Sperm counts worldwide are plummeting faster than we thought • Hacker News Board

Re: Sperm counts worldwide are plummeting faster than we thought

#621

Post by vanderZwan » Thu, Dec 01, 2022, 6:48 PM UTC

lzooz wrote: post #572

vanderZwan wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I genuinely hate this (meaning Swan's) take. The modern world is waaaay to complex to offload all responsibility to "consumers". They did it with sustainability, with sweat shops, with food, with cleaning products. It's ridiculous.

Or maybe people aren't stupid but they don't give a shit.

I did not say anything about stupidity. Nobody has the time, energy and even financial means to individually tackle all the issues out there. Putting the burdens on consumers is an excuse used by companies to externalize costs to the buyer, plain and simple.

Re: Sperm counts worldwide are plummeting faster than we thought

#622

Post by rc_hackernews » Thu, Dec 01, 2022, 6:48 PM UTC

dr_dshiv wrote: post #270

rc_hackernews wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This has been my exact experience too. Wife and I...no trouble conceiving. Friends in late 20's to early 30's have had a lot of trouble conceiving, i.e. they needed to do IVF. Not sure what's going on with that, and this is purely anecdotal, but I've been hearing people having troubles having kids a lot it seems.

Are you guys really bragging about your fecund sperms on HN? What’s your secret? Is it the microdosing?

In no way was my intention to brag. I'm pretty sure it wasn't the parent commenter's intention either. Just people reflecting and commenting on their experiences on this topic.

I'll keep in mind how comments like that come off in the future.

Re: Sperm counts worldwide are plummeting faster than we thought

#623

Post by clusterhacks » Thu, Dec 01, 2022, 6:48 PM UTC

Aeolun wrote: post #440

droopyEyelids wrote: post #429

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fertility isn't the only consideration with having children when you're old. Skin elasticity and athleticism decreases with age, and that translates into worse tearing, and more difficult births, longer recovery, and more trouble keeping up with a baby after all that. Then, on top of all that, your parents are entering their sunset years rather where you have to help them rather than having grandparents young enough…

Can you imagine having two generations of kids at 20 years old? ‘Grandma’ will be 40 when she has her first grandkid.

This was very common in my extended family in rural North Carolina. Most of my cousins didn't attend college, partnered up quickly, and started families. Not always in that precise order . . .

Honestly, I think for them it just wasn't that odd in their community. I grew up in a more suburban area and the baby boom was definitely a few years later comparatively speaking.

I have several aunts and uncles who are great-grandparents and in the 60-70 year old range.

Re: Sperm counts worldwide are plummeting faster than we thought

#624

Post by amelius » Thu, Dec 01, 2022, 6:49 PM UTC

colordrops wrote: post #612

Knufen wrote: post #478

I did my Master Degree in Organic Chemistry where we tried to develop a male contraceptive pill. I spend a lot of time studying sperm so here is a short list of thing to avoid regarding sperm quality (not ranked): 1. Eating and drinking from plastics (This includes aluminum cans which are plastic lined) [a] 2. Heating food in ANY type of plastic [a] 3. Caffein intake [b] 4. Sugar intake [c] 5. NOT exercising regularl…

With all of these it's a matter of quantity. For instance, bullet point 9 about soy makes me question this list. It turns out that phytoestrogens are much less potent than real estrogen, and the only people that were found to have measurable effects from soy was through a study of older men that ate massive amounts of soy every day in Japan. There is real estrogen in cow's milk, which would have a much stronger effec…

Does estrogen in food even enter the blood?

Re: Sperm counts worldwide are plummeting faster than we thought

#625

Post by myshpa » Thu, Dec 01, 2022, 6:52 PM UTC

agentwiggles wrote: post #590

yamtaddle wrote: post #561

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd want to know that drinks aren't full of that stuff regardless of the end-user container material, before worrying about it. They're surely exposed to tons of plastics in the manufacturing process, including at times when various components are heated. Even water supplies in a house will typically have been in contact with plastics—at the treatment plant, in the house for any modern house (they're pretty much all…

> ever start with a hot tap for water you're gonna boil? I've been told I shouldn't do this, so I don't, but I always feel like a rube waiting for a big pot of pasta water to boil from cold when I know I could have just used my giant tank of heated water and save 10 minutes of waiting...

