Male fertility: Eat tree nuts every day to improve sperm quality
Male fertility: Eat tree nuts every day to improve sperm quality
Diet
is one of the common factors that affect male fertility. Eating some
particular foods has been linked to improved sperm quality and overall
male fertility. Talking about food and male fertility, according to
recent findings, tree nuts, almonds, hazelnuts and walnuts have been
known to boost the vitality, motility and morphology of sperm.
The study
A
new study published in the journal Andrology has demonstrated the
molecular process behind how the consumption of tree nuts changes the
sperm quality.
The study found that consuming tree nuts can change the quality of sperm in just 14 weeks. The study included 72 healthy male participants who followed a western-style diet, which is high in red meat, processed foods and sugars.
48 of them were asked to integrate 60 grams of tree nuts daily for 14 weeks and the remaining 24 continued their typical lifestyle and western diet.
The result
At
the end of the trial, men on the heavy diet had 36 genomic regions of
their sperm DNA and were differentially methylated compared to the
control group. Of those regions, 9.72 per cent were considered
hypermethylated.
These findings provide the first evidence that adding nuts to a regular Western-style diet impacts sperm DNA methylation in specific regions.
Other foods that can boost sexual health
Pumpkin seeds
Pumpkin
seeds are high in zinc and other essential minerals for sperm
formation. Low zinc levels have been linked with low testosterone
levels, poor sperm quality and increased risk of male infertility.
Dark chocolate
Dark
chocolate is rich in amino acid L-arginine that can double the sperm
and semen volume. The darker chocolate, the better it is.
Pomegranate
Pomegranate
juice is loaded with antioxidants that can help improve sperm quality.
Drinking pomegranate juice also improves sexual performance and reduces
the chances of erectile dysfunction in men, say studies.
Leafy greens
Dark leafy vegetables like lettuce, spinach, brussels sprouts are rich folate that can help produce healthy and strong sperm.
Vitamin C
Oranges are extremely rich in vitamin C that has shown to improve the sperm motility, morphology and count. Other foods rich in vitamin C are tomatoes, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and broccoli.