Falling sperm counts, declining egg quality, and endocrine disruptors • Hacker News Board

Re: Falling sperm counts, declining egg quality, and endocrine disruptors

#421

Post by jk7tarYZAQNpTQa » Tue, Feb 23, 2021, 5:10 PM UTC

adrianN wrote: post #72

DoingIsLearning wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The most reasonable work around is to force producers to label their product. There are many vegetable packing containers which do not specify which plastic type they are. There are thousands of cleaning products and hygiene products that hide these compounds in the 'Parfums' label. Forcing manufacturers to exaustively list composition would at least give people the data to make an informed decision when buying a pro…

No, labeling things does exactly nothing for consumers, because most of them don't have a Phd in endocrinology so they don't have the faintest idea what to do with the extra information. The most reasonable workaround is forcing producers to prove safety of the chemicals they use before using them.

> labeling things does exactly nothing for consumers, because most of them don't have a Phd in endocrinology

They don't need to. We, as technologists and scientists, can develop solutions to make the decision process very easy, almost automatic. A smartphone app that reads a barcode and produces a color-coded safety value, from green to red, is all a consumer needs to shop safely. Or a website containing whitelists or ordered lists, "the safest shampoo is X". Then the free market will theoretically make manufacturers compete to be at the top of that list.

The problem is, such lists/apps can't be made until manufacturers disclose every single ingredient and chemical they use. And that won't be done until legislators force them to.

Re: Falling sperm counts, declining egg quality, and endocrine disruptors

#422

Post by boatsie » Tue, Feb 23, 2021, 5:10 PM UTC

goatcode wrote: post #349

vincentmarle wrote: post #2

> Store food in glass containers, not plastic. Above all, don’t microwave foods in plastic or with plastic wrap on top. Avoid pesticides. Buy organic produce if possible. Avoid tobacco or marijuana. Use a cotton or linen shower curtain, not one made of vinyl. Don’t use air fresheners. Prevent dust buildup. Vet consumer products you use with an online guide like that of the Environmental Working Group. I really want t…

It's difficult to do it all at once. Taking little steps might help: instead of using plastic tupperware, use glass; instead of buying beans in a can, buy dry beans; balcony garden? Sure! Even if some things are impossible to do, it's imo best to not pile on top of those problems issues that aren't impossible to solve.

Even dry beans come in a plastic bag...

Re: Falling sperm counts, declining egg quality, and endocrine disruptors

#423

Post by Nasrudith » Tue, Feb 23, 2021, 5:11 PM UTC

alfiedotwtf wrote: post #31

nomoreusernames wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

why do you want to reproduce? whats the point of forcing people to be born without their consent? whats wrong with nonexistence? is it not cruel to force people to become born and have to face the horrors of this place and then die and have all their loved ones die? i still dont get it to be honest. i mean i do, but i dont. but yeah to add to your list, dont partake in eating polarbears everytime a male in your villa…

> forcing people to be born without their consent How could someone consent to be born?

How can they even be forced when they don't exist for that matter?

Re: Falling sperm counts, declining egg quality, and endocrine disruptors

#424

Post by Droobfest » Tue, Feb 23, 2021, 5:15 PM UTC

wonder_er wrote: post #380

driverdan wrote: post #333

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Sugar makes you fat. Nonsense. Overeating makes you fat, not a specific carb. Having a biscuit with a few grams of sugar is not going to impact your health in a meaningful way if you're not overeating.

> Overeating makes you fat, not a specific carb. Eating sugar creates a cascade of hormonal knock-on effects that can make you fat. I beg of you (especially if you're struggling with your weight!) to consider the alternatives to Calories-In/Calories-Out eating. My dad is a doctor, he's _convinced_ it's all CICO (which is what was taught to physicians in the 70s, and today), he struggles with his weight, constantly, a…

I'm a bit annoyed by the terminology here. CICO is as true as ever from a physics/physiology standpoint and I think it's good to acknowledge that.

_However_ some calories keep you hungry so it's probably _much_ easier to limit your calories on low-sugar than a high-sugar diet.

Re: Falling sperm counts, declining egg quality, and endocrine disruptors

#425

Post by pb7 » Tue, Feb 23, 2021, 5:18 PM UTC

airhead969 wrote: post #410

pb7 wrote: post #391

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You confused a middle schooler for a 19 year old? Yikes.

Confused? No. She passed herself off as that, acted, and looked the part completely. Size D. Extreme precocious puberty. You would've been fooled too, so please don't judge with perfect knowledge and 20/20 hindsight from afar if you weren't there.

> acted

I have a very hard time believing a 12 year old can pass as a 19 year old in maturity. What knowledge or experience can a 12 year old offer to a mid 20s individual to appear intelligent, as you claim?

> You would've been fooled too

Zero chance. In my mid 20s, I already considered 19 year olds to be far too removed in life stages to consider seriously and the maturity gap between a 12 year old and an 19 year old is astronomical.

