This was an amusing food / life linkage read today…
(via the journal New Scientist)
“The sons of US women who ate a lot of beef* while pregnant between 1949 and 1983 have grown into men with low sperm counts. Anabolic steroids used as growth promoters in beef cattle in the US, though not in Europe, may have played a role (Human Reproduction, DOI: 10.1093/humrep/dem068).”
*sons of ‘high beef consumers’ (>7 beef meals/week)
Links
New Scientist: Mothers’ beefy diet linked to sons’ low sperm count- Oxford Journal of Human Reproduction: Semen quality of fertile US males in relation to their mothers’ beef consumption during pregnancy
3 Comments
posted April 26th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
That explains it!
A birth of 1956, I wanted ten sons with my childhood sweetie and we only have five (argh!)
Although, I wonder how many those little magic pills she takes has intercepted.
posted April 27th, 2007 at 9:14 am
Beef… yesterday’s dinner, today’s birth control!
posted June 1st, 2007 at 6:27 am
damn i guess my mom was a vegetarian!
