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A Gender Bending Chemical In Plastics Is Feminizing Boys
Plastics have made life much more convenient and are almost everywhere these days. Unfortunately, they may be having one very unintended affect – feminizing boys!
Researchers at the University of Rochester, NY have found that a group of chemicals called phthalates, which are present in everyday items like furniture, packaging, vinyl flooring, shower curtains, cosmetics, fragrances and even toys; can disrupt hormones and cause some to even take on the properties of the female hormone estrogen.
In their study (which is almost five years old!) they found that boys exposed to high levels of phthalates while in their mother’s wombs were less likely to later exhibit the aggressive play habits or toy preferences typical of males.
The changes brought on by phthalates not only were behavioral, but there is evidence that they may also have physical affects like undescended or small testicles and smaller penises (that right there is enough to scare you away from Saran Wrap!)
Lead researcher on the project, Professor Shanna Swan said, "We were able to show, even with our relatively small sample (134 boys), that exposed boys were likely to display a cluster of genital changes."
Professor Richard Sharpe, a reproductive scientist in Edinburgh, Scotland commented on the research saying, "It is significant. It is the first piece of evidence that we have that phthalates may cause adverse effects on reproductive development in human fetuses."
"Testosterone is absolutely critical to development - most of the things that make males different to females are down to pre-natal exposure to the hormone. It is not just the effect on genital development, but also on tissues throughout the body, including the brain."
An earlier Harvard University (circa 2002) study showed that phthalates could damage the sperm of adult men, but it was inconclusive as to whether the damaged sperm would cause infertility or birth defects.
On a recent episode of actor Mario Van Peebles’ “My Green House”, a TV One reality show depicting his family’s move to a more green lifestyle, it was mentioned that this chemical can leach into drinking water contained in plastic bottles exposed to the heat of sunlight for prolonged periods.
Scary!
Date Submitted: 11/16/2009 6:26 PM
Comments: 2
PostedBy: stanley
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