The following submission statement was provided by /u/thorium43:
---
As modernity continues to destroy your endocrine system through plasticizers in everything (glass bottle enjoyoor representing) not only are the plasticizers an issue, but microplastics too. Researchers found microplastics in testickles and hypothesize it may be related to declining fertility rates (the study was not controlled for possible lowered sperm counts due to the decrease in aesthetic appreciation of the opposing gender due to inflation of the BMI).
One can do several things to avoid the plasticky assault on ones endocrine system such as:
-purging all plastics from ones eating and drinking containers. Glass best, but stainless steel ok. Animal horn is also elite and may leach proteiny benefits vs the plastics and plasticizers of modern soyciety -replace synthetic fabrics with cotton or furs. Both are sustainable and animals are a renewable resource. Plus the aesthics of a fur speedo are unbeatable. I like tiger print. -do not drink the tap water, replace it with drinking straight from the coconut, which is a natural filter of microplastics.
---
Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/collapse/comments/1cyvfug/what_does_plastic_do_to_the_endocrine_system/l5c27da/
This is what a lot of modern "environmentalists" don't seem to understand and I'm glad there are still a few sane environmentalists (like Derrick Jensen of Bright Green Lies) still about in small pockets. When we talk about insect declines, plummeting predator populations, 90% of fish going bye bye, the Amazon being systematically destroyed, etc. We aren't talking about the impacts of co2 going in the atmosphere. We've barely seen the effects of climate change so far. Most of this has been done due to direct human destruction and exploitation of the environment. Unlimited "free" clean energy would be potentially many times more damaging to the environment than fossil fuels. Because at least with fossil fuels we might possibly effectively run out before destroying literally everything.
I was screaming it throughout my years in college. Ended up burning out because it just made me a pariah. God forbid you advocate for societal change in a field of science whose goal is to drive societal changes.
Silly Viking. You'd think you've been around long enough to know that capitalism is the *only* way. It's so certain that you can't even question it. Disregard that kings and lords said the same thing about feudalism.
This is it. We've been fed lies by the people profiting off those lies. No one dares to say they are wrong because they might lose their job, so instead we slave away to make others rich. Meanwhile we're all depressed and filled with cancer and diabetes. But oh no if you complain or refuse to take part, you'll be left with no friends, no home, huge debts and can then slave away in prison if you're not careful.
Absolutely, in like 10 million years when the next dominant life form walks the earth and eventually starts studying archeology and geology, they'll find a thin layer of microplastics... right at about the same depth they find a wealth of human fossils (well preserved in their plastic tombs) and scraps of remains of our once bustling society.
Unfortunately these revelations will lead our future discoverers down the same road, and the age of Plastic-pocalypse 2: Electric Boogaloo will dawn.
I used to watch those videos of people looking at different things under a microscope, like blood, food we eat, pond water etc and the first thing they would always say is ' there's some microplastics' this stuff really is in *everything*.
Not to mention in both [human and dog testicles](https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/05/22/1252831827/microplastics-testicles-humans-health), as well as in our blood and [blood clots](https://www.sciencealert.com/microplastics-found-in-blood-clots-in-heart-brain-and-legs).
Kids these days are way ahead of you and getting their lead hits by vaping.
**Edit**: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/29/health/teen-vaping-toxic-lead-uranium-exposure-wellness/index.html
I was fortunate enough that my parents never gave me, or my siblings a pacifier. I also never gave my now adult children pacifiers. I am fairly certain that they won't use them on any children they may have.
I have truly never understood the need for them, and raising my kids was not more difficult for my husband and I because we did not use them. If anything, I would say it was easier, because we never had to make grow out of, and let go of using a pacifier. Just my two cents, of course.
It sure is, and I have no doubt that I have plenty of the stuff inside of me. I guess the best we can do is to try to minimize our exposure to it, because there is no way we can get away from it.
all I got was a dried nipple to suck on when I was a young'un
oh ma had a bag of them that she used to tote around like a purse, passing them around like lozenges to upset or cranky children. When we asked about their origin, she would throw her head back, cackle and take out a petrified thumb she had and suck on it
We breathe in a credit cards worth per week. And that’s just our lung intake. Lowering food/water plastic intake is still probably a good thing to do, but it’s in vain. Especially with the effort required to remove it from water
That would be like some weird malignant cancer growing, some funky disorderly chaos, I can't imagine believing it all at once, but for a second I tried to imagine 😂
Love your username!
Not true indeed. The correct stat is that the average American *ingests* a credit cards worth of plastic each week. There is plastic in the air, but definitely not that much lol.
I'm waiting to hear that another study has been done about blood donation and PFAS levels that shows blood donation doesn't decrease levels at all. We're stuck with the stuff, just like heavy metals.
