Watch out out cell phone owners! Be careful where you place your phones as they may hurt you where it hurts most...
BREAKING: Cell Phones Could Hurt Your Sperm
from Men's Health
Trouble may be lurking south of the border.
That ringing in your pocket might turn out to be a death knell for your sperm, says a review published online in the Journal of Andrology that examined the links between cell phone radiation and your swimmers.
Researchers throughout the U.S. and the world have looked at the
impact of your mobile phone’s electromagnetic frequency (EMF) radiation
on sperm, and the results—though not yet conclusive—present a compelling
case that cell phones damage sperm quality, says the Italian review.
Several studies have shown men who use cell phones have decreased
sperm concentration, slower sperm, and damaged sperm, compared to guys
who don’t use cell phones. In general, men who use cell phones the most
are at the greatest risk.
It’s where you carry your phone that matters, research shows. Just 2
months ago, South African researchers published a study that found men
who carried mobile phones on their hip or in their front pants pocket
had slower-swimming sperm, and less-concentrated sperm—both of which
could cause fertility issues. The amount of sperm abnormalities
increased among guys who spent more time tied to their phones.
More from MensHealth.com: Cell Phone Risks: Is Your Life on the Line?
In another recent study, Turkish researchers subjected human sperm in
lab dishes to one hour of cell phone EMF radiation. The exposure caused
sperm abnormalities, including sperm that had problems attaching to
eggs.
“This should serve as a wake-up call to those men in their
reproductive years who keep their cell phones in their pants pockets,”
said Joel Moskowitz, Ph.D., director of the University of California,
Berkeley’s Center for Family and Community Health.
The results of animal-based experiments are just as worrisome.
One research team placed rats in specially designed Plexiglas cages
with a cell phone positioned .2 inches below the bottom of the cage (and
the rats’ cojones). After exposing the rats to the cell phones 6 hours a
day for 18 weeks, the researchers observed a 25 percent drop in the
rats’ percentage of live sperm—from 70 percent to under 45 percent. They
also saw sperm “clumping,” a condition where sperm stick together, and
so aren’t as likely to fertilize an egg. However, in a 2010 study where
rats were exposed to radiation for only 90 minutes a day for 12 weeks,
researchers didn’t detect any adverse effects on sperm development.
Despite the bulk of evidence indicating your cell phone may be a
pocket rocket pointed squarely at your baby makers, Moskowitz said
studies are still deemed “inconclusive” because researchers aren’t yet
sure why mobile phones impact sperm.
One
theory is that cell phones warm up when in use, and so may increase the
temperature in the area around your crotch when stored in your pants
pocket, the Italian study says. And your boys don’t respond well to
heat: Your testicles hang outside of your body because your sperm needs
to stay about 4 degrees cooler in order to survive.
Another hypothesis has to do with the electromagnetic frequency (EMF)
emitted by your cell phone. Both cell phones and the cells in your body
generate EMFs. Your phone’s high-frequency EMF radiation penetrates
deep into your tissue, increasing the random molecular motion inside
your body’s cells, studies say. And screwing up your body’s
electromagnetic frequency at a cellular level could explain the abnormal
sperm, experts posit.
So, what should you do? Take steps to protect yourself
and your future selves by never carrying your phone in your pants
pocket. For every millimeter you put between yourself and your phone,
studies have found you decrease your body’s cell phone radiation
absorption by 15 percent. And be aware that smartphones like
Blackberries and iPhones may emit more radiation than simpler devices,
according to recent research. Check this list to see if your phone is one of the 20 highest-radiation cell phones on the market.
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