Sperm quality gets big boost from eating nuts, scientific trial shows; participants’ overall health also improved
Study shows fertility benefits of eating nuts, and adds to research findings that healthy lifestyle changes, such as adopting a Mediterranean diet, improve the chances of conceiving a baby
Eating nuts gave a significant boost to young men’s sperm numbers and overall health in a scientific trial, researchers say.
The findings “support a beneficial role for chronic nut consumption in sperm quality”, they said, but stressed the study participants were all healthy, apparently fertile men.
How to increase your sperm count and keep it up: lots of great sex, cold baths and garlic
The potential benefits of nuts for men struggling with fertility have yet to be investigated.
For the study, researchers recruited 119 men aged 18-35, 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, a statement said.