Angelos,
Wow, I sent out a kind of crazy rant the other day about a bad date I’d had…
I was asking, what in the world happened to all the REAL MEN in this country?
Well, I got a TON of great emails from fans all around the world…
There are a lot of good guys are out there, it turns out!
And some guys definitely had some ideas about what’s happened in this country that have made men less “manly”…
Some guys blamed feminism…..And maybe they do have a point…
Back in the 50s, everyone knew what their role was. And while feminism DID help women get some equality they really DESERVE….
I still think women and men are basically DIFFERENT.
And now, maybe we’ve swung too far in the opposite direction…Where women are trying to be more like men…Which leaves a lot guys CONFUSED about how to act.
Some of my readers blamed the media….Saying male role models aren’t what they used to be.
And some blamed the government….Like I said, we live in a big “nanny state” that doesn’t teach people how to be responsible for themselves….
A lot of people had a lot of good ideas that gave me a lot to think about…
But a few people wrote in with a rather BIZARRE explanation I’d NEVER heard about before…
One that REALLY made me think.
For example, this is from Will in Des Moines, IA:
“Shawna, I totally agree with you. I am in my late 50s and I have to say today’s men are very sorry indeed. As I see it, there’s a lot of causes for this, but the main reason that men today are so sadly lacking in the “masculine” department is the chemicals that are found in much of the plastics we consume as a society.
Many people haven’t heard of it, but’s a chemical called “BPA” and it depletes men of testosterone, which is the male hormone for “manliness.” It also makes men have too much estrogen, which is the female hormone. Consequently, it makes the men more feminine, and it can even lower your sperm count! I believe this the real reason why you end up having dates with girly-men like the one you went out with the other night.
I’m not sure what can be done about this problem apart from moving out into the wilderness and never using plastics again, but in today’s society thats nearly impossible. I’m truly fearful of the problems our younger generation will face in the future because of this. Sorry to hear you had such a rotten date Shawna, best of luck in the future.” - Will
Well, this kind of took me by surprise…
I had never heard of “BPAs” before I read this…but afterward, I became alarmed!
What if this really was the cause of today’s problem with wimpy men like my PATHETIC date?
So…I looked into it online…
It turns out, what Will was saying was 100% correct!
There is a TON of research that links the chemicals found in hundreds of household objects with lower testosterone levels in men!
Testosterone, as you may know, is the hormone responsible for making a man manly and tough…
But did you know that up to 40% of middle aged men suffer from low testosterone levels? This drop is normal for most men as they age…similar to how women’s estrogen levels dip when they hit menopause.
But for other men, their Testosterone levels can dip even lower….Causing symptoms such as fatigue, mood swings, erectile dysfunctions, hair loss, low energy…and a lot of other very common problems!
In fact, you could be suffering from low levels of testosterone and not even know it! You may just think your low energy or low sex drive is normal…
It turns out, over the last 50 years…Researchers have found a trend of declining testosterone rates in this country!
And with it…Lower sperm counts in men, and a rise in genital birth defects in boys.
Sad, right?!
I never knew about any of this…But it started to make sense.
I really started getting obsessed with this! I made myself a strong pot of coffee and kept reading…
And what I found next REALLY shocked me…
Other research has found that chemicals found in many plastic products…including water bottles and packaging used for food…can leach into your food or water and get into your body….
There, they can sap you of your male hormone (testosterone) and raise levels of your female hormone (estrogen).
The worst (and most common) of these chemicals are BPAs (bisphenol A)…
These chemicals are so commonplace, they’re called “everywhere chemicals”….
They’re in every plastic bottle of water or soda you can drink…They’re in household items made of plastic such as deodorants….And they are even found in baby bottles and pacifiers!
Here is a partial list of what BPA is found in:
plastic water bottles & every other plastic beverage container
the lining of our water pipes
the inside coating of almost every food & beverage can
deodorants & other skin-care products
on the lining of sales receipts
on movie and airline tickets
sports equipment
medical devices & dental fillings
eyeglass lenses
on the surface of CDs and DVDs
Basically, they are unavoidable.
And like I said, scientists have recently discovered that BPA can leach from these plastic containers into the food and water you consume…Especially when the containers are heated or exposed to the sun.
