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Today’s Guardian features an article whose headline reads “Soya-based foods may harm male fertility, say scientists”.Scared?Yeah, it worried me, too.The article, based on research by Jorge Chavarro at the Harvard school of public health, says that “the apparent fall in sperm count is unlikely to make healthy men infertile, but some experts said it could have a significant impact on those already with lower than average sperm counts.” Furthermore, “men who consumed at least half a portion of soya food a day had the lowest sperm counts.”But this isn’t the whole story.A read of the article reveals some interesting facts about the study:

• 72% of the men in the study were clinically obese, and thus more susceptible to soya effects
• 26% were or had been smokers, which may also effect fertility
• The list of soy foods assessed included processed soy foods like TVP burgers, soy cheese and soy protein powder

An article in The New Scientist offers more complete coverage of the story, including this quote from Chavarro who stresses that his research is inconclusive:

There’s no reason to panic at this moment. It’s still way too early to draw any strong conclusions about whether soya foods affect male fertility.

But if you want the real proof, read some of the comments on the New Scientist, like this one from damon:

I’ve practically eaten soy three meals a day for almost 10 years and I’ll be a proud dad come Sept!!! And.. if it’s not too much info.. it only took one try! I imagine that if there is a reduction in sperm it would only be noticeably negative for men with already low sperm counts, where every sperm counts.. so to speak. Cigars anyone??

Tom also makes an interesting point:

As this report comes form the US we can assume that the soya used was US soya and therefore almost certainly GM soya.I’d like to see it re-run with non-GM soya.

The paper touches on the last point, pointing the obesity factor as a possible explanation (26% of Chinese adult males have a BMI over 26 compared to 71% in America).What are your thoughts?

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