19th May 2014 | by MFC Team
Eating tomatoes could improve male fertility
A new study suggests that eating tomatoes could improve a man’s fertility. The research was conducted at the Cleveland Clinic’s Centre for Reproductive Medicine in the United States. The researchers reviewed 12 studies and found that lycopene, the nutrient that gives tomatoes their red colour, improves sperm count and swimming speed, and reduces the number of abnormal sperm. Previous studies have found that lycopene impacts the prostrate – the gland that makes sperm – by reducing diseases of the prostrate.
In response to these findings, Britain’s Infertility Network is conducting a year-long study to see if taking a daily high-lycopene supplement will increase male fertility and result in more pregnancies. Karen Veness, a spokesman for the organization said that they are very positive about the Cleveland clinic’s findings given that:
“There’s an assumption that infertility is a female issue because women are the ones who have the babies, but half the time it is down to problems with sperm function or quality.”
The Cleveland clinic has also begun a trial where men with unexplained infertility are taking a lycopene supplement to see if it improves pregnancy rates. According to Ashok Agarwal, director of the Cleveland Clinic:
“There is a need for more large trials to analyse the effects of lycopene on male infertility, and the studies must establish which patient groups would derive the greatest benefit from the therapy – for example, we would need to compare lycopene supplementation in infertile men with low versus normal, baseline sperm concentration.”
Read more about nutrition and male fertility here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Read more about the study here.
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