TRANSLATE

Deformities Found in Sons of Vege Mums

The Dominion

21st February 2000

Vegetarians are convinced of the healthiness of their diet. They claim a lower incidence of heart disease and of some cancers. Those who prefer steaks and look askance at pallid salad and bean-eaters will have had their prejudices confirmed by reports in the British Journal of Urology and the British Medical Journal.

It seems that, whatever its advantages, vegetarianism isn't the best diet for mothers hoping to produce the sires of the next generation.

The most common genital malformation of the penis is hypospadia. It occurs once in every 350 male births. In hypospadias, the meatus, the opening of the urethra, is situated on the underside of the shaft of the penis, rather than at its tip. The actual opening can be anywhere from its usual site to the scrotum. Usually it is located an inch or so from where it could be expected.

A survey started in 1991 has shown that the rate of hypospadias in baby boys born to vegetarians is five times higher than in those born to meat-eaters. The suggestion is that the phyto-oestrogens in some vegetarian food, particularly soya, may be responsible. Phyto-oestrogens are natural chemicals found in plants which have properties similar to oestrogen — the female hormone. Greener vegetarians are blaming pesticides and artificial fertilisers.

This research may have greater implications than is first apparent. One of the mysteries of modern medicine is why congenital abnormalities of the male genital tract are increasing. The incidence of undescended testes, of testes which are liable to twist (tortion of the testes), of cancer of the testes “a young man's disease“ has been increasing steadily for a hundred years, as has the number of men with low sperm counts. Perhaps steak and chops should be added to folic acid as essential requirements of the pre-conceptual diet.