Dr C’s check-up

Recent headlines have linked our use of plastics – and the chemicals in them – to decreasing fertility rates, obesity and diabetes. Dr C explains what’s really going on

Plastics have been around for decades, and there have been concerns about their risks for years. One example is the 2014 study that showed leaving plastic water bottles in hot cars causes them to leach chemicals into the water, which you then drink. There have been lots of stories, but I haven’t seen a robust analysis of their impact, and that’s concerning as we don’t want to find out when it’s too late.

PROTECT FERTILITY

One area of concern is fertility. Sperm counts have more than halved in less than 40 years, and that decline isn’t slowing. Experts agree that it’s complicated and caused by various things – obesity, increased type 2 diabetes but also pollution, including plastics. Excess heat and smoking both affect sperm count, too, so it’s a combination of all those factors.

UNDERSTAND LINKS

You may wonder about the type 2 diabetes link, but onein-four people with diabetes has low testosterone levels, which is directly linked to sperm production. Too much testosterone can stop sperm production, not enough can mean you don’t make enough sperm too – the balance has to be right, and if you interfere with nature too much, you screw things up. That’s what chemicals in plastics are doing. Specifically, we’re worried about Endocrinedisrupting chemicals (EDCs), which mimic reproductive hormones, so your body may think it has enough of a hormone, and therefore won’t produce it, or vice versa. That shifts the balance, and you start to get problems.

It’s not just testosterone either, but oestrogen – a key female reproductive hormone.

KNOW THE REALITY

Research has shown that when pregnant mothers are exposed to chemicals, it has a very subtle effect on the development of the baby. It’s important to repeat the phrase “very subtle”, as we aren’t saying exposure to chemicals in plastic is leading to all kinds of awful birth defects, but we don’t know exactly what the affects could mean in the long term.

FOCUS ON HEALTH

There are chemicals everywhere in our food chain, from the lining of cans to plastic containers, and because we rely on these things, we need to develop alternatives. Triclosan is a good example, it’s in toothpaste because it fights germs, but it’s an EDC. We can’t just remove it, because then toothpaste doesn’t work, so we need safe alternatives. Having said that, if you’re trying to get pregnant, your general health is the most important thing, not the fact that your toothpaste contains 0.3% of triclosan. Rather than obsessing over plastics, it’s much more important to focus on being as healthy as you can by being a healthy weight, not smoking, eating well and not drinking.

BE MINDFUL WITH FOOD

Aside from fertility, there’s evidence linking EDCs to obesity, gestational diabetes, polycystic ovarian syndrome, endometriosis and breast cancer. Again, it’s likely to be because these chemicals interfere with the delicate hormonal balance, and these are all conditions linked to hormones. Of course, it’s not as simple as saying it’s just the chemicals in plastics causing obesity and diabetes.

Yes, we’ve found a chemical in packaging that does something to your hormones, but you also have to look at what food is inside that plastic packaging. If you’re eating lots of junk food wrapped in plastic, that’s likely to be causing obesity and diabetes, while organic vegetables in plastic wrappers are far less likely to be. Plastics are so heavily ingrained in daily life that there isn’t an easy solution, but it’s also important to say that there are many different types of plastic, and not all of them cause problems. That’s where research should be focused.

DO YOUR BIT

As cans often have plastic lining, see if the pulses, beans or vegetables come in glass jars instead, things like beans and chickpeas often do, and you can buy passata instead of canned tomatoes. You can check the bottom of the packaging to avoid a couple of plastics in food containers. Ones made

from polycarbonate are marked with a number 7 in a triangle, and phthalates are marked with a number 3 in a triangle, or the letters PVC. Other than that, use a paper towel instead of plastic wrap in the microwave, and store food in glass, Pyrex, foil or just a bowl or plate in the fridge.

BEWARE OF OTHER CHEMICALS

If you’re wondering what else you can do, follow some basic rules – like not leaving plastic drinks bottles in the sun, or microwaving your food in plastic tubs, as excessively heating plastic tends to cause it to leach chemicals. The other thing that worries me is the cleaning products we all spray around, which then land on surfaces so we ingest them. When you spray cleaning products, they make a fine mist, which could be going over the fruit in your bowl or the jug of water on the table.

If it glowed, you’d be shocked at how far these chemicals spread. Maybe spray them onto the cloth, rather than into the air, and try to use more natural cleaning products. I always tell pregnant women to be cautious with perfumes too, because the same molecules are used to create the scent. If you eat something you microwaved in plastic or breathe in some cleaning chemicals once in a while, it won’t matter. If we were that delicate we never would have survived as a species, but let’s not push it.

KEEP PERSPECTIVE

Like with everything, there’s a middle ground. I don’t think we’ll all die of plastic poisoning; plastics have been around for decades and we’re not all walking around with three heads, but we’re noticing these subtle signs. We need to be aware, but not terrified.