Male Infertility and Soya!

[randip singh]

This doest just apply to Vegetarians. Beware Meat Eaters too!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/norther...and/3513607.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4115506.stm

'Avoid soya if you want a baby'

By Michelle Roberts

BBC News health reporter in Copenhagen

Soya may make sperm burn out

Women should avoid eating too much soya if they are trying for a baby, a UK fertility expert believes.

A study in humans has shown a compound in soya called genistein sabotages the sperm as it swims towards the egg.

Professor Lynn Fraser, from King's College London, said even tiny doses in the female tract could burn sperm out.

She told a European fertility conference that avoiding soya around women's most fertile days of the month might aid conception.

Long swim

Genistein is present in all soya-containing products such as soya milk and many vegetarian foods, as well as some pre-packed meals and pizzas.

It is also present in vegetables such as peas and beans, but the researchers say it is not yet clear if levels if the compound in these foods are significant.

Avoiding soya products for a few days a month is worth a try

Vegetarian Society

Professor Fraser tested what happened to human sperm exposed to the compound in a dish in the lab.

The compound kick-started a reaction in a large proportion of the sperm that gives them the ability to fertilise an egg.

In real life, this does not usually happen until the sperm have been inside the female for some hours and are close to completing their long swim towards the egg.

Therefore, if women have genistein in and around the womb this could hamper conception by making sperm peak too soon, believes Professor Fraser.

This could mean they would not be able to fertilise the egg, she told the annual meeting of the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology.

Low concentrations

In mice she found it took higher doses of genistein to cause the reaction, but in humans very small doses were enough.

"We were really surprised. Human sperm proved to be even more responsive than mouse sperm to genistein, responding to very low concentrations - well within the amounts that have been measured in people's blood."

She said it was not yet known how much soya might be a safe amount to avoid this effect.

"It's not a question of completely stopping eating products containing soya.

"But it might be best for a woman to avoid them for a few days around the time she is ovulating."

'Early days'

Professor Fraser's previous work in mice showed that compounds similar to genistein - one found in hop-based products like beer - affect sperm in the same way.

These compounds are all weak oestrogens, but Professor Fraser does not believe that their action on sperm is the same as the female sex hormone.

Instead, genistein seems to trigger the production of a signalling molecule in sperm called cyclic AMP.

Dr Allan Pacey, Senior Lecturer in Andrology at Sheffield University and Secretary of the British Fertility Society said: "It's early days, but clearly if what happens in the laboratory also occurs in the woman's fallopian tube as the sperm make their way to the egg, then there would be the potential for fertilisation to fail."

A spokeswoman from the Vegetarian Society said: "For anyone struggling to become pregnant, avoiding soya products for a few days a month is worth a try if there is even a slim chance that it will help increase fertility.

"Obviously many vegetarians and vegans use soya in their diet, however as there are lots of vegetarian and vegan alternatives to dairy, milk and meat on the market, it shouldn't pose a problem."

[randip singh]

I'll check for other links too.

[Harnek Singh]

Tell that to the Chinese...there are a gazillion of them and they drink it like water :nihungsmile:

Gurfateh

[randip singh]

Tell that to the Chinese...there are a gazillion of them and they drink it like water :nihungsmile:

Gurfateh

104841[/snapback]

They tend to use it in a sauce form don't they?

I wonder if that makes a difference?

[smartsingh24]

or they have a genetic immunity? heck, they are a different race. Assuming that this report was made by anglo-saxan english scientists, there could be varying results, or, this might apply to today's soy products, not the products of yesteryear.

[randip singh]

or they have a genetic immunity? heck, they are a different race. Assuming that this report was made by anglo-saxan english scientists, there could be varying results, or, this might apply to today's soy products, not the products of yesteryear.

104868[/snapback]

Hmm Not too sure about them being a different race, but the genetic resistance may be a factor.

I also think they eat a hell of a lot of meat which is nealy raw and this may counteract the oestrogenic effect of Soya.

Either way, because we've probably got more Caucasoid blood in us, we have to be careful.

