Soy Lowers Sperm Count

Thursday, October 02 2008

Harvard University researchers have reported that soy may be responsible for decreasing sperm count, primarily in obese men. The study collected data on 99 men who were evaluated at a fertility clinic. These participants were asked how much soy they had eaten in the past three months, including soy ice cream, cheese, milk, nuts, tempeh, seitan, tofu, and other soy "meat" products. The study discovered that men who had eaten the most soy had 41 million fewer sperm per milliliter of semen than those who did not eat soy foods. The normal sperm count range is between 80 million and 120 million per milliliter.

The link between soy and sperm concentrations was found to be stronger in overweight and obese men. Further, men with normal or high sperm counts seem to be more likely to see a reduced sperm count from soy than those with already low sperm counts.