Ha, just a quick hit & run here, ’cause, after all, how much commentary is needed?
PubMed: Hypogonadism and erectile dysfunction associated with soy product consumption.
Previous research has focused on the beneficial effects of soy and its active ingredients, isoflavones. For instance, soy consumption has been associated with lower cardiovascular and breast cancer risks. However, the number of reports demonstrating adverse effects of isoflavones due to their estrogenlike properties has increased. We present the case of a 19-y-old type 1 diabetic but otherwise healthy man with sudden onset of loss of libido and erectile dysfunction after the ingestion of large quantities of soy-based products in a vegan-style diet. Blood levels of free and total testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) were taken at the initial presentation for examination and continuously monitored up to 2 y after discontinuation of the vegan diet. Blood concentrations of free and total testosterone were initially decreased, whereas DHEA was increased. These parameters normalized within 1 y after cessation of the vegan diet. Normalization of testosterone and DHEA levels was paralleled by a constant improvement of symptoms; full sexual function was regained 1 y after cessation of the vegan diet. This case indicates that soy product consumption is related to hypogonadism and erectile dysfunction. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a combination of decreased free testosterone and increased DHEA blood concentrations after consuming a soy-rich diet. Hence, this case emphasizes the impact of isoflavones in the regulation of sex hormones and associated physical alterations.
[emphasis added]
Ok, one comment: hahahahahaha, laflaflaflaflaflaf.
On the other end of the spectrum, some vegan women seem to have the opposite problem.
Persistent sexual arousal syndrome associated with increased soy intake.
CASE: The patient is a 44-year-old female who presented to her gynecologist for evaluation of dysmenorrhea and menometrorrhagia. During the review of systems, the patient reported 5-6 months of increased pelvic tension, not associated with an increase in desire that required her to self-stimulate to orgasm approximately 15 times daily. Upon further inquiry, the patient disclosed that her dietary regimen included soy intake in excess of 4 pounds per day that began approximately 1 month prior to the onset of symptoms.
RESULTS: Treatment consisted of supportive counseling and dietary modification. At the 3-month follow-up visit, the patient’s menstrual difficulties and sexual complaints resolved.
CONCLUSIONS: Although no known cause or cure of persistent sexual arousal syndrome has been identified to date, the success of reducing dietary of phytoestrogens in this patient may provide insight into the etiology of the disorder and suggest potential treatments.
Just to be clear, I’m not laughing at these people or their problems, but at the general insanity at the root of it.
Both of those links come via Melissa McEwan’s Twitter stream.
Wow if that’s not something to discourage soy consumption for men then I don’t know what is.
One positive note: the vegans won’t be able to reproduce, therefore they’re not gonna be able to bring their dumbness forwards to the next generation
I dunno, some men might start encouraging their girlfriends or wives to start eating more tofu . . . .
It’s not like a vegan is getting laid, anyway.
start eating 4 pounds of soy/day. 1 month later get some very whacky female issues. at that point any sane person would have stopped eating all that crap and done some research into the ramifications of the diet change.
Four pounds of soy a day? Four POUNDS?? I don’t think I’ve ever eaten four pounds of food in one day in my entire life. And between scarfing all that soy and then “self-stimulating to orgasm” 15 times a day…well, it’s sort of like the whole eating 70 bananas a day, isn’t it; does she have time for anything else???
Those kooky vegans…
Asexuality generally comes for free with veganism, for several reasons.
First, if you are male and eat lots of soy, as Richard describes.
Second, if you don’t, you’re generally starving yourself (of essential nutrients, if not absolute calorie intake), and reproduction is one of the first things to shut down when you’re starving.
Third, even if you avoid those two, diets low in saturated fat vs. PUFA (and vs. protein) appear to cause low testosterone, which shuts down both male and female libido.
And we all know the other effects, which I won’t rehash.
But related to all this is a question that bothered me for some time, which is: why is there such a “high” associated with first going vegan? New vegans are practically burning with energy (sexual and otherwise) and evangelical zeal. The popular opinion is because it’s “at least better than the SAD”, but I don’t see that sort of fervor with other “broken, but better than the SAD” diets (e.g. Zone) that are far better for you.
Then I realized why – a realization inspired in part by Richard’s old post “All Diets Are High-Fat Diets.”
Vegans Are Cannibals: The Truth Behind The “New Vegan High”
http://www.gnolls.org/1596/vegans-are-cannibals-the-truth-behind-the-new-vegan-high/
JS
Yep, JS, I believe it’s exactly that. The same thing happens to paleos who don’t eat enough, once they get lean. In my case, I can definitely attest that the first year or so, like the first 40 pounds lost was an amazing, euphoric time.
I think it’s time to go cook a very high fat breakfast…
I think you’re right, and the same theory most likely applies to any “quick weight loss” diet: what you’re really eating is yourself. (In paleo, usually this crash is associated with the low-fat “faileo diet” from people who’ve only ever read Cordain…though it’s not nearly as pronounced since there’s no frank malnutrition involved, just calorie deficit due to protein satiation.)
