We are often asked this question in light of our work to educate people on the impact of environmental toxins on reproductive health. Are we part of the problem?

Pharmaceuticals enter our water through our urine.  You eat a pill.  You pee.  It ends up in the water.

There are countless drugs people consume regularly:  anti-depressants, pain killers, blood pressure meds, chemotherapy, etc.  Additionally, we feed our livestock anti-biotics and hormones regularly. All of these enter our environment eventually.  Birth control is just one of many drugs in our water.

Now there is a conclusive study on just how much estrogen in drinking water can be blamed on birth control.  Unsurprisingly, the small amounts actually coming from birth control, coupled with advances in drug delivery systems point at only 1% of estrogen in drinking water being traced to birth control.  Our livestock contributes the majority of estrogen.

Purchasing  hormone/anti-biotic free animal products can certainly give a boost to environmentally friendlier agriculture, as well as to your health.

Now, if only we could address all the other "stuff" in our H2O!

Tags: birth control, drinking water, estrogen, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 21st, 2010 at 1:46 pm and is filed under Chemicals, Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.