“That kills your test bro” is something every boy on TikTok has heard at least once. Starting as a joke, health influencers made claims that fluoride had “feminizing effects” and that “receipts were lowering your testosterone.” But was it a joke in the first place, or do these claims actually have weight to them?
The lore started with Santa Cruz Medicinals, a famous social media influencer who had gone viral across social media platforms, becoming a prominent figure online. Many teenagers look up to Santa Cruz for his holistic views on health and natural lifestyle. However, Santa Cruz has not come without his fair share of controversy. Recently, he claimed that “receipts can lower your testosterone” – many health-based creators have since made the same claim, causing turmoil in the TikTok health community.
This specific claim has caught on with younger people, specifically with young men. CHS Senior Joseph Mikhael has strong opinions on the matter.
“Every time you touch a receipt you’re dosing yourself with deadly levels of estrogen,” Mikhael said.
At first, it might sound strange considering how a piece of paper could have this significant effect on health. Surprisingly, there is strong evidence that points to a hormonal imbalance from handling receipts. According to ChemTrust.org, most receipts contain thermal paper which has large amounts of BPA (Bisphenol A), and handling such materials results in traces of BPA in the bloodstream approximately 90 minutes after skin contact. The NIH states that this chemical (BPA) mimics estrogen which has an inverse relationship with testosterone, concluding that contact with it will in fact lower testosterone levels.
Other public figures like newly appointed United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert Kennedy Jr., who has been known for his controversial views on vaccines, also made claims that fluoride has feminizing effects in men. There are certain government studies to suggest that high amounts of fluoride could cause such hormonal changes. In an NIH cross-sectional study conducted in two villages in a province in China, it was discovered that Chinese farmers who were consuming drinking water with high levels of fluoride had significantly lower testosterone levels than the group with little exposure to fluoride. The effect was specially noted in young men ages 18-29 and 30-39. This raises potential concerns about fluoride in tap water, though the effect seems to be dose-dependent.
While some people view these claims as pure fear-mongering, others are skeptical, and many are all-in on the claims. Even though there is certainly good health advice on TikTok and other social media platforms, misinformation is still widespread and there are creators who promote conspiracy theories. Therefore, people should fact check claims they see on social media platforms by visiting reputable sites like the NIH and trust-worthy independent studies which can help individuals arrive at certain conclusions to make decisions about their own health. It is beneficial that people are questioning common health practices, but those kinds of conversations must also be led with intellectual integrity and tangible evidence, rather than just blindly going against the medical establishment – a recent trend.
