Eating soy linked to lowered sperm count

by Bethany Sanders (Subscribe to Bethany Sanders's posts) Jul 28th 2008 8:00AM

Categories: Just For Dads, Pregnancy & Birth, Eating & Nutrition, In The News

Whether you're already a dad or thinking of becoming one, if you're a man who's part of a couple that's trying to conceive, you might just want to lay off soy for a while.

A recent small study found that men who consume even small amounts of soy each day may cut their sperm count by up to 40%. A half serving is as little as a half of a veggie burger. Researchers theorize that the isoflavones in soy, which act like oestrogen in the body, affect sperm production. Critics of the study say that other research in this area have found that soy doesn't have an impact on sperm production, and theorize that obesity may have played a role in this study's findings.

Either way, it's worth mentioning to your doctor if you're having trouble conceiving. Though women often bear the brunt of invasive testing when infertility is suspected, male factor infertility is both common and relatively easy to test. Researchers say that this study is not enough evidence for men to stop eating soy, but that if you're overweight, have irregular sperm counts, and eat soy regularly, it might be something to take a look at.

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Comments (16)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

mamaloo 7-28-2008 @ 9:21AM

Does this refer to soy beans and edamame? Tofu? Processed soy products like veggie burgers?

Tamyu 7-28-2008 @ 10:37AM

I also have to raise my eyebrows at this one, as if it were true - most every man in Japan would have a LOT of trouble with fertility. Almost everyone eats more than a "serving" of soy every day.

Baron 7-28-2008 @ 12:25PM

Just a quick search found this (and many others, but I haven't read them yet): http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/inequal/gender/2004/0113fertility.htm which points to a higher amount of infertility treatments and a lower national birth rate in Japan... It is from 2004, so I couldn't say how any newer research looks.

Tamyu 7-29-2008 @ 12:26AM

Baron - unfortunately, there are other reasons for this. And knowing quite a few couples who went through fertility treatments here, and two doctors who specialize in fertility - the reason very very rarely lies with the male side. Which doesn`t support the "soy is the cause" concept.
The real reasons have a lot more to do with age - More and more women are starting to try to conceive after 35. If they don`t conceive in the first year, they see time running out and almost immediately head for fertility treatments.

The general number of births doesn`t really have any link to fertility. It`s a cultural trend.

Carrie 7-28-2008 @ 1:07PM

Soy is a poison folks, at least the way most Americans eat it. In truth, Japanese people eat very little soy. And most of the soy they do eat is fermented. The long, natural fermentation process makes it safer.

But soymilk? Poison. This is yet another nail in the coffin. Do your research and you'll find it's true.

Carrie 7-28-2008 @ 1:09PM

Yep, glad to see another nail in the soy coffin. The stuff is poison. Soy formula is responsible for all manner of health problems in babies, and soymilk and tofu - ditto.

If you do your research you'll find that Japanese people actually don't ingest that much soy, and most of the soy products they eat go through a long natural fermentation process, which makes them safer to consume.

Soy is a poison folks. The reason people think it's a 'health food' is because of millions of dollars the US government has spent to convince you of that.

Michelle 7-29-2008 @ 8:34AM

Gee, Carrie, I don't know. Both of my babies had health issues that cleared up with the introduction of Soy formula/milk, never to return. Maybe we shouldn't be hammering that nail in quite yet.

We don't ingest it because we are convinced it's a health food. We ingest it because my daughter suddenly stopped having so much nasty mucus in her ears that was causing her great pain, hearing loss and respiratory infections. She literally spent 6 months straight on antibiotics. Even tubes didn't clear it up. Switching to Soy milk did.

We ingest it because my son came out of NICU with such horrendous reflux, he would often aspirate. It was painful for him to eat and he couldn't lay down. He had to be upright at all times, which I'm sure is why he STILL doesn't sleep through the night in his own bed now even though he turned 4 on Friday. He was on an expensive medicine, an expensive formula and an expensive thickener. As soon as I got the okay, I switched him to the Soy formula, and there was somewhat of an improvement. At least he wasn't Linda Blair vomiting anymore.

Carrie 7-29-2008 @ 8:53AM

Michelle, I'm so sorry to hear about the health issues your kids suffered, and glad you found the solution. Obviously they both had severe dairy allergies.

Obviously a child has to eat. Still the evidence has been mounting for decades against soy. If it comes down to a sick hungry baby and them eating soy, then yes feed them soy.

A lot of parents in your situation have opted for donor breast milk, or a hypoallergenic formula (meat based) or a homemade raw milk formula. Raw milk has "cured" a lot of dairy "allergies" - including my lifelong issues with dairy. Turns out - at least for me - pasteurized milk was the problem, not dairy.

Carrie 7-28-2008 @ 1:10PM

sorry for the double post folks... didn't think it went through the first time.

Tamyu 7-29-2008 @ 12:43AM

I suggest you also do your research. The "Japanese people actually don't ingest that much soy, and most of the soy products they eat go through a long natural fermentation process" is basically a myth that has been debunked countless times.

