Living a healthy lifestyle is good for the wellbeing of an individual and can also impact the ability of one to have children in men. According to a new study eating a diet that is rich in nuts could enhance sperm quality in men and this is vital in keeping men fertile.
Nuts can improve sperm quality
According to the study by researchers at the Universitat Rovira I Virgili in Spain, a mix of tree nuts such as walnuts, hazelnuts, and almonds can have an effect on sperm DNA methylation. This is the process through which DNA undergoes natural changes but didn’t affect human DNA sequences. Most important DNA methylation often hinders the expression of certain genes. For instance, it can prevent tumor-causing genes from causing cancer or tuning on themselves.
Sperm quality depends on several factors including lifestyle, environment, and diet which nutritional scientists established is very vital. The researcher established that individuals on a “western-style diet” that is rich in red meat, sugars, and processed food who ate more nuts enjoyed enhanced sperm quality. This recent study builds on past findings pointing to enhanced overall sperm quality which includes county and motility in people that consume nuts regularly.
The study recruited 72 healthy, youthful, and non-smoking subjects
The study randomized the 72 healthy subjects involved in the study. The participants included youthful and non-smoking individuals with 48 of them asked to consume 60 grams of tree nuts daily for 14 weeks while the rest were put on a typical western lifestyle diet. At the end of the study, those that consumed nuts had 36 genomic regions in sperm DNA which imply they were considerably differentially methylated relative to the placebo group. Out of the regions around 97.2% were hypermethylated.
This study which is the first hard evidence linking nut consumption to sperm quality has been published in the Andrology Journal. Lead author Albert Salas-Huetos said that the work shows that there are sensitive regions of the sperm genome that respond to diet leading to changes in sperm quality and enhanced fertility.