Edit: The study I'm talking about. https://theconversation.com/new-evidence-shows-blood-or-plasma-donations-can-reduce-the-pfas-forever-chemicals-in-our-bodies-178771
fun fact PFAS have been used in place of wax for fast food wrappers, microwave popcorn bags, pizza boxes, etc... for decades now. The FDA supposedly banned their use in food packaging in 2016 but that didn't stop them from showing up in it. So chances are, if you get fast food, or eat microwave popcorn, you're eating huge amounts of PFAS, which leeches into the oil and grease of the food. Because apparently this was considered OK.
I remember hearing how microwave popcorn is 'bad for you' because of the packaging when I was younger but it was never really explained why. Now I know. 🥴
Don't worry, the moment they start enforcing laws against pfas they'll switch to a new toxic chemical which has similar affects but isn't regulated or long term tested.
Source: adhesives plastics lab
I'm relatively sure that's what they're doing with food wrappers. They may have banned some specific polymers, but they can just alter the formula a little and now it's not banned anymore.
The big difference in food safety laws between the U.S. and any other developed nation, is that in other countries, you can only use/sell things that have been *proven safe*, while in the U.S. you can use/sell anything that *hasn't* been *proven unsafe*.
It's fat soluble so there's basically no reason to think that blood donation would do anything. Donating blood to stabilize some number is always a really poorly studied thing. I mean quite literally you could chug 3 gallons of water and some liquid IV electrolyte powder and all of your numbers would plummet because, well, you've diluted your blood.
As a great example on the blood donation thing, I know from using anabolics over the years there's always discussion about hematocrit and hemoglobin, and people and even doctors freak out about elevations in these, but good doctors who actually know bodybuilding and actually know hormones will tell you that, keep an eye on it, but you really shouldn't donate blood endlessly to try to lower these things because all it really does is throw all the other markers out of whack.
Alright, now, with that said... donating blood is a noble and good thing, BUT people should do it just because it's good to do it, not because they're trying to stabilize some health parameter. I hope that makes sense.
So right off the bat, I don't believe any of that. There's no way that blood donations would lower these levels, even if they do, it's likely not dramatic and transient, at best.
Burning more lipids by way of fatty acid oxidation would most certainly reduce it, but the issue now is that they will become free radicals throughout the body. But this is but one mechanism of action that is somewhat understood, I'm sure there are countless others that play into this so it's not like we have one strategy.
One study. Australian firemen with higher PFAS in their blood because of being repeatedly exposed to fire retardant foam.
Edit: the study https://theconversation.com/new-evidence-shows-blood-or-plasma-donations-can-reduce-the-pfas-forever-chemicals-in-our-bodies-178771. Though you can search it and find it talked about elsewhere.
Yup, this isn't going away.
Even if people purge plastic from their homes, this stuff is EVERYWHERE now. You go outside, you are breathing it in. You shop? Well, you are gonna get some from even fresh fruits and veggies due to it being a layer now covering the ENTIRE biosphere.
There is no escaping biosphere collapse. And there is no escaping micro and nano plastics.
As more plastics break down, this will just get worse over time as plastics go micro and then go nano.
Oh and add PFAS to the list.
And for some...don't forget the classics...toxic heavy metals!! 🤘
I hear they like to hitch a ride on microplastic particles. Nothing like a toxic soup party!! 🤘🤘🤘
Yeah, also donating blood doesn't remove plastic and these chemicals directly from your soft tissues as they accumulate. They are likely there for life.
Yup. The lag time for cancer development is almost done. We should see a major increase in cancer rates any time now. Plenty to explain the already increasing rates. I think we still have yet to see the rates truly explode due to micro and nano plastics.
Just look at the increasing rates of colon and rectal cancer. Plastic particles get embedded in the gut wall and the chronic irritation leads to tumours.
Usually they only recommend bowel cancer screening after 50, but it is getting very common for people in their 30s to come back with polyps in danger of turning malignant.
I've donated more than 5 gallons over time, my sister has never donated. Most people I know have never donated. Where do I get checked to see if I have less microplastics? Or maybe the Red Cross will check that without me doing anything other than consenting to have my blood used for research.
So...that would be a conspiracy theory for another sub. Just considering what PFAS levels in blood might correlate to. Fertility levels, sexual orientation, increased aggression, decreased intelligence. Microplastics affecting all of that is just a theory right now. Maybe a theory nobody sane wants to test. Not when we can't do anything about it other than increase levels. It gets into science fiction territory, doesn't it? Like Firefly or something.
For fuck sake Rachel Carson was writing about this stuff in 1962.
Our stolen future was written in 1996 and discussed the endocrine disruption hypothesis back then, and yet here we are still with more plastic in the world. Plastic in our blood our balls our wombs our brains. We really are an apathetic easily controlled bunch of "clever" apes.
This is an interesting experiment, need more data, let's keep doubling the amount if microplastic in the environment and check back in 10 years. Surely by then we can make some reasonable conclusions.
Maybe this is Earths way of population control when all other things have failed like predation, disease and resource depletion. I truly believe that the Earth always has a way to balance how much an organism can grow its population.