Tofu is not fermented. It`s raw soy milk that has been "curdled" by the addition of magnesium chloride. It`s VERY common to just eat a whole block of tofu with a meal as a side dish. Soy milk has been consumed for ages - people often make it at home. Almost all blenders have a setting allowing them to make it. It`s more common to make tofu out of it though.

To be quite honest, it`s actually hard to think of a meal that doesn`t include some soy product. People eat the left overs from making soymilk. Dried ground soy is even used to make sweets (kinako). Natto (eaten by a HUGE number of people, in large quantities every morning), while thought by some to be "fermented", isn`t. Unless you want to consider sitting 24 hours after being cooked a "long natural fermentation" period.

Fermented soy is a condiment, basically. A whole lot more is eaten that has never been fermented.

I won`t comment on whether soy is good or bad for you - but at least get the facts straight on consumption in Japan.

Carrie 7-29-2008 @ 8:55AM

I wasn't referring to soymilk or tofu Tamyu... those are obviously not fermented. I was referring to soy sauce, tempeh and natto. Those are safer soy choices.

Karen 7-29-2008 @ 9:44AM

Please let me know where you have found negative information about soymilk - I am extremely lactose-intolerant, as is my 24 year old son, to whom I emailed this article. I do not like the alternatives to dairy except for soymilk - - -

Tamyu 7-29-2008 @ 10:45AM

But - I`m not talking about what you are considering fermented. You`re saying that in Japan, people don`t consume much soy that isn`t fermented. I`m saying that they consume huge amounts of tofu and other non-fermented soy products. On a daily basis. As a diet staple.

It doesn`t matter whether you consider soy sauce and natto (which is only "fermented" for 24 hours, by the way) safer options. That doesn`t change the fact that regular soy is consumed in much higher quantities.

You agree that tofu, and other soy products are not fermented. Japanese eat huge amounts of tofu and other non-fermented soy products, with those fermented only really being condiments. It doesn`t take much to reach the conclusion that "Japanese people actually don't ingest that much soy, and most of the soy products they eat go through a long natural fermentation process" is an very inaccurate statement.

April 8-01-2008 @ 8:00PM

I lived in Japan for 4 years and I am always surprised when people say the Japanese dont eat a lot of soy. Soy was everywhere and in almost everything. I didnt see a lot of soy milk but soy, in some form, was in almost every meal. It was in the food at the Italian restaurants, it was in every meal at every Japanese home I ate in, I taught English at different schools and ate lunch with the kids and it was in every meal. I also traveled around Japan and it was always a staple in the meals. I was served pork but it had bits of tofu in it, sushi- slices of tofu, steak house- miso soup with chunks of tofu and a tofu dressing on the salad.
I wonder if the problem is the type of or the way the tofu is processed in American vegetarian food and drink that is the problem. "Hydrolyzed" may be the problem.

mamaloo 7-29-2008 @ 11:56AM

@Carrie, @Tamyu...

I'm not an expert nor have I done research, but I do have my ear out on a lot of vegan/vegetarian info (so, what I say is just conversational ) and I've been hearing is that the big problems with "soy" is with processed soy that ends up in things like veggie burgers, veggie dogs and other highly processed foods. I've also been hearing that some tofu processes involve formaldehyde.

So, what exactly is causing the low sperm counts (or neuro changes, or any of the other problems being attributed to soy)? Is it the beans themselves? The beans as processed into tofu , tempeh and milks? Or, is it the processes foodstuffs created from already processed soy?

Obviously, eating as low on the food chain as possible (plant based foods you create out of actual fresh ingredients) is the healthiest way to eat, avoiding the problems associated with processed foods, whether vegan or meat based.

Tamyu 7-30-2008 @ 1:21AM

As I said above - I can`t really comment on whether soy is good or bad for you. I simply do not know and have not done any research on the subject. It may sound like I`m trying to defend soy itself - but I`m really just trying to present accurate information about how it is consumed in Japan. Those against soy like to present the argument that it really isn`t consumed in any real volume in Japan, and if it is it`s all very fermented. That simply isn`t true, which is why I decided to comment about it.

I can`t imagine any food that has been heavily processed as being good for you - No matter what the ingredients are! I also don`t know what goes into making tofu in the US. I`ve seen tofu on store shelves there with expiration dates months away... They must be using some pretty heavy duty preservatives! In Japan, it usually goes bad within 3 or 4 days of being made. It`s a "raw" food product.
Formaldehyde is definitely not included in the production process in Japan! (Soak the soy beans over night in 3 times their water, put them and their soaking water into a blender, blend until smooth, add the same amount of water again and bring to a boil, pour through a fine towel - You`ve got soy milk. Add nigari - derived from seawater - to curdle the soy milk and you`ve got tofu.)

I`d personally be far more worried about the effects of the countless artificial sweeteners pumped into the myriad of processed "health" and "diet" foods out there. *shudder*

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