antibacterial soaps, toothpastes and mouthwashes contain endocrine disruptor

from the la times:

The Food and Drug Administration announced April 8 that it will be taking a look at the safety of a widely used antibacterial chemical, triclosan.

Triclosan — as well as its cousin triclocarban — is found in liquid hand soaps, deodorant bar soaps, face washes, deodorants, toothpastes and mouthwashes, and as well as in germ-fighting cutting boards and socks.

A national health survey found triclosan in the urine of 75% of the 2,517 people who gave samples. The chemical can enter the body via absorption through the skin or the lining of the mouth.

What triclosan does once it enters the body is not clear. Research in animals has found hormonal effects of triclosan, including upsetting the normal balance of thyroid hormones, thereby impairing growth and brain development, and of the reproductive hormones estrogen and testosterone, leading to infertility. These effects are similar to other so-called endocrine disruptors, such as bisphenol A, dioxins and pesticides such as DDT. The FDA says it intends to evaluate this new research

Stacey's comment:

Even though the link to issues with fertility have not been established in humans yet, since you are trying to become pregnant, to play it safe, I would strongly recommend staying away from products like mouthwashes (if you have bad breath there are better ways to deal with this, try apple cider vinegar in water if no history of ulcers, stop coffee, and eliminate added sugar in your diet) , Colgate total Advanced Clean toothpaste (seems to be the only toothpaste that contains this chemical), antibacterials soaps (in the majority of studies antibacterial soaps haven't been shown to work any better than regular soap to addressing bacteria), and germ killing cutting boards.

This is one case that even if we don't know the exact effects on humans, we know this chemical effects thyroid hormone in animals and therefore their fertility, there is a chance that it could impact your fertility.

Essential fatty acids and Male fertility

URBANA, Ill.—A new study from the University of Illinois suggests a link between low levels of the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and male infertility.
“In our experiment, we used ‘knockout’ mice that lacked the gene responsible for an enzyme important in making docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). In the absence of DHA, male mice are basically infertile, producing few if any misshaped sperm that can’t get where they need to go,” said Manabu Nakamura, a U of I associate professor of food science and human nutrition.
According to the findings published in the February issue of the Journal of Lipid Research, in the DHA-deficient knockout mice, sperm counts were extremely low. The sperm that were produced were round instead of elongated and unable to move well. When DHA was introduced into the diet, fertility was completely restored.

Stacey's Comment
this is important research which again supports a good healthy diet rich in good fats, not trans fats can help with fertility.
Remember eating lots of fish unfortunately can expose you to too much mercury so keeping the fish to small fish like whiting, once a week is a good idea. Unfortunately tuna and most farmed salmon will have elevated levels of mercury and should be eaten only once a week or once every two weeks.
Other ways to get the DHA is thru eating nuts, seeds, and avocado. If you can eat organic to minimise your risk to pesticides and other chemicals. And take a purified fish oil supplement. If the bottle says mercury tested, it doesn't necessarily mean they have removed as much mercury as possible. Contact us for a list of fish oils whose company has bothered to go thru the purification process. Info@naturalfertility.com And chances are if this is good for male fertility, the same would hold true for female fertility as well.