(Which is why you should NEVER drink a bottle of water that has been heated by the sun! However, even if you do…It’s still nearly impossible to prevent exposure to these chemicals. One study found that most people in the US have some amount of BPAs in their urine.)
Here’s why they’re bad for you:
BPAs are very similar chemically to estrogen.
Just listen to this quote from a leading researcher of this subject, Dr. Hugh Taylor, MD, of Yale University.
He said, “BPA looks like estrogen….By itself it is a very weak estrogen.”
Crazy, right??
This is why exposure to BPAs is much worse for men than it is for women…Because women have lots of estrogen anyways, it doesn’t make as much of a difference in their bodies when they get more of it.
But when men get more estrogen in their bodies…It throws their natural chemical balance off, and cause them to stop producing as much of their male hormone, testosterone….
Making them more feminine, in their minds AND bodies. In fact, because of this, many more men are now growing more womanly breasts!
Ask yourself if you know any guys with “man boobs”…Yep, this is the reason why.
There’s tons of research that proves all this…
One study from China, for example, showed that men working in a factory making BPAs had significantly lower levels of testosterone in their blood compared men working in a tap water facility.
And another one showed that lab rats exposed to BPAs had lower testosterone levels AND lower sperm counts than rats who were NOT exposed to it. The BPAs also gave them prostate problems.
There’s a lot more studies just like these…
All you have to do is google “BPAs” and you’ll see for yourself!
OK, I know….This all sounds very “science-y” and it’s NOT the sort of thing I normally write about…
But the truth is, I’ve always had a bit of an interest in biology! =)
And trust me, this gets WAY more interesting…
Remember, we are exposed to these chemicals all the time…They’re literally “Everywhere!”
In addition to BPAs, so many of these household plastics we use every day contain other chemicals called PHTHALATES.
Now, I can’t even pronounce this word properly…But it turns out, these are just as bad as BPA!
Phthalates work by blocking testosterone, your male hormone for manliness…And check this out:
In male lab animals, exposure to phthalates caused low sperm counts, undescended testicles, and decreased testosterone production…among other problems.
Human studies found the same thing…Exposure to BPAs results in lower testosterone for men.
A 2014 study at the University of Michigan found that adult men and young boys exposed to phthalates have reduced levels of testosterone in their blood compared to those who haven’t been exposed as much…By as much as 34% in some cases!!
Here’s a quote from the main researcher of this study - John Meeker, an environmental health science professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.
"We found that reduced levels of circulating testosterone were associated with increased phthalate exposure in several key populations, including boys ages 6-12, and men and women ages 40-60….This may have important public health implications, since low testosterone levels in young boys can negatively impact reproductive development, and in middle age can impair sexual function, libido, energy, cognitive function and bone health in men and women."
Wow…This is WAY bigger than I ever thought.
BPAs and phthalates….
These plastics have only become widespread in America over the past 30-40 years…..
And that’s exactly when men have started to forget how to be men!…
There HAS to be a connection….
The science is really just now starting to show how bad this stuff is for you…
Gosh, when I thought about all the times I saw a guy drinking out of a water bottle…
Or eating something out of a can…Even putting on deodorant…
I started to feel SOOO BAD!
And I realized how it’s really not even the fault of men these days for not knowing how to act around a woman…
Or for having low energy, or lower sex drive…Or any kind of sexual problems at all…
It’s because of the environment around them!
I just wish everyone knew the TRUTH about this stuff…Then maybe we could actually DO something about it.
I mean…What do you think?
Have you heard anything about these BPAs before??
And do you think it might be a real explanation for what’s going on with men?
I’d love to hear your input…
I’m going to keep doing some research into this…
And if you find anything interesting about it online…Be sure to pass it on to me!
OK…Thanks for bearing with me on another strange rant….
Until next time,
xoxo
Shawna
PS, I know this is a little different than the sort of thing I USUALLY write about…But I don’t know, it just got me thinking about the reasons for all the sexual problems today’s men seem to be having! I really think the chemicals in plastics which put more estrogen into your body and deplete your testosterone might be what’s making men more feminine! Have you heard anything about this? Please write back to me with your thoughts about this!
