Study shows eating Nuts may boost male fertility

• Posted on July 4, 2018
• by Ellsamwise King
• Comment

The potential benefits of nuts for men struggling with fertility have yet to be probed.

For the study, researchers recruited 119 men aged 18-35, who they divided into two groups.

One group ate 60 grams of almonds, hazelnuts, and walnuts daily on top of their usual “western-style” diet, while the second group got no nuts.

After 14 weeks, the nut group “had significant improvements in their sperm count, vitality, motility (movement) and morphology (shape)” — all associated with male fertility, said a statement.

“Moreover, the subjects in the nut group also showed a significant reduction in their levels of sperm DNA fragmentation, a parameter closely associated with male infertility.”

The results were consistent with sperm improvement observed in other studies that looked at diets rich in omega-3, antioxidants such as vitamin C and E, selenium and zinc, and folate.

Nuts are rich in many of these nutrients.

The study results were presented at a meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Barcelona.

Does this mean that men hoping to conceive a child should add nuts to their diet?

“We can’t yet say that,” said study co-author Albert Salas-Huetos of the Rovira I Virgili University in Spain.

“But evidence is accumulating in the literature that healthy lifestyle changes such as following a healthy dietary pattern might help conception — and of course, nuts are a key component of a Mediterranean healthy diet.”

Source: AFP