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

Re: Sperm counts worldwide are plummeting faster than we thought

#691

Post by sakras » Thu, Dec 01, 2022, 8:00 PM UTC

gniv wrote: post #363

DevX101 wrote: post #158

The thesis of the book 'Countdown' is that this is largely due to widespread plastic and other endocrine disrupting chemicals. I believe this is one of the most important risks to humanity, after climate change, and global war. So far, I've taken some lifestyle changes to combat this: 1) Threw out all of my teflon cooking pans 2) Refuse to consume food in heated plastics 3) Throw out teabags (they have plastics). Use…

I've given up making sousvide anything for the same reason.

I’ve been using a silicone Stasher bag for my sous vide needs, works quite well.

Re: Sperm counts worldwide are plummeting faster than we thought

#692

Post by AnIdiotOnTheNet » Thu, Dec 01, 2022, 8:02 PM UTC

jeffreyrogers wrote: post #502

AnIdiotOnTheNet wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Its the same with obesity, which has been sharply increasing in much of the world since the 1970s, but pretty much all the conventional explanations (increased availability, excess sugar, excess carbs, excess fat, decreased physical activity, etc.) don't seem to stand up to scrutiny. Hypothesis: the cause in both cases is likely industrial contaminants considered essential to the running of modern civilization, so no…

Doesn't the existence of anorexia (which appears to be socially transmissible) and the fact that people who take up hobbies like bodybuilding are able to manage their fat levels well suggest that environmental contaminants aren't the whole story? The staple bodybuilding foods are rice and chicken breast. That's about as industrialized as you can get. If there were people getting fat eating broccoli, potatoes, chicken…

> Doesn't the existence of anorexia (which appears to be socially transmissible) and the fact that people who take up hobbies like bodybuilding are able to manage their fat levels well suggest that environmental contaminants aren't the whole story?

No? Genetics is the best predictor of obesity, but as with drugs any contaminant would have varying degrees of effect on the population, including sometimes a paradoxical effect.

> If there were people getting fat eating broccoli, potatoes, chicken, and salad I would buy the contamination argument, but when you look at what people who have trouble managing their weight actually eat it is never simple foods like that.

And a whole lot of people are not getting fat at all eating foods like and barely exercising. Why do some people have to pay attention to what they eat and others don't? Why has the percentage of the population that is obese increasing?

Re: Sperm counts worldwide are plummeting faster than we thought

#693

Post by giantg2 » Thu, Dec 01, 2022, 8:04 PM UTC

jeffreyrogers wrote: post #482

rconti wrote: post #449

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems fairly natural that a couple in most societies (current and historical) would be better able to provide for their children the older they are. The main exception I can think is family support; having younger grandparents and great grandparents could be an advantage, I guess? I'm not sure I'd look at a society where people have lots of children so they can put them to work and say "yeah, this is the way socie…

In western countries historically men were typically a bit older than their wife but the wife usually was fairly young still. Definitely way younger than now. I think the average maternal age in the US is close to 30 now. This was a rational arrangement since women had fewer economic opportunities. Now women can do basically everything men can do so they choose to defer pregnancy, which has its own consequences that…

I mean, maternal genetic mutations aren't strictly age related. However, damage from toxins, other environmental factors, and developmental issues related to hormone levels generally track with age. I wouldn't be surprised to find out paternal fertility issues are truly the same, but that age is a an easy proxy.

Re: Sperm counts worldwide are plummeting faster than we thought

#694

Post by SoftTalker » Thu, Dec 01, 2022, 8:07 PM UTC

DevX101 wrote: post #374

twobitshifter wrote: post #337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Along the same lines as tea-bags, is it possible k-cups have an effect? The keurig machine is already plastic, so does using a reusable cup buy you any benefit?

k-cups get quite warm when in use so I'd avoid it for daily use. Try a french press with a glass container instead. I also threw away my Aeropress for similar reasons.

Aeropress claims they have tested for plastic leaching and found none.

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0601/8783/6659/files/Evolu...

Link is from the FAQ page on aeropress.com.

I can't find the reference now but at one point they discussed why they don't offer an aeropress in stainless steel or glass, and it's basically because of safety (metal and glass transmit heat much more than plastic). Additionally with glass, even pyrex, there is a risk of breakage.

Re: Sperm counts worldwide are plummeting faster than we thought

#695

Post by asdff » Thu, Dec 01, 2022, 8:08 PM UTC

Klonoar wrote: post #647

DrThunder wrote: post #546

It's obesity 100%. You can try to blame microplastics all you want but plastics have been around for a long time now and the amount of people having issues in the last generation has skyrocketed along with the obesity epidemic. You cannot sit around on screens all day, eat unhealthily, never lift weights, never do any cardio and expect to have enough testosterone to reproduce.

