Water Bottles And Low Testosterone

Water bottles are now ubiquitous: everyone, from boys to men, carries them. Because of their portability and ease of use, they’ve been the ultimate travel companion to stay hydrated. Yet more recent research has shown that these plastic water bottles might actually be depressing testosterone in men. Some worry that these innocent objects might have adverse effects on our hormonal state and health. This page investigates the potential link between water bottles and low testosterone. We’ll see what these might mean for our health.

Water Bottles And Low Testosterone

Testosterone is the hormone that controls male traits and reproduction. It is a regulator of muscle and bone mass, sex drive, and sperm generation. Testosterone naturally depletes as we age, but in the past several years it has been discovered that testosterone depletes even among young men. This decline has been traced to a number of environmental causes, including EDC exposure. EDCs are chemicals that throw off the hormonal rhythm of the body and create health issues. Plastic is one of the most widespread sources of EDCs.

Bisphenol A (BPA):

The vast majority of plastic bottles are filled with a substance known as bisphenol-A (BPA). BPA is a chemical estrogen that mimics the body’s natural hormone estrogen. Oestrogen is the principal female sex hormone, but it also regulates male reproduction. BPA binds to estrogen receptors in the body, which disrupts the body’s hormonal cycle. It decreases testosterone and causes other negative male reproductive health effects.

BPA is a chemical used to make plastic products such as water bottles. It is estrogenic, mimicking the body’s hormone estrogen. This has led to questions about how it will affect testosterone levels. Several researchers have found that BPA inhibits testosterone in men and women. In 2013, a study in the Journal of Andrology reported that BPA increased men’s testosterone levels. Likewise, in 2014, a paper published in Fertility and Sterility reported that BPA caused reduced testosterone levels in the testicles of rats.

Phthalates:

Phthalates are another class of chemicals that are found in plastics, like water bottles. They’re employed to stiffen and reinforce plastics. Phthalates, like BPA, have been shown to be oestrogens and might even affect testosterone. One study published in Environmental Health Perspectives in 2017 concluded that, in men, higher phthalate levels were linked to lower testosterone. A similar report in the journal Toxicological Sciences reported that exposure to phthalates suppressed testosterone production in the testicles of rats.

Other Chemicals:

Aside from BPA and phthalates, other chemicals in plastic water bottles can affect testosterone as well. For instance, one 2018 paper in the journal Chemosphere discovered that triclosan, a antibacterial substance found in some water bottles, inhibits testosterone levels in male rats. Another report, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, demonstrated that perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), chemicals found in the lining of some water bottles, also deplete testosterone in male rats.

It’s not just men who see the impact of plastic water bottles on testosterone levels. One article, in the Journal of Pediatric Urology, documented how BPA in utero decreases testosterone and causes reproductive dysfunction in boys. This is alarming because pregnant women are potentially accidentally exposing their babies to BPA by using plastic water bottles.

Low testosterone can make a big difference to the health and life of a man. The most prominent symptoms of low testosterone include loss of muscle, fatigue, decreased sex drive, and mood swings. In the long term, testosterone deficiency can cause more severe medical conditions, including osteoporosis and heart disease. This makes the suggestion that plastic water bottles cause testosterone deficiency particularly alarming.

Other Factors:

1. Aging and Testosterone Levels

Testosterone does go down with age, though, and the sharpest decrease occurs after 40 years of age. Other signs of this decrease in testosterone include the loss of muscle mass, weight gain, and libido. One review in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism estimated that testosterone decreases at a rate of roughly 1.6% annually after 40 years. Age is therefore one of those determinants to consider when considering testosterone levels.

2. How Obesity Impacts Testosterone Levels.

The second condition associated with testosterone deficiency is obesity. A paper in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism estimates that obese men are twice as likely to have extremely low levels of testosterone as normal-weight men. Researchers have managed to prove that for every 20 per cent increase in body fat, testosterone levels drop by 12 per cent. This is believed to be the result of increased expression of the aromatase enzyme, which converts testosterone into oestrogen, in fat cells.

3. Effects of Stress on Testosterone Levels

Low testosterone can also be influenced by chronic stress. One study in Psychoneuroendocrinology followed men with high levels of the stress hormone cortisol, who had less of the hormone than men with low stress. Stress via the cortisol released can dampen the production of GnRH, decreasing testosterone production.

4. The Impact of Medical Conditions on Testosterone Levels

Some conditions also affect testosterone levels. Hypogonadism — which results in low testosterone levels — can be caused by a failure of the pituitary and/or testicles. Other conditions that decrease testosterone production are diabetes, sleep apnea, and HIV/AIDS. When measuring testosterone, therefore, medical history needs to be taken into account.

Decreasing BPA along with Other EDC Exposure

Age, obesity, stress, and disease are all factors that impact testosterone, but it’s nonetheless important to avoid EDCs such as BPA. As stated in the topic, switching to BPA-free or glass bottles minimizes exposure to the chemical. Other BPA-free bottles come in stainless steel, HDPE, and so on. A safer alternative would be glass bottles that are chemically inert and would not spill chemicals into the water. This in addition to keeping plastic bottles out in warm or sunny weather can also increase the levels of chemical leaching into the water.

Conclusion: Water Bottles And Low Testosterone

Plastisol water bottles, in other words, are convenient to carry around, but at a cost. The chemistry that goes into these water bottles, specifically the BPA content, is actually bad for our endocrine system, so you wouldn’t really be shocked if we hear that it causes testosterone levels to decrease in men. Awareness is part of action, and perhaps we should be doing our bit to reduce our exposure to these chemicals. This is particularly true if you make a simple change by using BPA-free water bottles, or even glass ones. This has kept everyone healthy and well.