Soy Linked to Lower Sperm Count (Tree-hugging vegan libs won't reproduce - Good thing ! )

AOL ^ | 7/27/08 | Reuters' Staff

[xtinct]

Eating a half serving a day of soy-based foods could be enough to significantly lower a man's sperm count, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.

The study is the largest in humans to look at the relationship between semen quality and a plant form of the female sex hormone estrogen known as phytoestrogen, which is plentiful in soy-rich foods.

"What we found was men that consume the highest amounts of soy foods in this study had a lower sperm concentration compared to those who did not consume soy foods," said Dr. Jorge Chavarro of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, whose study appears in the journal Human Reproduction.

"It was a relatively large difference," Chavarro said in a telephone interview.

Chavarro said studies in animals have linked high consumption of plant-derived estrogens known as isoflavones with infertility, but so far there has been little evidence of their effect in humans. "We wanted to know if it would affect sperm production and could serve as a marker for the effects on the reproductive system," Chavarro said.

[Mase]

Weston Price? Are you kidding?

He's nothing more than an internet charlatan and alarmist whose only interest is separating you from your money. He does a good job of scaring people but his "findings" are rarely based on sound science.

Price, Mercola, CSPI, Citizens for Health, et al are all in the same boat and should be totally avoided if you're serious about debating the relative health and safety of food ingredients and food products.

[Mr. Lucky]

Thank goodness the bio-fuels industry will save us all from the deadly effects of soy oil and corn starch.

[Mase]

Let's look at some criticisms of this research:

• The study was limited to just 99 people.

• The study was based on recollected intake of soyfoods and not on specific diets containing soyfoods.

• According to Dr. Tammy Hedland, a researcher on male fertility issues, including soy, from the Health Sciences Center, Department of Pathology at the University of Colorado: The research did not find a negative relationship between soy and sperm mobility or sperm quality, which are both key factors to fertility. The study also did notdetermine directly what other foods, medications, supplements, existing medical conditions, sexual activities or environmental factors may have directly affected the drop in sperm count.

• Even Dr. Chavarro admits that many East Asian men consume much more soya than the participants in his trial and do not develop fertility problems. He even speculates that his study found a link between soya and low sperm count because many of the participants were overweight or obese. He said: Men with high levels of body fat produce more oestrogen than their slim counterparts.

• Chavarro's study conflicts with the large body of U.S. government and National Institute of Health-sponsored human and primate research, in which controlled amounts of isoflavones from soy were fed and no effect on quantity, quality or motility of sperm were observed. Upon hearing of Chavarro's findings, Dr. Stephen Barnes, a pharmacologist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, noted "This study is the first to find this correlation. The research on soy in men has not found a negative impact on male hormones but rather has suggested a preventive effect in prostate cancer."

  Funny thing research.

[Hyzenthlay]

Hm. There’s no mention of other dairy alternatives in the article, so for now, I guess I’m gonna have to stick with my soy milk and soy yogurt and soy/tofu ice cream bars... not that I’d have to worry about sperm count anyways. The only problem I have with soy is that it hasn’t been made into a good cheese substitute yet =(

[Let's Roll]

Since fewer people is a tree hugger goal, glad to hear they’re doing their part to make that happen.

[Mase]

There is a difference, the Japanese typically take their soy in soy sauce and tofu. In both cases the soy is fermented.

Tofu is not fermented it is soaked and cooked soybeans that are made into a curd. The soaking process used traditionally to make tofu reduces the the phytates that some here may be concerned about. These people probably don't realize that lots of plant foods are high in phytates along with other foods such as other beans, grains, nuts and seeds. Are all these foods lowering male sperm counts? I don't think so.

[SlapHappyPappy]

Hell, I’m no tree hugger, but given my desire to not have any more kids, this sure does make me rethink my aversion to soy.

[xtinct]

Doesn't seem to have affected the billions of Asians who eat tofu every day.

I wondered about that too... lol

[Mase]

When soybeans are used in a fermented food such as soy sauce or miso, then it is very good for you.

Even though fermented soy contains more isoflavones than isolated soy protein? Are isoflavones good for you or not? Aren't these phytoestrogens what so many people fear and believe are turning boys into girls?

When soybeans are used in any other way that doesn’t remove the phytates from the bean, then it is bad. And sperm count is only one of the many bad effects of eating non-fermented soy.

What is it about phytic acid that's so bad for you? Unless you're relying on foods high in phytic acid for the vast majority of your calories you are not going to experience any relevant problems with mineral absorption. Do you know anybody who lives on soybeans and wheat bran?

There is no credible evidence that people diets high in soyfoods suffer from mineral deficiency.

[krb]

Weston might be a dubious source, but he’s right-on about soy. The solution is: a) don’t buy anything from him, and b) get as much information as you can get.

This is the wrong thread to try to convince me that he is wrong about soy, BTW.

[Mase]

Oh, he's a dubious source alright and I wouldn't buy a thing from him. Profiting by scaring people with specious information should never be supported.

I have no interest in convincing you about anything regarding soy, however, I am willing to prove that your feelings and your conclusions about soy are wrong and are based on a misunderstanding of the science. Feel free to convince me otherwise. Be as technical as you'd like.

[Dr. Sivana]

Thank you for the correction on tofu.

[SunkenCiv]

Franks and Beans ping.

[Sherman Logan]

Perhaps they CAN make kids, but they aren’t.

Fertility rate for China is 1.77, considerably lower than the US and right in there with a number of the demographically suiciding European countries.

Japan (1.22) and South Korea (1.29) are even lower.

China has a lot of people, but few of them are kids.

[rob777]

I would like to thank those who pointed out the difference in the way the Chinese/Japanese consume soy products and the way counterculture westerners do. I thought that some such explanation would explain why it is not a problem for them.