9 Ways to Keep Your Balls in Play
Courtesy of Men's Health
Toxins like PCBs and dioxins hit you below the belt by reducing your sperm count and lowering your testosterone. Here's how to safeguard your manhood.
1. Wear a dust mask
Old stone or cement walls--especially caulking from the 1960s and '70s--can release dangerous levels of PCBs when pulverized. As you breathe in, your testes can deflate.
2. Eat saltwater fish
PCBs and dioxins accumulate faster in bluefish, striped bass and farmed salmon, because the fatty tissues absorb more toxins. Put wild salmon, skipjack tuna, or black sea bass on the menu instead.
3. Avoid sex toys and fishing lures
Gelled rubber--which makes fake worms and vibrators squishy--contains phthalates that can enter the body, decreasing semen quality in men. To be safe, swap in real worms in fishing; fingers and tongue during sex.
4. Support clean-water laws
Environmental groups like Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Waterkeeper (waterkeeper.org) have the balls to protect yours. His group helped force General Electric to spend millions to clean up PCB contamination along 40 miles of New York's Hudson River.
5. Toss old lawn treatments
In 2002, the EPA banned sale of residential products with chlorpyrifos, an organophosphate proved to reduce testosterone in men. Time to dispose of (properly) the old weed killer. Industrial use is still okay; pay heed if the sign says "Keep off the Grass."
6. Protect the pregnant
Women exposed to endocrine disruptors like PCBs, dioxins, and phthalates give birth to male babies with higher rates of birth defects like cryptorchidism (undescended testicles), hypospadias (malformation of the penis), and testicular cancer.
7. Buy a new bike seat
Narrow seats pressure your perineum, causing erectile dysfunction. Buy a seat that transfers pressure onto your hip bones during practice rides, and save the narrow saddle for race day.
8. Shop at the organic market
Pesticides are like debt: a little a day, over time, can develop into a big problem. Sidestep these testosterone killers by buying organic produce or growing your own testicle-friendly garden.
9. Read the ingredient list
A small study has shown a connection between lavender and tea-tree oils in cosmetics and the development of breast tissue in boys. Avoidance may be the best policy for now.
