Are Plastic Products Really Things That Lower Testosterone?
Sadly yes they are, this is due to containing toxic chemicals such as BPA, BPS and phthalates. These are chemicals that mimic estrogen & disrupt hormone balance and production, this includes lowering testosterone production.
As a part of this series, we have looked at other products and things that lower testosterone & safer alternatives. You can check out the first article reviewing this below.
Things That Lower Testosterone & Alternatives That Won’t
The Problem With Plastics
As covered at the beginning of this article, the problem with plastics are they contain toxic chemicals that are endocrine disruptors. These chemicals lower & ruin hormone production including lowering testosterone.
One of the main culprits is a chemical you may have heard of called BPA (Bisphenol A). This is shown to lower T but is also linked to a number of other nasty illnesses.
There are however other chemicals like BPS & phthalates found in plastics that have similar & the same effects. So if something is marketed as BPA free, you still need to be wary and you’re best off avoiding plastics altogether.
Something to stress even further is if plastic is being put in your mouth or touching things that are put in your mouth the negative effect is increased! Something else to note is plastic items that being heated leads to even more chemicals being leached.
Needless to say, this is even worse if they are being leached in to your food/ drinks and ultimately your body.
What Are the Most Commonly Used & “Dangerous” Plastic Items
So the following products should definitely be avoided as there are non plastic alternatives!
- Plastic Tupperware & Food containers
- Plastic Toothbrushes
- Plastic Razors
- Plastic Cups
- Plastic Cutlery
- Plastic Drinking Bottles
- Plastic Cooking Utensils
- Clingfilm/ Cellophane
The Alternatives
Plastic Tupperware & Food containers
As we’ve discussed plastic being exposed to food is a big no, no for testosterone production. It’s even worse it you are heating up that plastic with food in, there are obviously many alternatives you can look at such as follows:
Metal Tupperware & Lunchboxes
Ceramic Bowls
Glass Tupperware
Plastic Toothbrushes
As I’m sure you are aware your average toothbrush is made from plastics, this is a bigger issue as your toothbrush is going in to your mouth. So the toxic chemicals that lower testosterone work their way in to your digestive system.
You can in fact get bamboo toothbrushes, they are environmentally friendly, completely plastic free, bio degradable and don’t lower testosterone.
They are reasonably priced and easy to get hold of on Amazon.
Bamboo Toothbrushes
Plastic Razors
As we know your skin is very absorbent so rubbing plastic all over your face is just another way (the lubricating strip in particular) you can be exposed to toxic chemicals that lower testosterone.
Plastic razors are also disposable so there is an environmental angle as well. So you as an alternative you can get safety razors which are metal and last for life or you can get bamboo razors which biodegradable. You can check both out in a bit more detail and buy them on Amazon
Safety Razors
Bamboo Razors
Plastic Cups
Drinking from a plastic cup is another way testosterone lowering chemicals make their way in to your body. The obvious alternatives are glass & ceramic cups/ mugs.
Plastic Cutlery
These are often handed out when you buy lunch at a supermarket or from some form of catering company. Obviously these are hard to avoid but if you work in an office that has metal cutlery I’d advise to use that.
If you’re hosting a party amazon do edible chopsticks which can be a bit of fun. Plus you don’t have to worry about carrying them around with you after use!
Plastic Drinking Bottles
“Do plastic water bottles lower testosterone” is a question I’m frequently asked, the answer is yes. Plastic water bottles present the same problem as plastic cups.
If you like to drink bottled water what I advise is investing in a glass or metal drinking bottle, you can even get glass bottle with a filter on. This is the ideal scenario if you are filling up from a normal tap, as tap water also contains chemicals that lower testosterone. There a number of options available for each, so check them out:
Glass Bottles
Metal Bottles
Glass Filter Bottles
Plastic Cooking Products
Plastic is also used for all manner of cooking utensils, from baking appliances through to things like mixing spoons & spatulas. Again you are exposing your food to plastic but in many scenarios the plastics are being heated which means even more toxic chemicals.
These are making their way in to your food and body, this ultimately leads to a greater negative impact on testosterone production. There are plenty of ceramic, wooden & metal alternatives which you can check out below:
Metal Baking Trays
Glass Ovenware
Wooden Cooking Utensils
Metal Cooking Utensils
Ceramic Ovenware
Metal Ovenware
Clingfilm/ Cellophane
Again used worldwide & particularly in the west to wrap foods; and even more dangerously lots of people heat food while it”s wrapped in it.
While there is no real alternative in terms of being able to heat food, if you clearly want it wrapped to keep food fresh. I recommend swapping it out for tin foil which again won’t lower testosterone.
Final Thoughts & Future Articles
I hope you have found this latest article in this series of things that lower testosterone and alternatives useful. Hopefully it’s become quite clear just how many plastic products we’re exposed to.
On the plus side, you can see that there are alternatives that can be used which won’t actually lower testosterone or negatively impact health. I’m going to be covering the remaining things that lower testosterone and alternatives in the next couple of articles so keep an eye out for them.
Any questions in regards to this article, just drop me a question in the comments and I’ll get back to you. Please share this article with anyone you think may find this interesting. You can also follow me on my social media.
I cover plenty of things that lower testosterone & ways to naturally optimize your testosterone production.