Subject: [permaculture] French sperm count down by one third
Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2012 01:28:46 -0800 (PST)
A new study suggests that the sperm count in French males between the age of
17 and 70 has dropped by 32.3 % in the 16-year period between 1989 and 2005.
The reasons are not yet clear, but changed diet, chemical exposure and
environment impact are likely reasons.
“…
There has much been debate in the past 20 years over whether sperm quality
has decreased, with research supporting both sides of the controversy. This
latest research adds weight to the numerous European studies that suggest one
in five young men has a sperm count low enough to impair fertility.
Prof Richard Sharpe, from the University of Edinburgh, said: "Something in
our modern lifestyle, diet or environment like chemical exposure, is causing
this.
"We still do not know which are the most important factors, but perhaps the
most likely is a combination, a double whammy of changes, such as a high-fat
diet combined with increased environmental chemical exposures."
…”