Study Verifies that BPA Causes Sexual Dysfunction in Men

Tuesday, December 15, 2009 by: Ethan Huff
Tags: BPA, sexual dysfunction, health news

(NewsTarget) A recent study published in the journal Human Reproduction has found that exposure to high levels of bisphenol A (BPA) is causing various reproductive and sexual problems in men. Funded by the federal government, the study revealed that BPA is detected in the urine of roughly 93% of the U.S. population, a staggering figure when considering the immense harm the chemical inflicts on the body.

A compound that is found in thousands of everyday consumer products from canned food linings and plastic drinking bottles to composite dental fillings, BPA is a difficult toxin to avoid. Despite efforts by some manufacturers of reusable drinking containers, of baby bottles, and of certain health-food products to remove BPA from their products, a great majority of packaged food on the market today is exposed to plastics containing BPA.

Study findings revealed that Chinese males exposed to BPA in their workplaces were four times as likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction and seven times as likely to suffer with proper ejaculation compared to workers who worked in facilities where there was no BPA in the facility. De-Kun Li, a scientist at the Kaiser Foundation Research Institute where the study was conducted, found that sexual dysfunction began to occur only months after new workers were exposed to BPA in the workplace.

The five-year study concluded that BPA, a synthetic form of estrogen that was created in the 1930s, definitively alters the hormonal balance in the human body. Since the study analyzed BPA effects on human beings rather than laboratory animals as has typically been done, BPA apologists can no longer dismiss the serious harm BPA inflicts on human hormonal balance and proper sexual function.

Consumer Reports recently issued its own report that found BPA in cans labeled both "organic" and "BPA-free". The group tested many food products and reported its findings to consumers concerned about BPA contamination of food.

The Food and Drug Administration continues to insist BPA is safe, despite outcry from scientists and consumers who object to the flimsy studies used as the foundation for the consumer protection group's support of the toxic chemical. The American Chemistry Council, a trade association for BPA makers, provided funding for the two studies that were used, a glaring conflict of interest.

Recently, the FDA has allegedly been performing further research into the long-term effects of BPA and is expected to release study findings in response to its prior failure to perform an honest assessment of BPA safety. Federal guidelines on safe upper limits of BPA exposure are based on outdated experiments conducted back in the 1980s, even though newer studies indicate that BPA poses serious threats at much lower levels than the 30 microgram (mcg) limit currently recommended.

Producers and manufacturers of food packaging must be urged to cease the use of BPA in their products due to questionable safety, even at very low levels. The FDA must also be pressed to do the right thing and outlaw BPA from food packaging.

Sources:

High BPA levels linked to male sexual problems - The Washington Post

Feds Launch New Study of BPA Safety, Industry Critics Blast Consumer Reports Study - consumeraffairs.com

Bisphenol A (BPA) - Food and Drug Administration

Consortium rejects FDA claim of BPA's safety - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

About the author

Ethan Huff is a freelance writer and health enthusiast who loves exploring the vast world of natural foods and health, digging deep to get to the truth. He runs an online health publication of his own at http://wholesomeherald.blogspot.com.