35: Fertility & Hormone Disruptors

The Missing Pillar of Health Podcast

If a baby is in your future, this is an episode you cannot miss. Especially if you need help convincing your partner that he needs to step up his game when it comes to reproductive health. Because for far too long, reproductive health conversations have been focused on women. All the advice, pressure, and responsibility has been given to us. But as the saying goes, it takes two to tango.
For today’s episode, I’m speaking with Dr. Shanna Swan and Stacey Colino, the authors of the new book, Count Down.
Shanna is one of the world’s leading environmental and reproductive epidemiologists. She is Professor of Environmental Medicine and Public Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City where she is also a member of the Transdisciplinary Center on Early Environmental Exposures and the Mindich Child Health and Development Institute.
Dr. Swan has published more than 200 scientific papers and myriad book chapters and has been featured in extensive media coverage around the world. Her appearances include ABC News, NBC Nightly News, 60 Minutes, CBS News, PBS, the BBC, PRI Radio, and NPR, as well as in leading magazines and newspapers, ranging from The Washington Post to Bloomberg News to New Scientist.
Stacey is an award-winning writer, specializing in science, health, and psychological issues, and a certified health coach. Her work has appeared in publications such as The Washington Post, Newsweek, Parade, Woman’s Day, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, Shape, Parenting, Men’s Journal, Sports Illustrated, and Good Housekeeping. She has co-authored two additional books on health.
The book Count Down takes a look at the dramatic decline in sperm count around the world and the impact of environmental chemicals and pharmaceuticals on reproductive health.
And importantly, it brings the issue of male fertility into the spotlight it deserves. After we finished recording, Stacey brought up the important statistics that reproductive issues are ⅓ women’s health, ⅓ men’s, and the rest is a combination of the two. We can no longer ignore half of this equation, which is why this conversation is so important.
This is a longer episode than usual, but it is well-worth it. We cover a lot of ground:
- Shanna’s initial skepticism about earlier studies suggesting sperm rate decline
- What her research found about sperm count
- Why the decline is significant and should be taken very seriously
- The chemicals contributing to poor sperm health
- Things you can do to mitigate exposures for you and your future baby
- And so much more.
You can buy Count Down here.
For a step-by-step plan to reduce your exposure to the key toxins explored in the book, check out my 6-week course, Prepping for Pregnancy: https://greenathome.ca/preppingforpregnancy
35 | Fertility & Hormone Disruptors
Where to Find More from Dr. Shanna Swan:
Website: www.shannaswan.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanna-swan-phd-339a4258/
Twitter: @DrShannaSwan
Instagram: @DrShannaSwan
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Website: https://greenathome.ca

Green at Home is no longer an operating business, as its founder, Emma Rohmann, has gone back to her engineering roots in large-scale green building consulting. She is keeping her free resources, including the podcast and blog, live but you will find other links to resources are likely broken in these show notes.
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