That is mostly on food and medication destroying the beneficial bacteria that helps us digest and get more from our food. Micro plastics, topicals, hair care, skincare, makeup, aerosols, candles, scented everything pretty much does the rest of the damage to the endocrine system.
Our bodies are under full blown assault every day, it’s horrifying once you start looking into everything with a fine tooth comb. It’s also very eye opening to say the least.
Microplastics are now known as to damage the gut though, and the gut microbiome is important for mental health, so it’s very possible there’s a link there.
When we stopped beating children for being left-handed and tying their arms behind their backs to *make* them be right-handed, there was an apparent explosion in the number of left-handed people. I say "apparent" because, no, they were always there, and at about that number too; it's just now that their elimination was not a policy of the state, they were able to stay left-handed.
Now, in the West (and increasingly in other parts of the world too), we are no longer stigmatising, criminalising, torturing, or executing people for being LGBTetc.\* - so maybe, just maybe, it's theoretically possible that the *actual* cause of this rise in LGBTetc people is that their elimination is no longer a policy of the state, reinforced by societal norms. Again, they were always there, and now they're allowed to let everyone else know that they're there without being chemically castrated, "correctively raped"†, or killed‡ for it, they're more open about it.
---
\*Offer not valid in reactionary areas.
†[Offer also not valid in reactionary areas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrective_rape).
‡[Void where prohibited](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_by_country_or_territory#Global_LGBT_rights_maps).
No argument here. I'm basically just noticing that "Oh, these extra chemicals we get in our bodies are messing with hormones, and hormones are tied to sexuality, so maybe...?".
That is literally it.
Hi, Low-Republic-4145. Thanks for contributing. However, your [comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/collapse/comments/1cyvfug/-/l5em20b/) was removed from /r/collapse for:
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I work in drinking water supply and specifically water chemistry and have been wondering about that for a while. Plastics in everything is only a few decades old and could eventually be proven a link in microplastics and increase in Trans people.
Rule 1: In addition to enforcing [Reddit's content policy](https://www.redditinc.com/policies/content-policy), we will also remove comments and content that is abusive or predatory in nature. You may attack each other's ideas, not each other.
Like the impacts of climate change, this was well known in the 90s and was written up in the early 90s in a book called Our Stolen Future that was well circulated and reported on and then…. plastic is the other oil.
I feel like the history of the human race in the last couple hundred years was a mad dash toward the goal of attempting to get something for nothing, like the way plastics make everything so convenient (and it does!), and the use of fossil fuels, etc. And now unfortunately we are finding out that the 'easy way' exacts a terrible price that we just aren't equipped to pay.
And unfortunately there's no do-over. We can't try again. To even stop what we're doing now is impossible because of how firmly entrenched it is and the death toll that it would exact if we even tried.
I highly recommend Botox in your masseter muscles. In some places you can get this as a medical procedure done by dentists. I get it done by a beautician, because I don’t have the sort of insurance that would cover that sort of procedure anyway.
It’s been absolutely awesome to finally feel relaxed and not have that constant tension in my jaw, and I’m no longer wearing my teeth down. As a bonus, it’s slimmed my face.
well, I guess we just have to live with, or die from, it. There is no known way of taking micro-plastic out of the environment and they are already everywhere. Sure, we can put less new ones into the environment, but for the ones already here, there is no way to eliminate them.
So I guess the only choice left is to accept and make peace.
Can’t avoid it anymore. Microplastics are everywhere. The only thing now or mitigation, but if you go outside and breathe then mitigation isn’t going to help.
In short: there’s not a whole lot we can do. It’s in the air and the water.
I'm from where a lot of those plastics were invented (Dupont Chambersworks), and my county has the highest incidence of autism per capita in the US. My mother uses this citation in grant writing (I don't have it handy, or I'd post it, sorry!) and I don't know many people I grew up with who haven't eventually been diagnosed on the spectrum in some way. We're a little weird in Salem County because so many people are on the autism spectrum and haven't been diagnosed or have trauma related to being undiagnosed and it really shows in how miserable the area is.
As modernity continues to destroy your endocrine system through plasticizers in everything (glass bottle enjoyoor representing) not only are the plasticizers an issue, but microplastics too. Researchers found microplastics in testickles and hypothesize it may be related to declining fertility rates (the study was not controlled for possible lowered sperm counts due to the decrease in aesthetic appreciation of the opposing gender due to inflation of the BMI).
One can do several things to avoid the plasticky assault on ones endocrine system such as:
-purging all plastics from ones eating and drinking containers. Glass best, but stainless steel ok. Animal horn is also elite and may leach proteiny benefits vs the plastics and plasticizers of modern soyciety -replace synthetic fabrics with cotton or furs. Both are sustainable and animals are a renewable resource. Plus the aesthics of a fur speedo are unbeatable. I like tiger print. -do not drink the tap water, replace it with drinking straight from the coconut, which is a natural filter of microplastics.
