The Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) recently aired an incredibly powerful program called The Disappearing Male that you can now watch on the web. And I’ll tell you, it’s an amazing, informative and startling video. I can’t recommend it enough. If you have been skeptical about the impact that some chemicals like phthalates and bisphenol A can have on our health and our bodies, this will open your eyes. Wide. And if you are already a “believer” – this will just solidify your beliefs.

The CBC promoted the program this way:

“The Disappearing Male is about one of the most important, and least publicized, issues facing the human species: the toxic threat to the male reproductive system.

The last few decades have seen steady and dramatic increases in the incidence of boys and young men suffering from genital deformities, low sperm count, sperm abnormalities and testicular cancer.

Some researchers say that declining male fertility rates could be the first sign of extinction.

At the same time, boys are now far more at risk of suffering from ADHD, autism, Tourette’s syndrome, cerebral palsy, and dyslexia.

The Disappearing Male takes a close and disturbing look at what many doctors and researchers now suspect are responsible for many of these problems: a class of common chemicals that are ubiquitous in our world.”

Here are some of the startling facts they explore -

• There are more than 20 heavily industrialized nations where the birth of baby boys has declined every year for the past 30 years – amounting to 3 million fewer baby boys.
• The number of boys born with penis abnormalities and genital defects has increased by 200% in the past two decades.
• Boys have a higher incidence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, learning disabilities, Tourett’s syndrome, cerebral palsy and dyslexia.
• Boys are four times as likely to be autistic.
• The average sperm count of a North American college student today is less than half of what it was 50 years ago.
• The quality of sperm is declining. Eighty-five per cent of the sperm produced by a healthy male is DNA-damaged.
• Damaged sperm have been linked to a 300% increase in testicular cancer – a form of cancer that affects young men in their 20s and 30s.
• The chemical industry has developed more than 90,000 man-made chemicals in the last sixty years. Eighty-five percent of them have never undergone testing for their impact on the human body.

As someone who tries to stay on top of the toxin research and news, I found this to be very powerful and informative. (BTW – I listened to it while I did work on my computer and would periodically watch bits of it. The voice-over is really all you need!). Check it out, and please let me know what you think.