrogen in your body.
So you get all of the problems of too much estrogen, with none of the benefits estrogen provides, and you’re interacting deeply with a known toxin to boot.
BPA Reduces Sperm Quality
The University of Michigan’s School of Public Health led a July study finding that men with high levels of BPA in their urine had an average of 23 percent lower sperm concentrations than men with normal BPA urine.
The sperm were also less healthy than those in men without so much BPA in their system.
These finding were confirmed in another study titled Urine bisphenol-A (BPA) level in relation to semen quality, where scientists concluded their paper with these words of caution…
Increasing urine BPA level was statistically significantly associated with decreased sperm concentration, decreased total sperm count, decreased sperm vitality and decreased sperm motility (source).
Sperm quality isn’t a cause of erectile dysfunction. It’s a matter of fertility that often shares a root cause with erectile issues, meaning that whatever impacts sperm quality can also impact your sexual health.
As with the mice study we talked about above, a variety of studies found BPA also causes an enlarged prostate.
An enlarged prostate can physically interfere with several of the mechanical processes responsible for you getting and keeping strong wood.
Further, a variety of drugs for enlarged prostate have been linked with erectile dysfunction, and several ED drugs have a relationship with prostate health. Bottom line: what’s bad for your prostate is bad for your pecker.
How Bisphenol A Causes Erectile Dysfunction – Conclusion
The bad news is that our environment is so full of casual toxins that nothing short of moving to a private, remote island will keep you from exposure to all BPA.
Even then, you’d have to choose an island off the major trade winds and ocean currents.
The good news is you can take a few simples steps to reduce your BPA exposure as much as possible:
1: Swap out your plastic coffee machine for a glass French press.
2: Avoid microwaving or freezing food in plastic bags or containers.
3: Buy food containers made of glass, metal, or certified BPA-free plastics.
4: Check recycling symbols on plastics and avoid numbers 3 or 7, as they contain BPA.
5: Eat fresh foods because processed foods are often stored in BPA-containing packaging.
6: Avoid touching receipts at the store and have the clerk put them directly in the bag.
7: Roll the windows down in your car at night, as the interior is made from BPA-rich plastics.
8: Take aggressive action to avoid Microplastics that suppress testosterone.
Like most environmental toxins, it’s less about limiting all exposure and more about keeping it at a minimum.
By following the suggestions above, you’ll limit your exposure to Bisphenol A and keep erectile dysfunction at bay and improve your overall sexual health – especially if you combine them with the other remedies and techniques we talk about in this blog.