Wow, I sent out a kind of crazy rant the other day about a bad date I’d had…
I was asking, what in the world happened to all the REAL MEN in this country?
Well, I got a TON of great emails from fans all around the world…
There are a lot of good guys are out there, it turns out!
And some guys definitely had some ideas about what’s happened in this country that have made men less “manly”…
Some guys blamed feminism…..And maybe they do have a point…
Back in the 50s, everyone knew what their role was. And while feminism DID help women get some equality they really DESERVE….
I still think women and men are basically DIFFERENT.
And now, maybe we’ve swung too far in the opposite direction…Where women are trying to be more like men…Which leaves a lot guys CONFUSED about how to act.
Some of my readers blamed the media….Saying male role models aren’t what they used to be.
And some blamed the government….Like I said, we live in a big “nanny state” that doesn’t teach people how to be responsible for themselves….
A lot of people had a lot of good ideas that gave me a lot to think about…
But a few people wrote in with a rather BIZARRE explanation I’d NEVER heard about before…
One that REALLY made me think.
For example, this is from Will in Des Moines, IA:
“Shawna, I totally agree with you. I am in my late 50s and I have to say today’s men are very sorry indeed. As I see it, there’s a lot of causes for this, but the main reason that men today are so sadly lacking in the “masculine” department is the chemicals that are found in much of the plastics we consume as a society.
Many people haven’t heard of it, but’s a chemical called “BPA” and it depletes men of testosterone, which is the male hormone for “manliness.” It also makes men have too much estrogen, which is the female hormone. Consequently, it makes the men more feminine, and it can even lower your sperm count! I believe this the real reason why you end up having dates with girly-men like the one you went out with the other night.
I’m not sure what can be done about this problem apart from moving out into the wilderness and never using plastics again, but in today’s society thats nearly impossible. I’m truly fearful of the problems our younger generation will face in the future because of this. Sorry to hear you had such a rotten date Shawna, best of luck in the future.” - Will
Well, this kind of took me by surprise…
I had never heard of “BPAs” before I read this…but afterward, I became alarmed!
What if this really was the cause of today’s problem with wimpy men like my PATHETIC date?
So…I looked into it online…
It turns out, what Will was saying was 100% correct!
There is a TON of research that links the chemicals found in hundreds of household objects with lower testosterone levels in men!
Testosterone, as you may know, is the hormone responsible for making a man manly and tough…
But did you know that up to 40% of middle aged men suffer from low testosterone levels? This drop is normal for most men as they age…similar to how women’s estrogen levels dip when they hit menopause.
But for other men, their Testosterone levels can dip even lower….Causing symptoms such as fatigue, mood swings, erectile dysfunctions, hair loss, low energy…and a lot of other very common problems!
In fact, you could be suffering from low levels of testosterone and not even know it! You may just think your low energy or low sex drive is normal…
It turns out, over the last 50 years…Researchers have found a trend of declining testosterone rates in this country!
And with it…Lower sperm counts in men, and a rise in genital birth defects in boys.
Sad, right?!
I never knew about any of this…But it started to make sense.
I really started getting obsessed with this! I made myself a strong pot of coffee and kept reading…
And what I found next REALLY shocked me…
Other research has found that chemicals found in many plastic products…including water bottles and packaging used for food…can leach into your food or water and get into your body….
There, they can sap you of your male hormone (testosterone) and raise levels of your female hormone (estrogen).
The worst (and most common) of these chemicals are BPAs (bisphenol A)…
These chemicals are so commonplace, they’re called “everywhere chemicals”….
They’re in every plastic bottle of water or soda you can drink…They’re in household items made of plastic such as deodorants….And they are even found in baby bottles and pacifiers!
Here is a partial list of what BPA is found in:
plastic water bottles & every other plastic beverage container
the lining of our water pipes
the inside coating of almost every food & beverage can
deodorants & other skin-care products
on the lining of sales receipts
on movie and airline tickets
sports equipment
medical devices & dental fillings
eyeglass lenses
on the surface of CDs and DVDs
Basically, they are unavoidable.
And like I said, scientists have recently discovered that BPA can leach from these plastic containers into the food and water you consume…Especially when the containers are heated or exposed to the sun.
