How Bisphenol A (BPA) Impacts Fertility

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical compound used primarily in the production of polycarbonate (clear hard plastics) and epoxy resins. It has been used since the 1950s, in food packaging, industrial materials, dental sealants, personal hygiene products and thermal paper receipts.

 Everyone is exposed to BPA through the skin, inhalation, and the digestive system. BPA disrupts endocrine pathways, because it has weak estrogenic, antiandrogenic, and antithyroid activities. Despite the rapid metabolism, BPA can accumulate in different tissues.

 Many researchers have proven the impact of BPA on human development, metabolism, and the reproductive system. There is increasing evidence that BPA has an impact on human fertility and is responsible for the reproductive pathologies, e.g., testicular dysgenesis syndrome, cryptorchidism, cancers, and decreased fertility in males and follicle loss in females.

 Studies have investigated how BPA affects the reproductive system. A 2020 review in Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology summarizes the impact on fertility well. Here are some ways BPA disrupts with reproductive processes:

 

·       BPA interferes with meiosis, the process of cell division where cells containing two sets of chromosomes divide into two egg cells with one complete set of chromosomes each. When meiosis doesn’t function properly, resulting eggs end up with chromosomal abnormalities and has a lower potential for fertilization, with implications on the developmental potential of the resulting embryos.

·       BPA is an endocrine disruptor that mimics estrogen. BPA binds to the estrogen receptors on the cells, which disrupts the fine balance and feedback loop of reproductive hormones.

·       BPA also binds to androgen receptors. This may be partially why it’s been found to affect ovarian function, especially steroidogenesis and folliculogenesis (egg development), which depends on androgens.

·       BPA impedes embryo implantation by lowering uterine receptivity toward embryos.

·        BPA has been implicated in the decline of male fertility, linking higher levels of BPA in the urine or blood to worse findings in sperm analysis, such as sperm count, morphology and motility.

·       Impact on Assisted Reproduction: BPA exposure may also affect the success rates of assisted reproductive technologies (ART), such as in vitro fertilization (IVF). Some studies have suggested that higher levels of BPA in follicular fluid or blood serum may be associated with decreased IVF success rates and lower embryo quality.

Do not despair, you can reverse the accumulation of BPA in your body.

BPA is quite common, although BPA-free products have become much more easily available since the discovery of BPA’s harmful effects.

In 2011, scientists measured the levels of BPA in people’s bodies after just 3 days of eating a fresh food diet, with no products taken from a can or plastic packaging. They found that levels of BPA fell significantly during this time.

Many people worry about BPA exposure.

One of the main reasons for this concern is that BPA can leach out of food or drink containers and into the food or beverages you consume.

That’s particularly true of foods or beverages stored for long periods in containers with BPA, like canned tomatoes or bottled water. That includes plastic that may be heated, as heat can cause additional BPA to leach out — for example, foods meant to be microwaved in plastic bowls or beverages microwaved in plastic cups.

Rebecca Fett, in her book, It Starts With The Egg, makes the following points –

·       The payoff for avoiding BPA does not end when you become pregnant, it is beneficial for the health of your baby. BPA crosses the placenta from the mother’s bloodstream into the baby.

·       A large number of studies have suggested a link between exposure to BPA during pregnancy and a variety of long-term health consequences, particularly for brain health and fertility.

·       Now is always the right time to start reducing your exposure to BPA.

·       Start by replacing any plastic kitchenware that comes into contact with hot foods and drinks, use a stainless steel water bottle, minimise canned and highly processed foods, prepare more meals at home and have control over the quality of ingredients, take care when using plastic by using polypropylene or HDPE plastic and wash by hand, wash hands after handling paper receipts.

·       Start by replacing the following kitchen items – plastic food storage containers, microwave-safe bowls, reusable water bottles and cups, plastic kettles and colanders. Glass and stainless steel are the best replacements.

Fett stresses that our goal is now to reduce exposure, not to avoid BPA completely and that the real concern is when BPA rises above average levels.

* Bisphenol A: an emerging threat to female fertility

Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology volume 18, Article number: 22 (2020)

 *Fett, R., 2019,  It Starts With The Egg, Franklin Fox Publishing