Does a nut-rich diet lead to better sperm quality?
09 July, 2018
Sperm count is on the decline in Western societies, according to recent studies, which means that men's reproductive health is suffering. How can it be improved? A healthful diet that is abounding in nuts might help, researchers suggest.
In 2017, a large meta-analysis focusing on men's reproductive health in Western countries found that sperm concentration, as well as sperm count, have been steadily on the decline throughout the past 30 or so years.
This means that male fertility has been dropping at a worrying rate, and it is important to find solutions to counteract this situation.
Recently, research led by a team at the Human Nutrition Unit of the Universitat Rovira i Virgil in Reus, Spain, suggested that what men include — or fail to include — in their diets on a daily basis could significantly affect the quality of the sperm that they produce.
The investigators note that environmental factors such as "pollution, smoking, and trends toward a Western-style diet" may be partly to blame for the apparent male fertility crisis.
The recent project was a randomized controlled study that looked, specifically, at the effect of nut consumption on sperm health.
The results were presented at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology's annual meeting, held in Barcelona, Spain, by study author Dr. Albert Salas-Huetos.