Tylenol is destroying men’s sperm. That’s just one of the alarming revelations in a new article published in the peer-reviewed journal Environment International.
These researchers studied urine samples taken in 2009 from 98 male volunteers who were between the ages of 18 and 30 at the time. They analyzed the urine for eight chemicals used in plastic production that are known to harm human fertility, including BPA, BPF, and BPS, as well as phthalates. These endocrine-disrupting chemicals can be found almost everywhere in today’s world, including clothing, baby diapers, food containers, and bedding material.
The researchers also analyzed urine samples for acetaminophen, also known as paracetamol, the active ingredient in more than 600 over-the-counter medications, including Tylenol and Panadol.
In addition, based on reports in the scientific literature, they estimated risks from a range of other plastic-related chemicals and a variety of common pesticides, including fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides.
From this, they came up with a hazard index, or risk measurement. This hazard index estimated the combined theoretical effect of combining several different toxins.
17 Times Levels Deemed Acceptable
Some of the urine analyzed showed that the combined exposure to the nine chemicals was more than 100 times higher than levels deemed acceptable.But the average exposure to the chemicals was 17 times the acceptable levels.
Defective Sperm
As the researchers point out, the quality of male sperm and total sperm counts have declined sharply, particularly in Western countries.There have also been what they describe as “alarming declines among healthy sperm donors in China.”
While it’s more difficult to assess sperm quantity and quality in non-Western countries, the researchers say, anecdotal and clinical evidence suggest men in developing countries may be struggling as well.
At the same time, there has been a rise in testicular cancer and reproductive abnormalities in the last few decades.
“Poor semen quality is part of a wider trend of deteriorating male reproductive health which has begun to escalate into a general fertility crisis,” the researchers explained.
The nine chemicals they tested for—as well as many others—are known to interfere with male fertility. In particular, these chemicals disrupt the development of male sex organs and interfere with male hormones.
Paracetamol or acetaminophen, the main ingredient in both Panadol and Tylenol, has been shown to disrupt prostaglandin signaling and InsL3 production (which is needed for the testicles to descend during gestation), according to the scientists. They cited research that shows that acetaminophen has been associated with a decrease in sperm production and quality in laboratory animals.
Cumulative Chemical Stress
Other recent science has shown that the COVID-19 vaccines reduce men’s sperm count and mobility.While being over-exposed to any given chemical or medication known to affect fertility is problematic in itself, experts say that combining toxic exposures can have an even more pronounced negative effect on human health.
“The problem is that there are some things that we know are bad—pesticides and chemicals leeching out of plastics—and these combine with some things that most people think are safe, like acetaminophen and antibiotics, and cause additive chemical stress and damage to the human body,” said William Parker, Ph.D., a biochemist and CEO of WP Labs, a non-profit that looks at causes of immune disease in Western society, who was not involved in the study.
“It all combines and adds up to creates more chemical stress on our bodies,” Parker said.
Parker has co-authored several peer-reviewed articles about health issues associated with acetaminophen, which, he said, “is extremely bad for neurodevelopment.” His concern lies primarily with giving this pain killer to infants, babies, and toddlers.
“When you combine all this chemical stress plus this drug in babies and children, that’s when you can end up with permanent and often severe neurodevelopmental problems,” Parker said.
“There are multiple types of chemical interactions, sometimes they enhance each other, sometimes they cancel each other out,” said Dr. James Lyons-Weiler, Ph.D., who is the president and CEO of the Pennsylvania-based Institute of Pure and Applied Knowledge, a non-profit that conducts scientific research in the public interest, who was not involved in the study.
“There are insufficient studies about synergistic and anergistic interactions,” Lyons-Weiler continued. “With synergy you can expect more than an additive effect, with chemicals enhancing each other’s toxicities. There are other chemicals that can cancel each other’s negative effects—that’s anergy. But we have no idea what’s happening in the toxic soup.”
Lyons-Weiler, who teaches classes in environmental toxicology at IPAK-edu.org, said reduction in sperm quality—no matter the complicated biochemical reasons—is a cause for concern. According to Lyons-Weiler, a study like this one is a positive step in the right direction, so we can better understand the impact of manmade chemicals on human health.
“We need studies that can actually test for interactions. That’s the most important science that can be done in toxicology today.”
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[5] Patel E, Jones JP 3rd, Bono-Lunn D, Kuchibhatla M, Palkar A, Cendejas Hernandez J, et al. The safety of pediatric use of paracetamol (acetaminophen): a narrative review of direct and indirect evidence. Minerva Pediatr 2022 Jul 13. DOI: 10.23736/S2724-5276.22.06932-4.
