According to studies conducted in recent years, the decrease in sperm count, which means that men's reproductive health is deteriorating, indicates a decline in Western societies. How can it be improved?
A healthy diet high in nuts may help, researchers suggest.
In 2017, a large meta-analysis focusing on male reproductive health in Western countries found that sperm concentration and revealed that sperm count has been declining steadily over the last 30 years.
This means that male fertility is falling at an alarming rate, and it is important to find solutions to counteract this situation.
End Recently, research conducted by a team at the Human Nutrition Unit at the Universitat Rovira i Virgil in Reus, Spain, suggested that what men include or exclude on a daily basis can significantly affect sperm quality.
Investigators say environmental factors such as “pollution, smoking, and trends toward a Western-style diet” may be partly to blame for the male fertilization crisis.
The latest project is a randomized controlled trial looking specifically at the impact of nut consumption on sperm health.
The results were presented at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Barcelona, Spain, said study author Dr. Presented at the annual meeting organized by Albert Salas-Huetos.
Do more nuts produce more sperm?
Dr. Salas-Huertos and colleagues studied 119 healthy male participants aged 18–35. For the purpose of this study, volunteers were randomly divided into two groups.
One group was asked to add 60 grams of nuts, a combination of hazelnuts, almonds and walnuts, to their daily diet. Those in the second group followed their usual Western-style diet, without worrying about consuming nuts.
For comparison, sperm and blood samples—collected at both the beginning and end of this experiment—were taken from all participants.
At the end of the trial period, scientists found that participants following hazelnut-enriched diets They noticed significantly improved sperm quality.
More specifically, these participants had a 16% higher sperm count, a 4% higher sperm viability (i.e. the amount of live, healthy sperm cells present in the semen), a 6% higher sperm motility improvement (or movement of sperm cells) and a 1% improvement in sperm morphology (normal, healthy, size and shape of cells).
Importantly, men who consumed a handful of mixed nuts per day were at the end of the study. showed less sperm DNA fragmentation, meaning genetic integrity was better preserved in these participants' samples.
When sperm DNA becomes too fragmented, fertility is reduced or a miscarriage is more likely to occur. These findings, Dr. He noted that Salas-Huertos and colleagues "support a beneficial role for nut consumption in sperm quality." He explains that it may be because it is rich in important nutrients such as protein, vitamins and omega-3.
However, researchers explain that it is difficult to say that nuts alone are the answer to better male fertility. "We can't say that yet based on the results of this study. But the literature may help accumulate evidence that a healthy lifestyle, such as following a healthy dietary pattern, can aid change—and, of course, nuts are the nutrients included in a healthy Mediterranean diet." Albert Salas-Huetos
Additionally, the researchers explain that the study was conducted in a population of young, healthy men, and thus any generalizations should be avoided until further research is conducted in a more diverse study.
Finally, the study was conducted in the International Hazelnut and Dried It was funded by the Food Council, so it did not aim to evaluate the impact of other foods and nutrients on male reproductive health.
Read: 0