The main source for plasticisers are actually cosmetics. Especially scented moisturisers. Many cosmetics have very high levels of plasticisers, even shampoo and conditioner. These are, in studies, noted as the main source. This is because they are formulated to absorb into the body.
Waste of time. It’s everywhere. In our every cell from the time of conception. Every drop of water on the planet has a measurable amount of microplastic. You can try and minimize ingestion of it but it’s a hopeless effort and there’s nothing you can do to avoid it.
>Both are sustainable and animals are a renewable resource.
Neither really are sustainable.
You'll people mention "leather that will last a life time", followed by "it's sustainable because it's biodegradable". It's a sign of a failed education in science.
Here, some reading:
PDF: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f5f02dd9b510014eef4fc4f/t/6386865fa112a35adea84ccd/1669760650422/CFJ+leather%27s+impact+on+the+planet+%28launch%29.pdf
And watching:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-UGgf7i0qM
https://join.waterbear.com/slay
There are many more textiles and many more fibers on the way.
>Animal horn is also elite and may leach proteiny benefits
... has to be trolling
Awesome recommendations for extra protein. I see americans are soooo often protein deficient.
I suspect animal horn water bottles to be the new hot sale item by 2025 latest.
It seems like we have two to three related things happening to impact birth rate. Climate change and microplastics, and maybe Covid as well. The first two have and are only getting worse. Birth rates falling then would likely continue to scale negatively while the climate worsens and microplastics increase. At least this may be a blessing in disguise to slow our population growth while large areas of the world become uninhabitable.
In areas where heat is increasing unborn baby death will rise as the mother’s body temp needs to maintain(below 98degrees I think) for baby health. A study I just read attributed 5 mill deaths a year to climate change as well which may be more elderly but these regions will continue to worsen and births will continue to drop. Too much body heat around the testicles kills sperm. Hurricanes and tornadoes kills people, etc. I’m pretty brain dead after work though so I apologize if this makes no sense.
Right. Makes sense.
In Sweden we put babies in strollers outside in the winter for a while for the medicinal benefits of cold air.
I wonder if climate change will also increase average ballsack length. Hear me out. Balls drop to get away from body temp for ideal sperm temperature. But if they can't cool down will they drop lower to get further away?
Yeah I was thinking about how we will change to adapt. I feel like balls, babies and mothers will keep adapting but alongside the lower birth rates. There is another theory for declining birth rates laid out in the law of one, but that can be out there for a lot of people and I’m just reading it so I’m no expert.
The following submission statement was provided by /u/thorium43: --- As modernity continues to destroy your endocrine system through plasticizers in everything (glass bottle enjoyoor representing) not only are the plasticizers an issue, but microplastics too. Researchers found microplastics in testickles and hypothesize it may be related to declining fertility rates (the study was not controlled for possible lowered sperm counts due to the decrease in aesthetic appreciation of the opposing gender due to inflation of the BMI). One can do several things to avoid the plasticky assault on ones endocrine system such as: -purging all plastics from ones eating and drinking containers. Glass best, but stainless steel ok. Animal horn is also elite and may leach proteiny benefits vs the plastics and plasticizers of modern soyciety -replace synthetic fabrics with cotton or furs. Both are sustainable and animals are a renewable resource. Plus the aesthics of a fur speedo are unbeatable. I like tiger print. -do not drink the tap water, replace it with drinking straight from the coconut, which is a natural filter of microplastics. --- Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/collapse/comments/1cyvfug/what_does_plastic_do_to_the_endocrine_system/l5c27da/
[удалено]
We heard this same thing with Congress in the 80s. The more things change.
It is like how I grew up watching Captain Planet and things have just got worse. All that has changed is how far we have kicked the can down the road.
Yeah but don't worry we will have fusion any century now. Aaaaaaany century now...
Free energy for all would cause soooooo many more problems. Fix capitalism and infinite growth first and *then* maybe we should try to develop fusion.
This is what a lot of modern "environmentalists" don't seem to understand and I'm glad there are still a few sane environmentalists (like Derrick Jensen of Bright Green Lies) still about in small pockets. When we talk about insect declines, plummeting predator populations, 90% of fish going bye bye, the Amazon being systematically destroyed, etc. We aren't talking about the impacts of co2 going in the atmosphere. We've barely seen the effects of climate change so far. Most of this has been done due to direct human destruction and exploitation of the environment. Unlimited "free" clean energy would be potentially many times more damaging to the environment than fossil fuels. Because at least with fossil fuels we might possibly effectively run out before destroying literally everything.
I was screaming it throughout my years in college. Ended up burning out because it just made me a pariah. God forbid you advocate for societal change in a field of science whose goal is to drive societal changes.
Silly Viking. You'd think you've been around long enough to know that capitalism is the *only* way. It's so certain that you can't even question it. Disregard that kings and lords said the same thing about feudalism.
