For clarity, we are talking here about your ability to reproduce, not your ability to demonstrate sexual prowess. In a book published in 2021, Shanna Swan, an environmental and reproductive epidemiologist at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, warned that the state of human reproductive affairs couldn't continue much longer without threatening human survival. While you might think that is a little dramatic, consider how much sperm counts have dropped in the last 50 years.
In a study Swan co-authored in 2017, she found that sperm counts in the western world had plummeted by 59% between 1973 and 2011. She now says, following current projections, sperm counts are set to reach zero in 2045.
In the book, Swan and co-author Stacey Colino explore how modern life is threatening sperm counts, changing male and female reproductive development and endangering human life.
Increasing miscarriage rates, more genital abnormalities among boys and earlier puberty for girls. Swan blames “forever chemicals”, found in plastics, cosmetics and pesticides, that affect endocrines such as phthalates and bisphenol-A as playing a big part in our declining sexual development.
“CHEMICALS IN OUR ENVIRONMENT AND UNHEALTHY LIFESTYLE PRACTICES IN OUR MODERN WORLD ARE DISRUPTING OUR HORMONAL BALANCE, CAUSING VARIOUS DEGREES OF REPRODUCTIVE HAVOC."
Endocrine disrupting chemicals and forever chemicals are best avoided even if you aren't trying to get pregnant as they are SVHCs (substances of very high concern) that are known to contribute to or cause a range of health issues, including cancers.