This also explains the high associated with fasting: fasting, like raw veganism, is just a paleo diet of your own flesh.
My guess is that one of the reasons the “high” is so pronounced with vegans is that most of them don’t just transition straight from a meat-eating junk-food SAD to veganism. They’ve usually been eating a “healthy” low-fat, low-meat diet for a while, so the rush of finally getting the saturated fats their body craves is extremely powerful.
I’m with you on the high-fat foods: protein satiation is very real, and calories have to come from somewhere. I keep on adding more and more butter, coconut oil, and grass-fed tallow to my mixed dishes, and I haven’t yet made a dish that was “too greasy”. Time to go cook some coconut-milk-based Thai curry!
JS
Edamame, anyone?
I just discovered it, kind of like string beans except it’s Asian. It’s like Feng Shui for your body and soul. Bruce Lee used to fill a bathtub full of it and sleep there, he credited it for his ability to withstand blows that would have killed an ordinary person.
Troll? Edamame is basically just soy beans in a pod…
I’m guessing there a big difference between edamame and Monsanto soybeans. I wouldn’t mind hearing about the anti-nutrient and pseudo-estrogen differences between the two if anyone knows. For an average person, edamame is a side dish not a staple or a bathing medium, and in small quantities the chemical defense agents of the soy would be doing their job — harmless except in large or concentrated quantities.
I agree, Paul. I go out to sushi infrequently enough that having a bowl of misso soup and splitting one of steamed edemamme with the wife isn’t going to be a big deal.
Edamame is immature soybeans…sort of like snap peas.
Cue Dr. Guyenet’s recent posts on polyphenols, hormesis, and disease:
http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2011/02/polyphenols-hormesis-and-disease-part-i.html
http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2011/02/polyphenols-hormesis-and-disease-part.html
On that theory, occasional low doses of plant toxins are good for the same reasons that occasional training to exhaustion is good…and chronic consumption of plant toxins is bad for the same reason chronic overtraining is bad. I figure a small bowl of miso with a couple tiny tofu chunks, once every week or so, is about the right amount of daidzein and genistein. (Yes, I know they’re isoflavones, not polyphenols, but they stimulate the Nrf2 antioxidative response.)
JS
I think one of the issues is the pesticides they use on soy fields….those are filled with estrogens as well. Sally Fallon from the Weston A. Price foundation is one of the top experts in the country on soy…she talks about this issue a lot. So it’s not just the phytoestrogens in the soy plant….but they put it in the pesticides to kill the pests. You’re getting a double dose, and you can’t wash that stuff off….
As much as I love endamame with my sushi too, I stay away from ALL of it. Mercola’s kind of a nut-whack, but he’s got some very good research on soy worth checking out….
and so? They can’t breed? Why is that a problem? Veganism gets the Darwin Award!
Good thing they studied a large population of healthy adults. Oh wait – it was a single diabetic.
So what would this all imply for a male soy-eater who jacks off 15 times a day?
Josh:
It’s a valid complaint which is why I didn’t do anything extensive with it. However, it does add a little weight that when they removed the soy his hardon returned.
Pretty unusual for a 19 yo to have erectile disfunction, I’d imagine, at least if his diabetes was well controlled.
Ah, it’s pretty well known that eating/drinking soy gives you ‘bitch-tits’. Or at least was common wisdom around my old gym. Never thought much about it at the time, but then I’ve never liked soy, except fermented.
Probably that he is starving himself and burning his own body fat which is giving him a high including increased energy and libido. It will eventually wear off as he runs out of his own body to cannibalise.
Ahh, so that is why I had a few of those “sensitive episodes,” back when I bought into the grain/soy bullshit. Daily consumption of two (often plus) pounds of meat, plus about eighteen eggs per week took care of that disaster in short order.
Richard it’s limp dick and limp brain. I’d like to see brain function measured in long term fruit-booters.
@HonoluluEdwin Hey, let me come over to your house and kill your children and eat them. I will do it quickly with ‘minimal fuss’. I wont celebrate their pain. Humans need meat and we ate other humans in our evolution. I want to eat your children. I want to eat your dog. GIMME!!
VEGANSANITY 14 hours ago
http://www.youtube.com/comment_servlet?all_comments=1&v=xPaQKbldSI0&email=comment_reply_received
“I’d like to see brain function measured in long term fruit-booters.”
That’s the 30BAD business model: demyelinate enough of your brain cells from B12 deficiency and you’ll be willing to pay Durianrider $1750 AUD for 30 days of ‘nutritional consultation’.
JS
yeah bummer its one guy with other problems… i wonder if he was overweight or had any metabolic syndrome stuff since he had diabetes, etc. i want to see a study of a bunch vegan dudes with this problem. of course they probably claim to practice celibacy to reach a higher state of being above us mere meat eating mortals. or they tell the vegan chicks they went vegan for they just love to cuddle.
Type 1 diabetics are generally slender at least when they’re young, after awhile they can develop insulin resistance, gain weight and then say they have “double diabetes”
and that’s why celibate monks like to eat soy
Okay so as a young man, I should give up soy and encourage my girlfriend to increase soy consumption?