(Which is why you should NEVER drink a bottle of water that has been heated by the sun! However, even if you do…It’s still nearly impossible to prevent exposure to these chemicals. One study found that most people in the US have some amount of BPAs in their urine.)
Here’s why they’re bad for you:
BPAs are very similar chemically to estrogen.
Just listen to this quote from a leading researcher of this subject, Dr. Hugh Taylor, MD, of Yale University.
He said, “BPA looks like estrogen….By itself it is a very weak estrogen.”
Crazy, right??
This is why exposure to BPAs is much worse for men than it is for women…Because women have lots of estrogen anyways, it doesn’t make as much of a difference in their bodies when they get more of it.
But when men get more estrogen in their bodies…It throws their natural chemical balance off, and cause them to stop producing as much of their male hormone, testosterone….
Making them more feminine, in their minds AND bodies. In fact, because of this, many more men are now growing more womanly breasts!
Ask yourself if you know any guys with “man boobs”…Yep, this is the reason why.
There’s tons of research that proves all this…
One study from China, for example, showed that men working in a factory making BPAs had significantly lower levels of testosterone in their blood compared men working in a tap water facility.
And another one showed that lab rats exposed to BPAs had lower testosterone levels AND lower sperm counts than rats who were NOT exposed to it. The BPAs also gave them prostate problems.
There’s a lot more studies just like these…
All you have to do is google “BPAs” and you’ll see for yourself!
OK, I know….This all sounds very “science-y” and it’s NOT the sort of thing I normally write about…
But the truth is, I’ve always had a bit of an interest in biology! =)
And trust me, this gets WAY more interesting…
Remember, we are exposed to these chemicals all the time…They’re literally “Everywhere!”
In addition to BPAs, so many of these household plastics we use every day contain other chemicals called PHTHALATES.
Now, I can’t even pronounce this word properly…But it turns out, these are just as bad as BPA!
Phthalates work by blocking testosterone, your male hormone for manliness…And check this out:
In male lab animals, exposure to phthalates caused low sperm counts, undescended testicles, and decreased testosterone production…among other problems.
Human studies found the same thing…Exposure to BPAs results in lower testosterone for men.
A 2014 study at the University of Michigan found that adult men and young boys exposed to phthalates have reduced levels of testosterone in their blood compared to those who haven’t been exposed as much…By as much as 34% in some cases!!
Here’s a quote from the main researcher of this study - John Meeker, an environmental health science professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.
"We found that reduced levels of circulating testosterone were associated with increased phthalate exposure in several key populations, including boys ages 6-12, and men and women ages 40-60….This may have important public health implications, since low testosterone levels in young boys can negatively impact reproductive development, and in middle age can impair sexual function, libido, energy, cognitive function and bone health in men and women."
Wow…This is WAY bigger than I ever thought.
BPAs and phthalates….
These plastics have only become widespread in America over the past 30-40 years…..
And that’s exactly when men have started to forget how to be men!…
There HAS to be a connection….
The science is really just now starting to show how bad this stuff is for you…
Gosh, when I thought about all the times I saw a guy drinking out of a water bottle…
Or eating something out of a can…Even putting on deodorant…
I started to feel SOOO BAD!
And I realized how it’s really not even the fault of men these days for not knowing how to act around a woman…
Or for having low energy, or lower sex drive…Or any kind of sexual problems at all…
It’s because of the environment around them!
I just wish everyone knew the TRUTH about this stuff…Then maybe we could actually DO something about it.
I mean…What do you think?
Have you heard anything about these BPAs before??
And do you think it might be a real explanation for what’s going on with men?
I’d love to hear your input…
I’m going to keep doing some research into this…
And if you find anything interesting about it online…Be sure to pass it on to me!
OK…Thanks for bearing with me on another strange rant….
Until next time,
xoxo
Shawna
PS, I know this is a little different than the sort of thing I USUALLY write about…But I don’t know, it just got me thinking about the reasons for all the sexual problems today’s men seem to be having! I really think the chemicals in plastics which put more estrogen into your body and deplete your testosterone might be what’s making men more feminine! Have you heard anything about this? Please write back to me with your thoughts about this!
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