Toxin Exposure Effects

Most of us know that the word "toxin" refers to unhealthy substances. Things like insecticides and gas fumes come to mind. Unfortunately, many toxins are not so easily detectable. Some toxins can have an impact on a person's fertility.

While more research has been done on the effects of toxins on sperm, the same or similar effects can be sometimes be assumed in the female gamete cells (eggs). In general, it is wise to remember that sperm and eggs are cells, and like all cells, they are subject to "wear and tear" from a number of factors which may render them either dysfunctional or completely non-functioning.

The following may negatively impact fertility and increase incidence of miscarriage or stillbirth by affecting sperm count and morphology and/or quality and quantity of egg production, or by affecting (primarily early) pregnancy:

Brief List of Toxins Impacting Fertility

Chemicals in tobacco and marijuana

Prescription and recreational drugs

  • Examples of substances known to have impact include sulfasalazine, anabolic steroids, cancer chemotherapy drugs.
  • Examples of substances suspected to have impact include anesthesia agents, antibiotics, marijuana, cocaine.

Workplace and home environment substances

  • pesticides e.g. DDT, dibromochloropropane, chlordecone, ethylenedibromide, chlorpyrifos (Dursban)
  • herbicides e.g. Dioxin
  • fungicides
  • hydrocarbons e.g. vehicle emissions, benzopyrene, PCB
  • chemical solvents e.g. xylene, acetone, trichlorethylene, petroleum distillates, paint thinners and strippers, glycol ethers found in paint, solder vapors
  • toxic smoke from burning synthetic and plastic based compounds
  • textile dyes
  • dry cleaning chemicals
  • lead, mercury, cadmium
  • gasoline, oil-based paints, cleaning solvents, adhesives
  • radiation and radioactive fallout

Foods, beverages, and other ingestibles

  • monosodium glutamate (MSG), a commonly used flavor enhancer
  • common detergents found in drinking water
  • alcoholic beverages
  • contaminated meat, seafood, vegetables, and fruit

Environmental estrogens

Substances which can behave like the hormone estrogen in a person's body. Existence of these substances in large quantities over a long period of time can, in effect, confuse the body's estrogen receptors, disrupting the hormonal balance required for average fertility.

  • some pesticides, herbicides
  • food additives e.g. butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA)
  • PVC plastics
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