[ad_1]
New research published in the journal Andrology found a link between nut consumption and semen quality in men, revealing that those who added a nut mix to a Western-style diet for 14 weeks improved their numbers and their sperm function. The dietary change altered the methylation of sperm DNA through epigenetics, which changes what our cells code for (phenotype) without affecting the underlying DNA (genotype).
Lifestyle and environmental factors have long been associated with changes in the number and quality of sperm. External factors like these are able to alter our cells through DNA methylation, which adds methyl groups to a DNA molecule, influencing its production for better or for worse. Alcohol use, drug use, and smoking are all associated with negative changes in sperm production, but the effects of diet are not so well established.
This new research led a randomized clinical trial to determine if and how eating nuts altered sperm DNA methylation, in a trial called FERTINUTS. They took 72 healthy, non-smoking young men for the study, feeding the nut group of 48 participants a mixture of nuts, including almonds, hazelnuts and walnuts.
They then compared the methylation rate in these participants to the control group of 24 participants who did not add nuts to their diet. Their results showed that neither group saw overall changes in sperm DNA methylation, but the walnut group demonstrated significant changes in 36 genomic regions from start to finish of the trial. , of which 97.2% presented hypermethylation. No significant change was observed in the nut-free group.
A previous study in 2018 found that supplementing a Western-style diet with walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds improved sperm quality in healthy men of childbearing age, and suggested that these beneficial effects may be the result of a reduction in sperm DNA fragmentation or changes in DNA methylation. This new research shows that there are certain sensitive regions of the semen epigenome that respond to the consumption of nuts, altering the sperm and its ability to fertilize.
It is not yet clear what nutrients in nuts act on sperm methylation, but researchers point out that folic acid and genistein are possibilities. Whether the same effect can be achieved from supplements or whether there are other potential health benefits from their consumption are areas they believe merit further investigation.
Did you know that: Happy, healthy sperm are able to fertilize an egg by pulling on a plug like an otter, not squirming like an eel.
[ad_2]
Source link