[rob777]

I am a bit skeptical. Soy is a major staple of the Japanese diet and they have no sperm count problems. I told my wife about this, who is Japanese, and she seemed a bit skeptical as well. Perhaps there are other parts of their diet that counteract the effect.

[Tax-chick]

Soy is a major staple of the Japanese diet and they have no sperm count problems.

To verify that statement, a study would have to been done on significant numbers of Japanese men eating a traditional Japanese diet, comparing their sperm count to a comparable group of Japanese men eating a diet without soy.

Anyway, although this is an interesting fact, Japan's (and Europe's) death-spiral birthrate is due to deliberate sterility, not low sperm counts.

[Dr. Sivana]

I am a bit skeptical. Soy is a major staple of the Japanese diet

There is a difference, the Japanese typically take their soy in soy sauce and tofu. In both cases the soy is fermented. Here we use it as a protein filler in Atkins chocolate bars and thousands of other ways that the Japanese do not.

[Dutch Boy]

China too. They eat a LOT of soy and there is no sign they are having trouble making kids.

[television is just wrong]

seafood, and seaweed, ?

[ryan71]

“I am a bit skeptical.”

And you offer perfect evidence as to why you should be.

These “doctors” tend to get their conclusions backwards.

Soy doesn’t cause the low sperm count.

Men with low sperm counts choose to consume soy.

[krb]

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

[krb]

Check out this other work about the dangers of soy:

http://www.westonaprice.org/soy/ploy.html

[CarrotAndStick]

I am a bit skeptical. Soy is a major staple of the Japanese diet and they have no sperm count problems. I told my wife about this, who is Japanese, and she seemed a bit skeptical as well. Perhaps there are other parts of their diet that counteract the effect.

I've heard it said that the Japanese and Chinese don't actually consume Soy as-is, but they ferment it. Fermenting might neutralise the oestrogen-like compounds.

Maybe the rest of the world swallowed the whole thing with a poor translation, and will suffer for it.