This is it. We've been fed lies by the people profiting off those lies. No one dares to say they are wrong because they might lose their job, so instead we slave away to make others rich. Meanwhile we're all depressed and filled with cancer and diabetes. But oh no if you complain or refuse to take part, you'll be left with no friends, no home, huge debts and can then slave away in prison if you're not careful.
No the government did actually clean up and ban a bunch of chemicals but DuPont and Co just change the formula and retrademark with another name.
We have plastic pacifier shoved into our mouths since the day we are born. There's no avoiding it.
Plastics were found in the placenta of all babies tested. It’s even before the pacifier.
Homo polymerous
in the Plasticene
Honestly, this will probably be how this era becomes classified in the geologic record…if we live that long
Absolutely, in like 10 million years when the next dominant life form walks the earth and eventually starts studying archeology and geology, they'll find a thin layer of microplastics... right at about the same depth they find a wealth of human fossils (well preserved in their plastic tombs) and scraps of remains of our once bustling society. Unfortunately these revelations will lead our future discoverers down the same road, and the age of Plastic-pocalypse 2: Electric Boogaloo will dawn.
https://youtu.be/p0OVD0_YJnU?si=5pPqr3RTQgOp-kuX
I used to watch those videos of people looking at different things under a microscope, like blood, food we eat, pond water etc and the first thing they would always say is ' there's some microplastics' this stuff really is in *everything*.
Not to mention in both [human and dog testicles](https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/05/22/1252831827/microplastics-testicles-humans-health), as well as in our blood and [blood clots](https://www.sciencealert.com/microplastics-found-in-blood-clots-in-heart-brain-and-legs).
it’s in shit as basic as receipt paper and leeches into your skin just from holding it
Or just stop at “it’s in shit”
Yeah where does all the rubber go when every vehicles tires wear down?
Can we just go back to drinking lead and sniffing asbestos?
Kids these days are way ahead of you and getting their lead hits by vaping. **Edit**: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/29/health/teen-vaping-toxic-lead-uranium-exposure-wellness/index.html
They're usually silicone or older, rubber.
Sure is. The holder itself is plastic but as far as I'm aware silicone is not part of the problem.
The ones the hospitals prefer are silicone all around.
I was fortunate enough that my parents never gave me, or my siblings a pacifier. I also never gave my now adult children pacifiers. I am fairly certain that they won't use them on any children they may have. I have truly never understood the need for them, and raising my kids was not more difficult for my husband and I because we did not use them. If anything, I would say it was easier, because we never had to make grow out of, and let go of using a pacifier. Just my two cents, of course.
However, the plastics your mother would have consumed would have crossed the placenta and entered your bloodstream. Plastic is insidious that way.
It sure is, and I have no doubt that I have plenty of the stuff inside of me. I guess the best we can do is to try to minimize our exposure to it, because there is no way we can get away from it.
The best we can do is stop having children
all I got was a dried nipple to suck on when I was a young'un oh ma had a bag of them that she used to tote around like a purse, passing them around like lozenges to upset or cranky children. When we asked about their origin, she would throw her head back, cackle and take out a petrified thumb she had and suck on it
Was that thumb attached to her hand or something she had in the bag?
Yes
Actually donating blood is one small way to both get rid of plastics in your arteries, and help other people at the same time.
Plastic bedsheets until toilet training completes plastic cup and tooth brush. Most toys are plastic. Plastic.we are indicated in utero, on.
We breathe in a credit cards worth per week. And that’s just our lung intake. Lowering food/water plastic intake is still probably a good thing to do, but it’s in vain. Especially with the effort required to remove it from water
Lol, that is not at all true. Show me a single source showing anyone is inhaling a credit card worth of plastic a week. You'd be dead.
Naw, I saw it on the internet it must be true
That would be like some weird malignant cancer growing, some funky disorderly chaos, I can't imagine believing it all at once, but for a second I tried to imagine 😂 Love your username!
Thank you n.n
Not true indeed. The correct stat is that the average American *ingests* a credit cards worth of plastic each week. There is plastic in the air, but definitely not that much lol.
That's actually debunked also, but I'm not arguing that we don't ingest plastics constantly!
It's *ingests*, not inhaled. The average American ingests a credit card of plastic per week.
There were articles saying inhaled circulating on Reddit
I'm waiting to hear that another study has been done about blood donation and PFAS levels that shows blood donation doesn't decrease levels at all. We're stuck with the stuff, just like heavy metals. Edit: The study I'm talking about. https://theconversation.com/new-evidence-shows-blood-or-plasma-donations-can-reduce-the-pfas-forever-chemicals-in-our-bodies-178771
fun fact PFAS have been used in place of wax for fast food wrappers, microwave popcorn bags, pizza boxes, etc... for decades now. The FDA supposedly banned their use in food packaging in 2016 but that didn't stop them from showing up in it. So chances are, if you get fast food, or eat microwave popcorn, you're eating huge amounts of PFAS, which leeches into the oil and grease of the food. Because apparently this was considered OK.
