DON'T LOWER YOUR FERTILITY !

How beer, wine, coffee and nuts can ALL 'lower a man's fertility'

Beer, wine, coffee and nuts all contain high levels of chemicals linked to male infertility, a study has found.

The bar-room drinks and snacks are loaded with phytoestrogens - naturally-occurring plant compounds implicated in falling sperm counts.

Instant coffee powder, Brazil nuts, peanuts, brown ale and red wine scored particularly highly for the chemicals, the analysis, carried out at by the Medical Research Council in Cambridge, found.

Beer contains high levels of chemicals linked to infertility

Researcher Dr Gunter Kuhnle said the study showed the compounds are found in more foods and drinks then previously thought.

'The data we have collected has enabled us to put together an accurate table of which foods contain the highest levels of phytoestrogens,' he added.

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

And a study published earlier this summer linked soya to dwindling sperm counts in men.

Men who regularly ate small amounts of tofu or soya meat or dairy substitutes had lower sperm concentrations than those who didn't.

Low sperm count is known to make it harder for a man to conceive.

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

The latest study measured levels of isoflavones and a second type of oestrogen-like chemicals called lignans.

But it did not speculate on whether the levels found could affect health or fertility.

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.'

However, the effects of phytoestrogens are not all bad, with some studies suggesting they can ease the symptoms of the menopause, as well as protect against cancer and heart disease.

Reporting the Cambridge results, New Scientist says: 'Studies on the health effects of phytoestrogens have painted a mixed and muddled picture.

'Some have hinted that the compounds protect against cancer, heart disease and the side-effects of the menopause, while others have linked high levels to an increased risk of breast cancer and male infertility.

'Still others have documented no link between phytoestrogens and those same ailments.

'So snack at your own risk - or reward.'