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For many, wearing deodorant is part of every day life. It helps to stop body odour and can leave you smelling fresh – but it could also be affecting your sperm.
A new study has suggested that the chemicals from many personal grooming products could actually be lowering the quality of a man’s sperm. The Polish study looked at 315 men and found that deodorant among other unlisted hygiene products could cause sperm to be shaped abnormally and move slower – resulting in fertility issues.
To determine this, the researchers took urine, semen and blood samples from each of the men to determine sperm count and quality as well as the amount of chemicals found in their bodies. Data showed the men who had a larger quantity of parabens in their urine had slower and abnormally sized sperm. These sperm were slow which means they would have trouble reaching a woman’s egg to fertilise it.
While abnormally shaped sperm is actually quite common, they can also make it harder to fertilise a woman’s egg when trying to get pregnant.
So what can you do to keep up the quality of your sperm? Avoid parabens where possible. Lead study author Joanna Jurewicz of the Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine in Lodz said: “To avoid parabens is very difficult because they are widespread, but we can try to minimise the exposure by only using personal care products with label information saying that there are no parabens in the particular product.”
Source: dailystar
