Soy Linked to Low Sperm Count

[WZuloo]

I suppose that "researchers" can find something bad in everything. But the reasoning behind this decrease, the increase in estrogen, I though would be particularly interesting to the men here.

No more Soy Latte's for me.

Soy Linked to Low Sperm Count
Could affect fertility, especially in overweight and obese men, researchers report

By Steven Reinberg, HealthDay Reporter (posted on msn/health)
Could affect fertility, especially in overweight and obese men, researchers report.

WEDNESDAY, July 23 (HealthDay News) -- Eating half a serving of soy food a day lowers sperm concentrations and may play a role in male infertility, particularly in obese men, Harvard University researchers report.

The reason for this relationship between soy and sperm count isn't clear. However, researchers speculate that soy increases estrogen activity, which may have a negative affect on sperm production and also interfere with other hormonal signals.

"There have been a lot of interest in estrogen and isoflavones in particular and a potential relationship to fertility and other reproductive disorders," said lead researcher Dr. Jorge Chavarro, a research fellow in the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Research in animals has shown that isoflavones and estrogen can have a potentially negative affect on reproduction, including decreased fertility, Chavarro said. However, there is very little evidence of how these findings apply to humans, he said.

The new research, he added, lends support to how results of animal studies apply to humans. But Chavarro considers the findings preliminary and inconclusive. "It's way too early to say stop eating soy foods," he said. "It's not time to worry about whether you're eating too much soy. There's not enough information to conclusively say that. "

His report was published in the July 24 online edition of the journal Human Reproduction.

For the study, Chavarro and colleagues collected data on 99 men who attended a fertility clinic for evaluation. The men were asked about how much of 15 soy-based foods they ate in the past three months.

The foods men were asked about included tofu, tempeh, tofu or soy sausages, bacon, burgers, soy milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream and other soy products like roasted nuts and energy bars.

Because different foods have different levels of isoflavones, half a serving of soy is equal to about one cup of soy milk or one serving of tofu or soy burgers every other day, Chavarro noted.

Chavarro's team found that men who ate the most soy had 41 million fewer sperm per milliliter of semen compared with men who did not eat soy foods. Normal sperm counts range between 80 million and 120 million per milliliter, according to a press release from the journal, a monthly publication of the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology.

In addition, the researchers found that the link between soy and sperm concentration was stronger among overweight and obese men. Overweight and obese men produce more estrogen than thinner men, and soy may increase those estrogen levels even further, they speculated.

Moreover, the link between soy and sperm concentration was strongest in men with higher sperm concentrations. Men who have normal or high sperm counts may be more susceptible to soy foods than men with low sperm counts, Chavarro said.

Infertility expert Dr. Hossein Sadeghi-Nejad, an associate professor of urology at UMDNJ New Jersey Medical School and Hackensack University Medical Center, agreed that soy may be one factor affecting fertility, especially in overweight and obese men.

"When patients are overweight, the fat tissue converts male hormones to more female hormones," Sadeghi-Nejad said. "So, it is possible that the combination of this estrogenic source [soy] and the extra internal estrogen that is caused by the conversion of androgen to estrogen through the fat has a more deleterious effect in that group of patients."

In addition, Sadeghi-Nejad noted that although sperm counts decreased most among men who have the highest counts, that should not affect fertility, since sperm counts were still in the normal range.

"But this is a good reminder that if you have an overweight patient, with abnormal semen parameters, and a very high soy intake, it may be wise for them to decrease this factor," Sadeghi-Nejad said.

More information

For more about obesity and infertility, visit the Obesity Action Coalition

[cybrid]

Glad I don't eat/drink soy. I'd like to have kids one day

[WZuloo]

Not just kids, but the metabolic effect of increased estrogen. I may be over simplifying it, but increased estrogen production, therefore decreased testosterone (production and/or absorption): equals decrease growth and recovery.

Am I right, or is this bad science?

[Carnitas]

They forgot to mention that in order to counteract the negative effects of soy, you have to do something manly. Punch a person in the face, make loud burping noises, farting, ripping out some chest hair, and your sperm count will go back to normal.

[A1food4U]

Heres a little light reading for you all....Does Soy Protein Lower Testosterone

One can make assumptions, and in looking this up I found that the soy council has printed many articles to the contrary. But for me, I'd rather not have the boys all shrunken....just sayin


Addendum: go to forums and in the "best of " section Adonis has posted a very thourough set of threads on soy....

[Insex]

If soy is so bad, as these researchers would have you believe, then how is it that Asian cultures make up such a huge chunk of the world's population, when many of them consume soy in their diets?