I think it's because of the bacteria living in hot water, and some toxins are resistant to boiling.

Re: Sperm counts worldwide are plummeting faster than we thought

#626

Post by colordrops » Thu, Dec 01, 2022, 6:53 PM UTC

amelius wrote: post #624

colordrops wrote: post #612

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With all of these it's a matter of quantity. For instance, bullet point 9 about soy makes me question this list. It turns out that phytoestrogens are much less potent than real estrogen, and the only people that were found to have measurable effects from soy was through a study of older men that ate massive amounts of soy every day in Japan. There is real estrogen in cow's milk, which would have a much stronger effec…

Does estrogen in food even enter the blood?

It's sold in pill form so I assume so?

Re: Sperm counts worldwide are plummeting faster than we thought

#627

Post by layman51 » Thu, Dec 01, 2022, 6:53 PM UTC

I have noticed a few of these headlines in the news but I didn't really pay them any mind because of how the world population is actually still increasing. But then I did a quick Google search and found out that the rate of growth is slowing down. Is that a sign of this issue?

Re: Sperm counts worldwide are plummeting faster than we thought

#628

Post by throwawaydad12 » Thu, Dec 01, 2022, 6:56 PM UTC

justsocrateasin wrote: post #163

alexsereno wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s going to be a real adjustment for a lot of these people to grasp that young American men are in really difficult situations socially, academically, and that it’s a key factor to underemployment, violence, etc… the concept of men’s health or men suffering feels like an attack to these people instead of a separate legitimate issue to other social topics they find important

Curious if you have sources for this. I agree wholeheartedly that there are some difficult issues affecting men, socially and academically, but always struggle to back that opinion up with any meaningful facts/figures. As one of my friends said, "Positions of power are still predominantly held by men, but the average man is lagging behind the average woman". Not sure if this is necessarily true, but sometimes it feel…

Within my extended family and larger social orbit, I've watched maybe 20 kids grow up. The girls are uniformly successful and seem to have significant support from family, school, and society. The boys have been struggling and have experienced limited support to a degree that I find shocking. Perhaps half will never achieve regular employment, and sadly several seem destined for addiction and early deaths.

This is just anecdote, but for me, I'm inclined to believe 20 data points I can personally observe.

I'm not sure exactly how new this is. Even decades ago, my experience of growing up male is that to a fair degree it's like being thrown off the dock. "Hope you learn to swim before you drown!" The idea that boys are privileged over girls seems like a cruel joke.

Re: Sperm counts worldwide are plummeting faster than we thought

#629

Post by themagician » Thu, Dec 01, 2022, 6:56 PM UTC

ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #616

themagician wrote: post #533

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Switch to PS5 + Mountain Dew. 30 minutes before sex, microwave a cookie in tupperware and drink a beer. For added protection, download the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV. With an expanded free trial which you can play through the entirety of A Realm Reborn and the award winning Heavensward expansion up to level 60 for free with no restrictions on playtime.

Can't get a PS5. Does a Nintendo switch also do the job?

Unfortunately, the Switch is only about 90% effective in preventing unwanted pregnancy. PS5 is 98%.

Re: Sperm counts worldwide are plummeting faster than we thought

#630

Post by UglyToad » Thu, Dec 01, 2022, 6:56 PM UTC

Knufen wrote: post #478

I did my Master Degree in Organic Chemistry where we tried to develop a male contraceptive pill. I spend a lot of time studying sperm so here is a short list of thing to avoid regarding sperm quality (not ranked): 1. Eating and drinking from plastics (This includes aluminum cans which are plastic lined) [a] 2. Heating food in ANY type of plastic [a] 3. Caffein intake [b] 4. Sugar intake [c] 5. NOT exercising regularl…

Ah yes, that study of 99 (predominantly overweight) men from an infertility clinic that definitely shows soy affects sperm count.

As far as I'm aware the evidence just isn't there with respect to soy and cherry picking the single study that shows some potential link is just helping fuel a dietary myth, would be my view.