In addition, the analysis appears to deal with the mid 1970s onward, whereas Bisphenol A has been used commercially to cure resins and plastics since 1957, with a quick uptake in usage. We would have to look at the trend further back to have a lede on that, because the recent clinical data are not sufficient to support the claim that normal Bisphenol A exposure (and this is assuming it increased dramatically over this period) can be linked directly with a fifty to sixty per cent reduction in sperm count and/or quality.
There are studies linking overweight and obesity to reduced sperm count, and overweight/obesity rates have increased dramatically and steadily over the measured period of time. Unfortunately, this meta analysis did not appear to address these factors.
All of that said, Bisphenol A is very risky stuff, we should be very careful with the amount of it in the environment and our bodies.
There is a large difference between merely touching a product that has BPA in it and consuming BPA. Plasticizers in general are fat soluble and dissolve from a container into food quickly when heated. Which is why you shouldn't reheat anything, especially fatty foods, in plastic containers.
In the West we re-heat everything in plastic containers. I didn't think this was as big of a thing in non-western countries.
I live in the West and I do not have a recent memory of anyone reheating anything in a plastic container or treated can. I think I saw somebody heat up one of those Kraft Dinner individual portion cups once. How many plastic containers are even considered microwave safe?. I know there are things like TV dinners.
I would think the more likely vector would be drink cans, and maybe laminated food cans after that. I see receipt paper mentioned a lot, but it's hard to tell if they mention that just for show, or because it's actually an important form of exposure. And as you mentioned, plasticizers are fat soluble; most canned beverages (aside coconut water) are not fatty, and most canned food isn't fatty either (because they don't want the fats to go rancid from the oxygen in the headspace), so I'm not sure how much leeching actually goes on with those vectors.
Also: many people use "microwaveable" plastic containers/Tupperware in lieu of ceramic or glass, as it's cheaper and easier to store.
That sounds a but vague. Can you please post some links where I can read about this?
I wouldn't put too much importance on the synthetic / natural distinction.
Lead, tobacco, and various radioactive elements (uranium, radium, thorium, and radon) are all perfectly natural. If you were harmed by chemicals in the last century, it was probably one of them.
There are also thousands of lab-made chemicals that never make the news because they're just not harmful.
The UK-based non-profit Sense About Science has produced some literature trying to combat what they call "chemophobia," the fear of man-made chemicals:
http://www.compoundchem.com/2014/05/19/natural-vs-man-made-c...
Scientific American has tried to debunk myths about synthetic chemicals as well:
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/natural-vs-s...
I mean, yeah, don't drink DDT. But don't try to make your drinking water "more natural" either, thank your city for treating it with a little bit of synthetic (and toxic in large doses) chlorine, and enjoy a day free of all-natural additives like cholera.
I try to read food labels, and it's exhausting trying to keep up with all the new chemicals they put in food (or in furniture, or plastics, or whatever) so rough heuristics become useful and help avoid spending six hours at the grocery store.
A better heuristic might be:
Humans worry too much.
Or:
Don't invent heuristics that scientists working in the relevant field think are unnecessary.
Toxicology is full of smart people learning things on our behalf. They have models and simulations and labs to scrutinize new chemicals for us, or even just to avoid massive class action lawsuits.
Among their findings is the fact that we can't seem to make anything nearly as toxic as nature can. Even when we try we come up short by a factor of like a freaking million:
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/natural-vs-s...
If you want simple guidelines to save time with groceries: avoid lunchmeats to reduce your risk of (natural) listeria, cook your chicken to avoid (natural) salmonella, don't can your own food to avoid (natural) botulism, and call it a day.
Or maybe don't worry about toxins at all, because they kill statistically almost no one, and instead: work out, eat some leafy greens, avoid obesity, smoking, drinking, guns, and unnecessary car trips.
At that point you're so far in the lead that if you die from a random chemical, just shake your fist at the gods and die knowing you did far more than most people. If you do die from a chemical, you didn't die from not being smart, you died from not being lucky, and could have easily been crushed by a meteor.
Sadly, the BPA levels in her blood did not drop significantly. It seems that even if YOU don't come into contact with these chemicals, chances are your food already has.
It informed me that if I really wanted to avoid plasticizers, I could never eat out, and would likely need to purchase my food from organic farmer's markets. A tough bill to swallow.
You have no idea what kind of harm this could do, BPA being the least of the worries in that case.