Eating nuts could boost male fertility

Nuts are rich in vitamins and fiber, and there is also evidence that they can be good for keeping your heart healthy. According to a new study, presented by the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology, eating nuts could also help improve male fertility.

Researchers from Rovira i Virgili University in Spain recruited 119 men aged 18 to 35 and divided them into two groups. One group ate 60 grams, about two handfuls, almonds, hazelnuts and walnuts with their usual diet every day, while the second group ate none.

They were followed after 14 weeks, and those who ate the walnuts had significant improvements in their sperm count, vitality, motility, and morphology. In other words, they had more sperm that were in better shape and moved further, and faster. They also reduced the fragmentation of DNA, which is a measure of the damage done to sperm.

This comes after a study last year that found that there was a significant overall decrease in the number of male sperm – about 1.6% per year – in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand between 1973 and 2011.

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The results "support a beneficial role for chronic consumption of nuts in sperm quality", said researchers at the time of the survey. a meeting of the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology in Barcelona. But they also stressed that all participants were healthy and fertile. The study did not investigate whether men with fertility problems would benefit from nuts. According to the authors, the results are in line with previous research that has shown that sperm can be improved by diets rich in omega-3, antioxidants such as vitamin C and E, selenium, zinc and folate. nuts. Some vitamins, such as zinc, have also been associated with late menopause, according to a study conducted this year.

But to find out if men should add nuts to their diet if they are trying to have a child, "we still can not say that," said the co-author of the report. study, Albert Salas-Huetos.

"But evidence is accumulating in the literature that healthy lifestyle changes like following a healthy diet could help with conception – and of course, nuts are a key element of the diet. a healthy Mediterranean diet. "