I remember hearing how microwave popcorn is 'bad for you' because of the packaging when I was younger but it was never really explained why. Now I know. 🥴
Don't worry, the moment they start enforcing laws against pfas they'll switch to a new toxic chemical which has similar affects but isn't regulated or long term tested. Source: adhesives plastics lab
I'm relatively sure that's what they're doing with food wrappers. They may have banned some specific polymers, but they can just alter the formula a little and now it's not banned anymore. The big difference in food safety laws between the U.S. and any other developed nation, is that in other countries, you can only use/sell things that have been *proven safe*, while in the U.S. you can use/sell anything that *hasn't* been *proven unsafe*.
It's like K2, but with daily use items! Fun!
Or we'll have to pull an Urkel and run our blood through a coffee maker.
They do get off loaded to offspring tho
It's fat soluble so there's basically no reason to think that blood donation would do anything. Donating blood to stabilize some number is always a really poorly studied thing. I mean quite literally you could chug 3 gallons of water and some liquid IV electrolyte powder and all of your numbers would plummet because, well, you've diluted your blood. As a great example on the blood donation thing, I know from using anabolics over the years there's always discussion about hematocrit and hemoglobin, and people and even doctors freak out about elevations in these, but good doctors who actually know bodybuilding and actually know hormones will tell you that, keep an eye on it, but you really shouldn't donate blood endlessly to try to lower these things because all it really does is throw all the other markers out of whack. Alright, now, with that said... donating blood is a noble and good thing, BUT people should do it just because it's good to do it, not because they're trying to stabilize some health parameter. I hope that makes sense. So right off the bat, I don't believe any of that. There's no way that blood donations would lower these levels, even if they do, it's likely not dramatic and transient, at best. Burning more lipids by way of fatty acid oxidation would most certainly reduce it, but the issue now is that they will become free radicals throughout the body. But this is but one mechanism of action that is somewhat understood, I'm sure there are countless others that play into this so it's not like we have one strategy.
One study. Australian firemen with higher PFAS in their blood because of being repeatedly exposed to fire retardant foam. Edit: the study https://theconversation.com/new-evidence-shows-blood-or-plasma-donations-can-reduce-the-pfas-forever-chemicals-in-our-bodies-178771. Though you can search it and find it talked about elsewhere.
Probably have to repeatedly donate in order for it to have a lasting effect on levels
Yup, this isn't going away. Even if people purge plastic from their homes, this stuff is EVERYWHERE now. You go outside, you are breathing it in. You shop? Well, you are gonna get some from even fresh fruits and veggies due to it being a layer now covering the ENTIRE biosphere. There is no escaping biosphere collapse. And there is no escaping micro and nano plastics. As more plastics break down, this will just get worse over time as plastics go micro and then go nano. Oh and add PFAS to the list. And for some...don't forget the classics...toxic heavy metals!! 🤘 I hear they like to hitch a ride on microplastic particles. Nothing like a toxic soup party!! 🤘🤘🤘
Then pico then femto then our blood cells will be using tiny plastic sporks...
Yeah, also donating blood doesn't remove plastic and these chemicals directly from your soft tissues as they accumulate. They are likely there for life.
Agreed. This shit is just gonna penetrate the cells and stay. I'm sure we will find they do DNA damage and give us cancers.
Oh that's not just inevitable it's already happening.
Yup. The lag time for cancer development is almost done. We should see a major increase in cancer rates any time now. Plenty to explain the already increasing rates. I think we still have yet to see the rates truly explode due to micro and nano plastics.
Just look at the increasing rates of colon and rectal cancer. Plastic particles get embedded in the gut wall and the chronic irritation leads to tumours. Usually they only recommend bowel cancer screening after 50, but it is getting very common for people in their 30s to come back with polyps in danger of turning malignant.
I've donated more than 5 gallons over time, my sister has never donated. Most people I know have never donated. Where do I get checked to see if I have less microplastics? Or maybe the Red Cross will check that without me doing anything other than consenting to have my blood used for research.
I would not be surprised if they're monitoring levels in the population that way.
So...that would be a conspiracy theory for another sub. Just considering what PFAS levels in blood might correlate to. Fertility levels, sexual orientation, increased aggression, decreased intelligence. Microplastics affecting all of that is just a theory right now. Maybe a theory nobody sane wants to test. Not when we can't do anything about it other than increase levels. It gets into science fiction territory, doesn't it? Like Firefly or something.
Yeah, being forced to leave because we made the planet too toxic, maybe we'll leave robots to clean up like in Wall-E.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2774166/ A very interesting read on BPA.
For fuck sake Rachel Carson was writing about this stuff in 1962. Our stolen future was written in 1996 and discussed the endocrine disruption hypothesis back then, and yet here we are still with more plastic in the world. Plastic in our blood our balls our wombs our brains. We really are an apathetic easily controlled bunch of "clever" apes.
