Picture credit: http://cltampa.comA diet high in saturated fats may not only make it more difficult to find a partner willing to have sex with you, it may affect the quality of your sperm, according to a new study published in the journal, Human Reproduction,.
Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School analyzed data from 99 men with complete dietary and semen quality data were analyzed. They were primarily Caucasian (89%) with a mean (SD) age of 36.4 (5.3) years; 71% were overweight or obese; and 67% were never smokers.
In the process they discovered that a diet high in saturated fat was linked with lower sperm count and concentration.
They also found that diets high in omega-3 polyunsaturated fats, which are in fish and plant oils, were associated with better-quality semen. Basically, the sperm cells were a better size and shape.
Further, studies with larger samples are now required to confirm these findings.
Source:
Attaman JA, Toth TL, Furtado J, Campos H, Hauser R, Chavarro JE. Dietary fat and semen quality among men attending a fertility clinic. Hum. Reprod. (2012) doi: 10.1093/humrep/des065 First published online: March 13, 2012.
Actually it was good that the study took into account if the men smoked or not as that would also certainly be a contributing factor I would suspect if a higher percentage did smoke.
ReplyDeleteMind you I don't think we need to panic yet, the human population is over 7 billion strong, if a few people have a diet that impairs their sperm it might be a good thing! I say that though partially in jest, but I do realize that this is really is a serious issue as diet should be taken more seriously by men and women at all times.
Great looking blog. Very informative.