I mean, you have to look at the whole picture. Obesity is the big one to solve, but you have to kill the sugar issue if you want to do that. The average American (to say nothing of the rest of the world) is absolutely abysmal at keeping count of their sugar intake.

At the same time, the world health organisation estimates 95% of people are inactive. I think a lack of activity is the biggest cause of the obesity crisis. Especially these days where even older generations who weren't raised in this modern environment are often chronically online nonetheless.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/06/02/medic...

Re: Sperm counts worldwide are plummeting faster than we thought

#696

Post by SoftTalker » Thu, Dec 01, 2022, 8:10 PM UTC

dionidium wrote: post #661

nicholasjarnold wrote: post #389

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, I can confirm this based on personal experience with a gynecologist telling my wife that at 35 the pregnancy is considered a "geriatric pregnancy" (apparently some docs now call it "AMA"...advanced maternal age). This shocked both of us, frankly. We were aware of what the actuarial tables will tell you regarding birth defect rates related to maternal age, but hearing the term geriatric in your mid-thirties is qu…

My mother-in-law who is in her 60s thinks she's "too young" to be called grandma. She's being a little bit tongue-in-cheek, but I routinely hear people say, "oh he was so young" after some 65-year-old celebrity dies of a heart attack. Increasingly, I just have no idea what's going on in people's heads when they think about age. Sixty is not "young." Thirty-five is not "young" with respect to fertility. People need to…

Yep. I'm in the latter half of my 50s and defintely don't feel young, at least physically. 60 is getting old. Anthing past 70 is a gift, IMO.

Re: Sperm counts worldwide are plummeting faster than we thought

#697

Post by simonsquiff » Thu, Dec 01, 2022, 8:11 PM UTC

kneebonian wrote: post #39

It is interesting, I have a friend group that consists of about 5 married couples all of whom have been having issues conceiving and have been trying for a while now, but are still having issues. Curiously enough my wife and I just had our 4th and every time we've conceived within two months (even when I was hoping it would take a little longer). From what I hear our friends story is not unusual and many in our age b…

One tip - get some ovulation sticks. My wife and I never realised but the egg is actually only around for a single day - it must be fertilised in those 24 hours. If you have sex after that there is zero chance of conceiving, sperm can hang around so you can conceive with sex a few days before. But outside that really small window you are wasting your time. The actual accurate window is massive guess work - some women are not that regular with ovulation. Ovulation sticks tell you exactly what’s going on - tell you when ovulation is coming, so that’s when you have lots of sex. Before we used them we basically had sex loads (outside this window) which was worse than nothing as it makes you less likely to be going hard in the right window. First time we used the sticks she got pregnant immediately.

We had a friend who had been trying for 8 years to have a kid, told us she was just about giving up and thinking of adoption. We asked if she used the ovulation sticks - “what are they??” We gave her the rest of ours and a couple of months later she was pregnant, now has a baby. So yeah, these things don’t seem to be as well known as they should be, and can be a massive help.

Re: Sperm counts worldwide are plummeting faster than we thought

#698

Post by rafaelero » Thu, Dec 01, 2022, 8:16 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…

What a list like this misses is some sense of proportionality. We don't need to stress over everything that causes fluctuations on sperm count. The science is not there yet, but personally I am going to bet >50% of the reason for decreased sperms count is because of high protein diets (which correlate to lower testosterone) and high BMI.

Re: Sperm counts worldwide are plummeting faster than we thought

#699

Post by pdpi » Thu, Dec 01, 2022, 8:19 PM UTC

ipdashc wrote: post #505

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…

I think I'm missing something. On the Results in study [b], they say > Semen parameters did not seem affected by caffeine intake, at least caffeine from coffee, tea and cocoa drinks, in most studies. Conversely, other contributions suggested a negative effect of cola-containing beverages and caffeine-containing soft drinks on semen volume, count and concentration. If tea and coffee don't cause an effect, but cola and…

Well, the two sentences following your quote read:

> 2. As regards sperm DNA defects, caffeine intake seemed associated with aneuploidy and DNA breaks, but not with other markers of DNA damage > 3. Finally, male coffee drinking was associated to prolonged time to pregnancy in some, but not all, studies.

And then goes on to conclude:

> The literature suggests that caffeine intake, possibly through sperm DNA damage, may negatively affect male reproductive function.

The whole abstract points at weak/inconclusive results, but we're definitely talking about caffeine here, not sugar.

Re: Sperm counts worldwide are plummeting faster than we thought

#700

Post by ghostbrainalpha » Thu, Dec 01, 2022, 8:20 PM UTC

themagician wrote: post #629

ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #616

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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%.

I found the Switch to be highly effective as preventing pregnancy if you keep it in handheld mode and bring it to bed with you.

When partner attempts romantic activity, tell them you need 5 more minutes of Pokémon and the problem is solved completely.