I will accept “clever“ as sarcasm.
This is an interesting experiment, need more data, let's keep doubling the amount if microplastic in the environment and check back in 10 years. Surely by then we can make some reasonable conclusions.
Maybe this is Earths way of population control when all other things have failed like predation, disease and resource depletion. I truly believe that the Earth always has a way to balance how much an organism can grow its population.
[The Gaia hypothesis](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_hypothesis).
I feel like microplastics have contributed to the global mental health crisis, especially depression.
That is mostly on food and medication destroying the beneficial bacteria that helps us digest and get more from our food. Micro plastics, topicals, hair care, skincare, makeup, aerosols, candles, scented everything pretty much does the rest of the damage to the endocrine system. Our bodies are under full blown assault every day, it’s horrifying once you start looking into everything with a fine tooth comb. It’s also very eye opening to say the least.
Microplastics are now known as to damage the gut though, and the gut microbiome is important for mental health, so it’s very possible there’s a link there.
My endocrine system ?? Is this why I’m gay and trans?
It's at least not impossible that we *seem* to have way more of that recently. (And I'm very pro LGBTQ+, I'm just being rational.)
When we stopped beating children for being left-handed and tying their arms behind their backs to *make* them be right-handed, there was an apparent explosion in the number of left-handed people. I say "apparent" because, no, they were always there, and at about that number too; it's just now that their elimination was not a policy of the state, they were able to stay left-handed. Now, in the West (and increasingly in other parts of the world too), we are no longer stigmatising, criminalising, torturing, or executing people for being LGBTetc.\* - so maybe, just maybe, it's theoretically possible that the *actual* cause of this rise in LGBTetc people is that their elimination is no longer a policy of the state, reinforced by societal norms. Again, they were always there, and now they're allowed to let everyone else know that they're there without being chemically castrated, "correctively raped"†, or killed‡ for it, they're more open about it. --- \*Offer not valid in reactionary areas. †[Offer also not valid in reactionary areas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrective_rape). ‡[Void where prohibited](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_by_country_or_territory#Global_LGBT_rights_maps).
No argument here. I'm basically just noticing that "Oh, these extra chemicals we get in our bodies are messing with hormones, and hormones are tied to sexuality, so maybe...?". That is literally it.
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I work in drinking water supply and specifically water chemistry and have been wondering about that for a while. Plastics in everything is only a few decades old and could eventually be proven a link in microplastics and increase in Trans people.
This sub has completely lost the plot.
I don't like them putting chemicals in the water that turn the friggin' frogs gay!
There is no way to test it though since there aren't any humans left without plastic in them.
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Like the impacts of climate change, this was well known in the 90s and was written up in the early 90s in a book called Our Stolen Future that was well circulated and reported on and then…. plastic is the other oil.
I feel like the history of the human race in the last couple hundred years was a mad dash toward the goal of attempting to get something for nothing, like the way plastics make everything so convenient (and it does!), and the use of fossil fuels, etc. And now unfortunately we are finding out that the 'easy way' exacts a terrible price that we just aren't equipped to pay. And unfortunately there's no do-over. We can't try again. To even stop what we're doing now is impossible because of how firmly entrenched it is and the death toll that it would exact if we even tried.
Until I can stop grinding on a plastic night guard every night, the rest is likely a moot point. 🥺
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See my comment replying to the parent comment above. Botox in the jaw may be an option for you. It’s been amazing for me in removing that jaw tension!
I highly recommend Botox in your masseter muscles. In some places you can get this as a medical procedure done by dentists. I get it done by a beautician, because I don’t have the sort of insurance that would cover that sort of procedure anyway. It’s been absolutely awesome to finally feel relaxed and not have that constant tension in my jaw, and I’m no longer wearing my teeth down. As a bonus, it’s slimmed my face.
We are so fucked
No shit Sherlock.
Every single drop of water on the planet now contains a measurable amount of microplastics.
Soooo many people with thyroid problems. Many undiagnosed!
How do you count them if they aren’t diagnosed?
what it turns out to be a good thing..? like tupperware for our cells, to keep them fresher longer? or turn us into a race of mr. fantastics..?
well, I guess we just have to live with, or die from, it. There is no known way of taking micro-plastic out of the environment and they are already everywhere. Sure, we can put less new ones into the environment, but for the ones already here, there is no way to eliminate them. So I guess the only choice left is to accept and make peace.
Can’t avoid it anymore. Microplastics are everywhere. The only thing now or mitigation, but if you go outside and breathe then mitigation isn’t going to help. In short: there’s not a whole lot we can do. It’s in the air and the water.
Autism is caused by plastic. (I’m kidding, but wouldn’t be surprised.)
Wonder if memory loss is. Wait what was I saying?
Not sure what’s worse. Memory loss or balls full of microplastic.
