Dietary Fats Alter Male Reproduction

Different types of dietary fats have been shown to be beneficial or harmful to your health.

Saturated fat, a type of dietary fat commonly found in different cuts of meat has been linked to the development of cardiovascular disease (which research is showing could be false).

However, increased omega-3 fatty acid levels have been shown to be effective at improving, eye, heart, brain, and even lung health.

Now, a new study published in the Journal of Human Reproduction, shows the relationship between high intakes of saturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids, and how they affect the health of your sperm.

Let me explain…

The Research

Researchers aimed to see the relationship between dietary fat (saturated vs. omega-3 fatty acids) and sperm quality.

They recruited 99 men who completed a dietary questionnaire and who underwent a sperm quality test.

The men had an average age of 36, and 71 percent of the men were considered overweight or obese according to their body mass index (BMI) measurements.

The researchers also noted that 67 percent of the men never smoked.

Of the 99 men, 23 men were randomly chosen to have their sperm tested for fatty acid concentration in both the sperm and the seminal plasma concentration.

The team of researchers noted that men with the highest intake of saturated fat showed a much lower sperm concentration and sperm count.

They showed that higher intakes of saturated fats decreased total sperm count by 43 percent.  Plus, those same men showed a
38 percent decrease in sperm concentration.

They concluded that this was a direct relationship to the intake of dietary saturated fats.

However, in omega-3 fatty acid concentrations, men with the highest circulating omega-3 fatty acid levels showed improved sperm morphology.

They noted that men with the highest omega-3 fatty acid levels showed an almost 2 percent improvement in sperm morphology, compared to men with the lowest omega-3 fatty acid levels.

They concluded that high dietary intake of saturated fats negatively affected sperm count and concentration, in contrast, higher omega-3 fatty acid intake was positively associated with increased sperm morphology.

However, it must be noted that research like this current study is evolving, and that further research is needed to validate these findings.  

Even though more research is needed, this is a very interesting and potential association between dietary fats and male reproductive health.

Change Your Dietary Fat

Including more omega-3 fatty acids and less saturated fat could alter men’s reproductive health - for the better.

Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to reduce inflammation, improve heart health, and improve male fertility.

Now, research has shown that the type of dietary fats you include in your diet can alter your sperm count and concentration, however, more research is needed to validate their findings.

Altering your diet has the potential to lower inflammation, increase weight loss, and alter cholesterol levels, which could lead to many positive improvements in health.

Increasing omega-3 fatty acid intake and lowering your intake of saturated fats may lead to improvements in many different aspects of reproductive and general health.


NEXT: Could It Be This Easy To Increase Your Omega-3’s? >>




References:

Attaman, J.  Toth, T.  Furtado, J.  Campos, H.  Hauser, R.  Chavarro, J.  Dietary fat and semen quality among men attending a fertility clinic.  Hum Reprod. 2012. doi: 10.1093/humrep/des065.