Re: Falling sperm counts, declining egg quality, and endocrine disruptors

#426

Post by xkv » Tue, Feb 23, 2021, 5:18 PM UTC

jonplackett wrote: post #69

admiral33 wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

4x is a large jump, is that referring to sperm count? It might be anecdata but given that you were seeing a fertility specialist it could be more valuable to hear your lifestyle changes rather than much of the noise that is out there.

It’s certainly anecdata since it’s just me but it was multiple tests over that period and showed a steady increase from not going to work for IVF to the level where it would. They test a number of things from total count, count per ml, motility, correctness of shape. Everything went up. The shape was my main issue and that was the thing that increased 4X I should say I also took some supplements too. The problem with…

> I also took some supplements

Which ones? Our specialist recommended CoQ10

Re: Falling sperm counts, declining egg quality, and endocrine disruptors

#427

Post by DoreenMichele » Tue, Feb 23, 2021, 5:18 PM UTC

buildbot wrote: post #352

DoreenMichele wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not romanticizing anything. GMO is relatively new. We know a thimbleful of information about nutrition and health generally. We know even less than that about what more recent inventions do to the human body because there is simply less of a track record and time span in which to determine meaningful data and conclusions. Saying "We don't know what this new thing does to our health" in no way romanticizes anythin…

GMO isn’t that new is it? At this point the field is over half a century old? Right thaolidomide was really bad and we stopped using right away. GMOs enable us to support 7 billion people, without improved yields the world would probably starve. It’s good to question, but Questioning is different than fear mongering, there are very few wormholes

Food that subtly messes you up is notoriously hard to pinpoint.

I'm not fear mongering. I live with a genetic disorder. I've paid lots of attention to food chemistry over the past nearly two decades since getting a proper diagnosis.

I'm done with this discussion. This is the second comment accusing me of spreading fear. It's a ridiculous accusation and long experience tells me it will make zero difference how I reply. It only gets uglier from here.

Re: Falling sperm counts, declining egg quality, and endocrine disruptors

#428

Post by fuzzer37 » Tue, Feb 23, 2021, 5:18 PM UTC

leetcrew wrote: post #386

fuzzer37 wrote: post #317

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is what I keep getting caught up on. I, for one, don't mind that my sperm count may be lower than my ancestors, or that my partners egg quality may be lower. I don't ever want to have children, so this honestly seems like a good thing to me. I know this isn't true for everyone (I'd say the majority of people _do_ want to reproduce), but for me personally, this kind of thing seems positive to indifferent at best.

this situation seems like an unhappy midpoint though. the chance of conception is still uncomfortably high for people who don't want children, while frustratingly low for those who do.

Hmm... I hadn't thought about it that way before. When you put it that way it makes more sense.

Re: Falling sperm counts, declining egg quality, and endocrine disruptors

#429

Post by greenonions » Tue, Feb 23, 2021, 5:19 PM UTC

calvinmorrison wrote: post #402

Frost1x wrote: post #343

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I tend to agree with you WRT to diet and exercise, I think this is a secondary issue to what's being described here, similar to how I think modern science and technology has skewed the natural selection process with a bias that may select for undesirable attributes. Some of this bias may be for good intentions (allowing less fertile couples to conceive) while some may have questionable outcomes (selection based…

"Some of this bias may be for good intentions (allowing less fertile couples to conceive) while some may have questionable outcomes (selection based purely on socioeconomic status)." First let's not anthropomorphize nature, or natural selection. But secondly, in 1st world countries, the more money you make, the less likely you are to have kids! We've done a terrible job at incentivizing couples to have kids since wom…

Shocking to think that our society would discount the future for the present...

On a serious note however, babies and a growing population is an enormous advantage to a nation. I would think it would be massively popular to increase benefits to those who are having children. Full disclosure, I found out my wife is pregnant yesterday, but still.

Re: Falling sperm counts, declining egg quality, and endocrine disruptors

#430

Post by Majestic121 » Tue, Feb 23, 2021, 5:20 PM UTC

hobo_mark wrote: post #369

dukeofdoom wrote: post #367

I followed this girl on youtube that built a tiny house in the mountains. She carries her own water, makes bread from wheat she mills, makes her own hummus and cabbage and eats copious amounts of each and vegetables. Hardly has phone/internet service because she lives in a mountain valley. Plays music with friends, reads and does yoga for entertainment. Surprise, surprise. You are your habits! She looks very fit and…

If she didn't look very fit and healthy, you would not be following her on youtube, and would not know she existed, even with the same lifestyle.

I don't know if you've ever been to the mountains[1], but if you do you'll find out most of the people living there are and look super healthy, even (especially) at an advanced age.

The main difference I can see between my experience and the one of the youtube girl is that people in the mountain don't necessarily eat what would be considered healthy, but a lot of meat and animal products.

It definitely deserves more actual research, but a mountain lifestyle does seem to push towards regular exercise, which in turn provides overall good health.

As a singular data point, you can see from BMI comparisons that countries with mountains (Switzerland, Austria, France, Italy) fare pretty good in comparison to others: https://www.euronews.com/2019/05/09/which-country-has-the-hi...

[1] At least the Alps