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Chemical Roots of Infertility
by author Maria Kuman, PhD

There are two basic reasons for infertility: stress of life and pollution with chemicals. This article is going to deal with the chemical pollution.

Years ago in South Florida, one of the factories producing the pesticide DDT experienced a malfunction in equipment; it released large amounts of DDT in the water of a nearby lake.

In the following few years, the number of alligators in the lake decreased substantially. New alligators were not born. An investigation found that the female alligators exposed to the DDT spill had eggs with irregular shape–small, distorted and ugly. They never matured into normal cells.

Alarmed by this infertility problem caused by DDT, the production of the pesticide was banned in the US and Canada. Faced with the ban, the owners of the pesticide companies dismantled the factories and moved them to countries such as Mexico and Chile, where labor is cheaper and the profit higher. The production and selling of DDT continued there. Meanwhile, the US and Canada continue to import fruits and vegetables from these countries. Therefore, we continue to ingest the poison regardless of the ban.

Pesticides and Progesterone

DDT reduces the amount of the hormone progesterone in the body. As the name of the hormone shows, progesterone means pro-gestation. Progesterone is discharged by the ovaries, the placenta and the adrenal cortex in women and the testes and adrenal cortex in men. On one side, progesterone helps the egg grow and mature. On the other side, the hormone progesterone makes the walls of the uterus more sticky, which helps the fertilized egg sticks to the walls better, and thus prevents miscarriages. There cannot be gestation without progesterone.

DDT accumulates in the body with the years of exposure–we can't get rid of it. It continues to suppress the synthesis of progesterone in the body. As a result, we experience infertility, cancer and osteoporosis.

In the body, estrogen and progesterone go together. Estrogen without progesterone causes cell proliferation and therefore cancer. For that reason, the estrogen prescribed to women during menopause to prevent hot flashes or bone loss increases the chances for cancer. When estrogen is prescribed in combination with progesterone, the chances for cancer are reduced, but not eliminated. We still do not quite know what we are missing in the picture. However, one thing is clear–lack of progesterone or less progesterone increases the probability for cancer.

Low progesterone levels in the body can also cause fibroid tumors, most frequently of the uterus and/or breast. They mainly appear after the age of 35, when the amount of progesterone in the female body starts to decline naturally. If the woman was exposed to DDT in her early years, her progesterone level is likely lower than normal. Fibroid tumors are included in the pathologies caused by low progesterone level.

Fertile Pood

Progesterone can be added to the body. One way is through external massage of the afflicted area with progesterone-containing cream made of wild yams–this is available in the health food stores. Another way is through ingestion of food that contains progesterone, such as soy products, parsley, dandelion roots and parsnips. (Parsnip roots have been known for millennia to normalize cell growth. Research found that parsnip roots also contain pantothenic acid, which is the substance of longevity.)

Under such a progesterone influx, the fibroid tumors in most cases will shrink and disappear.

Considering the fact that estrogen causes cell proliferation and therefore malignancy, we should be seeing more and more replacement of the estrogen therapy by progesterone therapy.

Prostate cancer is also pathology caused by a low level of progesterone. External massage of the afflicted area with progesterone-containing cream, made of wild yams, can help, especially when combined with appropriate progesterone-containing diet.

Much more can be written about the factors in infertility. For instance, the process of gestation is electric in origin and can be influenced by static electrical charges created by wearing synthetic underwear. An entire article could be written on how stress influences fertility (such as through decreasing or shutting off the production of progesterone by the adrenals.)

It is important to collect as much information as you can. Ultimately, though, we can prevent infertility, cancer, bone loss, prostate cancer and most diseases by eating organic whole foods; and in the case of infertility, by emphasizing progesterone-containing foods.

Maria Kuman is a medical biophysicist and university professor in Tennessee. She has written 12 popular science books.

Source: alive #211, May 2000