Don't automatically think that I'm a soy fan either. I hate the taste of it and I don't consume any soy at all. But I'm tired of reading about these researchers latest "findings," when really there are other more significant factors that influence health issues like lowered sperm count (like being overweight).

I believe it's all propaganda, to get you to buy their protein products, instead of soy. The writer in this article wants you to believe that it's all soy's fault. That's like me saying that smokers who eat fast-food everyday suffer from heart disease, therefore fast-food is responsible for their health issues. Oh, really? Gee, I wonder if smoking has anything to do with it?

Originally Posted by Steven Reinberg, HealthDay Reporter

Soy Linked to Low Sperm Count
Could affect fertility, especially in overweight and obese men, researchers report

By Steven Reinberg, HealthDay Reporter (posted on msn/health)
Could affect fertility, especially in overweight and obese men, researchers report.

WEDNESDAY, July 23 (HealthDay News) -- Eating half a serving of soy food a day lowers sperm concentrations and may play a role in male infertility, particularly in obese men, Harvard University researchers report.

The reason for this relationship between soy and sperm count isn't clear. However, researchers speculate that soy increases estrogen activity, which may have a negative affect on sperm production and also interfere with other hormonal signals.

"There have been a lot of interest in estrogen and isoflavones in particular and a potential relationship to fertility and other reproductive disorders," said lead researcher Dr. Jorge Chavarro, a research fellow in the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Research in animals has shown that isoflavones and estrogen can have a potentially negative affect on reproduction, including decreased fertility, Chavarro said. However, there is very little evidence of how these findings apply to humans, he said.

The new research, he added, lends support to how results of animal studies apply to humans. But Chavarro considers the findings preliminary and inconclusive. "It's way too early to say stop eating soy foods," he said. "It's not time to worry about whether you're eating too much soy. There's not enough information to conclusively say that."

His report was published in the July 24 online edition of the journal Human Reproduction.

For the study, Chavarro and colleagues collected data on 99 men who attended a fertility clinic for evaluation. The men were asked about how much of 15 soy-based foods they ate in the past three months.

The foods men were asked about included tofu, tempeh, tofu or soy sausages, bacon, burgers, soy milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream and other soy products like roasted nuts and energy bars.

Because different foods have different levels of isoflavones, half a serving of soy is equal to about one cup of soy milk or one serving of tofu or soy burgers every other day, Chavarro noted.

Chavarro's team found that men who ate the most soy had 41 million fewer sperm per milliliter of semen compared with men who did not eat soy foods. Normal sperm counts range between 80 million and 120 million per milliliter, according to a press release from the journal, a monthly publication of the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology.

In addition, the researchers found that the link between soy and sperm concentration was stronger among overweight and obese men. Overweight and obese men produce more estrogen than thinner men, and soy may increase those estrogen levels even further, they speculated.

Moreover, the link between soy and sperm concentration was strongest in men with higher sperm concentrations. Men who have normal or high sperm counts may be more susceptible to soy foods than men with low sperm counts, Chavarro said.

Infertility expert Dr. Hossein Sadeghi-Nejad, an associate professor of urology at UMDNJ New Jersey Medical School and Hackensack University Medical Center, agreed that soy may be one factor affecting fertility, especially in overweight and obese men.

"When patients are overweight, the fat tissue converts male hormones to more female hormones," Sadeghi-Nejad said. "So, it is possible that the combination of this estrogenic source [soy] and the extra internal estrogen that is caused by the conversion of androgen to estrogen through the fat has a more deleterious effect in that group of patients."

In addition, Sadeghi-Nejad noted that although sperm counts decreased most among men who have the highest counts, that should not affect fertility, since sperm counts were still in the normal range.

"But this is a good reminder that if you have an overweight patient, with abnormal semen parameters, and a very high soy intake, it may be wise for them to decrease this factor," Sadeghi-Nejad said.

More information

For more about obesity and infertility, visit the Obesity Action Coalition

[Carnitas]

Because asians have ninja in their blood, and those ninjas inside of their blood destroy any anti-sperm that trys to attack the males sperm.

[mckay]

Im a vegetarian and eat tons of soy products for about 2 years.No problems for me.I feel more healthy as well.Ive had as many children as I plan on having anyway.lol.Good thread.

[Italianangel]

perfect! free cheap birth control, feed the men ONLY SOY, start with the males as babies and fed them TONS of soy, no need for birthcontrol now and less people breeding means many solutions to world issues.
ATTENTION MEN: EAT MORE SOY!!!!