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Beer could lower your man's fertility

By Ruth Doherty on Tuesday 16 September 2008

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Marie Claire News: Beer - health

Cover your boyfriend's eyes now: researchers have found that beer, wine, coffee and nuts can all lower a man's fertility.

The 'dancefloor' drinks and snacks - every man's pub favourites - have been found to contain phytoestrogens, naturally occurring plant compounds linked with falling sperm counts.

A study carried out by the Medical Research Council in Cambridge found that instant coffee powder, peanuts, brown ale, and red wine were particularly highly-charged with the sperm-sapping chemicals.

Phytoestrogens, which also occur in large amounts of soya, have been linked to fertility problems in livestock.

And a study published earlier this year linked soya to decreased sperm counts in men, which can lower chances of conception. Men who regularly ate small amounts of tofu or soya meat or dairy substitutes had lower sperm concentrations than those who didn't.

It is thought phytoestrogens called isoflavones, which mimic the female hormone oestrogen, are behind the effect.

The latest study measured levels of isoflavones, as well as another chemical called lignans.

Dr Kuhnle, of the MRC Dunn Human Nutrition Unit in Cambridge, said: 'The data we have collected has enabled us to put together an accurate table of which foods contain the highest levels of phytoestrogens, so we can look at the effect of long-term exposure, and work out what the safe levels are likely to be for humans.'

So, in the meantime, best he cuts down on those after-work watering hole pit-stops! Well, you can suggest it, anyway...