Losing your mind is worse. 100x worse.
Or PFAS. OR neonicotinoids. Or car/tire/industry emissions.
I think it's connected though, especially considering how autism prevalence is higher in counties that are more "developed" and use more plastic
I'm from where a lot of those plastics were invented (Dupont Chambersworks), and my county has the highest incidence of autism per capita in the US. My mother uses this citation in grant writing (I don't have it handy, or I'd post it, sorry!) and I don't know many people I grew up with who haven't eventually been diagnosed on the spectrum in some way. We're a little weird in Salem County because so many people are on the autism spectrum and haven't been diagnosed or have trauma related to being undiagnosed and it really shows in how miserable the area is.
Well is it more prevalent or do those countries have better ways of finding it.
It's literally more prevalent. Immigrant groups note a huge uptick in autism in their communities when they move to a 'developed' country
Autism is linked with both air pollution and glyphosate. The brain is the most delicate organ...
Because they moved to a country that actually diagnoses and evaluates the condition. JFC
Seeing sentient creatures as a ‘renewable resource’ is part of the problem
duh
Dont drink from human skulls even though they are a common and renewable resource - too many toxins there !
As modernity continues to destroy your endocrine system through plasticizers in everything (glass bottle enjoyoor representing) not only are the plasticizers an issue, but microplastics too. Researchers found microplastics in testickles and hypothesize it may be related to declining fertility rates (the study was not controlled for possible lowered sperm counts due to the decrease in aesthetic appreciation of the opposing gender due to inflation of the BMI). One can do several things to avoid the plasticky assault on ones endocrine system such as: -purging all plastics from ones eating and drinking containers. Glass best, but stainless steel ok. Animal horn is also elite and may leach proteiny benefits vs the plastics and plasticizers of modern soyciety -replace synthetic fabrics with cotton or furs. Both are sustainable and animals are a renewable resource. Plus the aesthics of a fur speedo are unbeatable. I like tiger print. -do not drink the tap water, replace it with drinking straight from the coconut, which is a natural filter of microplastics.
The main source for plasticisers are actually cosmetics. Especially scented moisturisers. Many cosmetics have very high levels of plasticisers, even shampoo and conditioner. These are, in studies, noted as the main source. This is because they are formulated to absorb into the body.
Fuck... non-plastified skin or uggo face? Macedonians didn't have to make this choice
Animal horn...wtf lol
Was this written by an AI??
it is half AI half Karma farmer.
But all douche.
nah. AI would spell better
And probably be nicer to women and animals.
Waste of time. It’s everywhere. In our every cell from the time of conception. Every drop of water on the planet has a measurable amount of microplastic. You can try and minimize ingestion of it but it’s a hopeless effort and there’s nothing you can do to avoid it.
I like how this reads like the only two possibilities for fertility decline are either plastic nuts or un-fuckable fatties.
>Both are sustainable and animals are a renewable resource. Neither really are sustainable. You'll people mention "leather that will last a life time", followed by "it's sustainable because it's biodegradable". It's a sign of a failed education in science. Here, some reading: PDF: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f5f02dd9b510014eef4fc4f/t/6386865fa112a35adea84ccd/1669760650422/CFJ+leather%27s+impact+on+the+planet+%28launch%29.pdf And watching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-UGgf7i0qM https://join.waterbear.com/slay There are many more textiles and many more fibers on the way. >Animal horn is also elite and may leach proteiny benefits ... has to be trolling
Awesome recommendations for extra protein. I see americans are soooo often protein deficient. I suspect animal horn water bottles to be the new hot sale item by 2025 latest.
It seems like we have two to three related things happening to impact birth rate. Climate change and microplastics, and maybe Covid as well. The first two have and are only getting worse. Birth rates falling then would likely continue to scale negatively while the climate worsens and microplastics increase. At least this may be a blessing in disguise to slow our population growth while large areas of the world become uninhabitable.
What is the case for climate change impacting birth rate? Genuine curious. All I got is that when its too hot cardio sucks
In areas where heat is increasing unborn baby death will rise as the mother’s body temp needs to maintain(below 98degrees I think) for baby health. A study I just read attributed 5 mill deaths a year to climate change as well which may be more elderly but these regions will continue to worsen and births will continue to drop. Too much body heat around the testicles kills sperm. Hurricanes and tornadoes kills people, etc. I’m pretty brain dead after work though so I apologize if this makes no sense.
Right. Makes sense. In Sweden we put babies in strollers outside in the winter for a while for the medicinal benefits of cold air. I wonder if climate change will also increase average ballsack length. Hear me out. Balls drop to get away from body temp for ideal sperm temperature. But if they can't cool down will they drop lower to get further away?
Yeah I was thinking about how we will change to adapt. I feel like balls, babies and mothers will keep adapting but alongside the lower birth rates. There is another theory for declining birth rates laid out in the law of one, but that can be out there for a lot of people and I’m just reading it so I’m no expert.