Soy Causing Infertility in Men?
Yes, a British study states that even small amounts of soy eaten on a regular basis can cause infertility in obese men. Experts opine that plant oestrogens present in foods like milk, soy and tofu can interfere with hormonal activity thereby increasing the activity of estrogen that contributes in less sperm counts.
Harvard School of Public Health examined as many as 99 men who were afflicted with fertility problems. It was seen that there was a huge gap between the sperm counts of those who ate more soy and those who ate the least soy.
What is the Normal Sperm Count?
Experts from the Harvard School consider the normal sperm count to be “between 80-120 million milliliter,” which was not the case for men who are just one portion of soy. They reported a 41 million fewer sperms per milliliter of semen.
How Can Soy Cause Infertility in Men?
A BBC report suggests that both – estrogen and isoflavones contained in soy can affect reproduction of sperms and thereby decreases fertility in men. It is further suggested that these chemicals can affect the hormone oestrogen as well.
Experts suggest that heavy weighing or obese men are more prone to this condition of “infertility” because high levels of body fat can also lead to increased level oestrogen production in men they say.
The researchers also revealed that the intake of soy did not affect the Asian men to the extent it affected the Western men. This could probably mean that the Asian populace does not suffer from obesity as acutely as the Westerners do.
In addition, soy products have been popular ever since the 1940s in the Western countries and they can be seen in the form of biscuits, pasta, bread, sweets, etc. In Asian countries, soy is gaining momentum because of it being a cheap source of protein.