I was speaking to a Doctor friend of mine, who reckons, amongst Sikhs he's noting this trend and worryingly its increasing. I personally think obesity, poor diets, alcoholism and fast foods are to blame.

[randip singh]

or they have a genetic immunity? heck, they are a different race. Assuming that this report was made by anglo-saxan english scientists, there could be varying results, or, this might apply to today's soy products, not the products of yesteryear.

104868[/snapback]

Hmm Not too sure about them being a different race, but the genetic resistance may be a factor.

I also think they eat a hell of a lot of meat which is nealy raw and this may counteract the oestrogenic effect of Soya.

Either way, because we've probably got more Caucasoid blood in us, we have to be careful.

I was speaking to a Doctor friend of mine, who reckons, amongst Sikhs he's noting this trend and worryingly its increasing. I personally think obesity, poor diets, alcoholism and fast foods are to blame.

104877[/snapback]

Here's the other article

Soya 'link' to male infertility

Researchers investigated soya in the diet

The humble soya bean may play a role in the problem of male infertility, a team of researchers in Belfast has found.

Soya contains the female hormone oestrogen and too much of it is being linked to poor quality sperm.

Dr Lorraine Anderson says she found the link in research carried out at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.

"What many men do not realise is that soya is not just consumed by vegetarians, it is contained in a lot of everyday processed foods.

"It is contained in foods such as pizzas, any of those foods that you add hot water to, to reconstitute them, or some of the pre-packaged dinners like steak and kidney pies," Dr Anderson said.

If men are consuming large amounts of soya products, for example, there is a negative relationship between that and the quality of their sperm

Dr Sheena Lewis

Queen's University, Belfast

"You'll find that a lot of the meat is not really meat, it is soya protein because it is cheaper and soya has the highest percentage of oestrogens compared to any other foods."

The director of reproductive medicine at Queen's University, Belfast, Dr Sheena Lewis, said the findings were clear.

"What we have shown is that if men are consuming large amounts of soya products, for example, there is a negative relationship between that and the quality of their sperm.

"If they already have a slight problem in that area, then it might be better for them not to consume so much."

Dr Lewis said that the way to avoid excess oestrogen was to eat fresh produce.

"In our fast food diets, we are inclined to eat lots of meals and we really don't know what the ingredients are," she said.

"If we eat fresh fruits, if we make fresh food at home ourselves, which I know is very difficult in today's busy lifestyle, then we are really aware of what the ingredients are."

However, the research does not simply have implications for men who wish to start a family.

Dr Anderson said if boys eat a lot of soya when they are growing up, it can damage their reproductive capability.

"The key time for that is when a male foetus is developing and in the early toddler years and up to puberty.

"All through that period, if you alter the oestrogen that a man is exposed to, you can not only affect their sperm quality but affect the development of their reproductive tract, so that you can get an increase in structural abnormalities like undescended testes and you can also get other problems later in life, such as testicular cancer."

Dr Anderson recently came runner-up in a prestigious competition for her work on the link between male fertility and oestrogen in the diet.

[Singh MC]

a UK fertility expert believes.

This is just one person who believes this and we have 2 billion chinese to prove her wrong. No, soya sauce and regular old soya are the same, jus added stuff to the sauce. This isnt anything new its been going around for a while. To be on the safe side jus dont ingest toooo much.

[randip singh]

a UK fertility expert believes.

This is just one person who believes this and we have 2 billion chinese to prove her wrong. No, soya sauce and regular old soya are the same, jus added stuff to the sauce. This isnt anything new its been going around for a while. To be on the safe side jus dont ingest toooo much.

104881[/snapback]

These are two sperate reports, from eminent scientists in their filed, so its not just one person.

Lets see what happens. Chinese may counteract the problems of Oestrogen by eating a lot of fresh produce.

[Heera Singh]

anybody on this board chinese?... hehehe... jks jks...

well have any of these statistics been nationally published in any country yet?... and how much more testing is going on?... man i veggie burgers and soya stuff like a champion..... i hope i aint killin my solders...! :doh: