(Newswire.net — October 22, 2014) — For decades we have been bombarded with studies that showed vegan or vegetarian diets positive impacts on health. Well, now we know there is a down side to this diet, at least for men.
The results of a recently published Loma Linda Medical School study show significantly lower sperm count in men who follow a vegetarian or vegan diet compared with men who eats food of animal origin.
National statistic presented data that vegetarians enjoy an average lifespan of 89 years of age when the average American lives to age 79. Vegetarian participants in the study of the Loma Linda Medical School were found to have sperm counts of 50 million sperm per mL compared to 70 million sperm per mL in meat eaters. In addition to the lower sperm counts, the percentage of sperm actively mobile in the samples taken from vegetarian men were significantly lower at 30%. Meat eaters had an average sperm motility of 60%.
So, the question is what is causing the lower sperm count. One of the reasons may be that soy protiens fail to promote the same sperm health as red meat. On the other hand, it may be due to the over-all protein and fat deficiency that vegetarians regularly experience that has the noted effect on sperm activity.
“The vegetarian males’ sperm counts do not make them infertile,” said Dr. Eliza Orzylowska, the study’s lead researcher. At the same time, she stated that the lower sperm count will “play a factor”, which can only mean it may take longer for the couple to conceive.
However, “red meat actually decreases sperm count too,” one reader post a comment. Other questioned the findings for other reasons. “I wouldn’t trust a religious organization such as the Seventh Day Adventists protestant sect to use and promote validated science and the scientific method.” forgetting (or not knowing) that part of the Seventh Day Adventist lifestyle is an adherence to vegetarianism. If the seventh day Adventist institution were to have biased results they would be biased in the opposite direction of this study, commented a reader.
Given that the study results do not promote the lifestyle of those studying it, the readers display tendency to accept this study. While the vegetarian diet does amazing things for they’re longevity apparently, it does reduce they’re ability to readily reproduce. “They went ahead and published the study anyway, this is called scientific integrity!” concluded a reader.