This has been somewhat understood for sometime, though the science on how phytoestrogens actually react with the human body isn't well understood. The article also doesn't make it clear that there are differences in various soy-based foods. The process that produces tofu (roughly equivalent to making cheese from milk) breaks down the hormone-like compounds, while more raw forms of soy (soy milk, various soy-based meat and dairy alternatives, whole soy beans, etc.) still contain those chemicals.<p>The interesting thing about soy, to me, is that it is one of the marketing miracles of our time. It was considered inedible in western culture until just the current generation, and now it is considered a "healthy" addition to just about any food. It was used for oil and other raw materials in industry, but not for food. While not as successful as corn (which is simply unavoidable in American foods), the soy industry has integrated its products into the daily diet of almost everyone. While I eat fresh tofu several times a week, I avoid mass-market foods that contain soy, and anything that contains soy in its various "raw" forms (soy flour/meal, soy milk, or whole soy beans). Soy sauce is problematic, as there are "quick ferment" processes used in most cheap soy sauce brands that do not break down the suspect compounds...properly slow fermented soy sauce is generally fine, though.
Let's see: the Chinese have been eating soy products since the beginning of time, and China is the most populous country on Earth -- I would guess they have a high fertility rate, otherwise the one-child policy would not have been enacted...something seems amiss here...