Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health found that men who eat lots of processed meat like bacon and sausage have lower sperm quality than men who don’t. Men who have a diet heavy in fish have better sperm and more of it.
Men should back away from the bacon if they want to make babies.
New research from the Harvard School of Public Health shows men who eat lots of processed meats have poorer quality sperm than those who don’t. Men whose diets include fish — especially white fish like cod or halibut — had the highest level of quality sperm, according to the study, presented Monday in Boston, at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine’s annual meeting.
“What brought up our concern is how meat is produced in the United States,” Dr. Jorge Chavarro, one of the researchers, told the Daily News. “Many beef producers give cattle natural or synthetic hormones to stimulate growth, a few days or weeks before the animals are killed. We wanted to examine how these hormones might affect people who consume them.”
Researchers analyzed more than 350 semen samples from 156 men who visited a local fertility center and answered questions about their diet. They found that eating processed red meat has a negative effect on “sperm morphology” — the size and shape of sperm’s cell structures. Having abnormal sperm can contribute to infertility.
Men who eat just one slice of bacon or sausage link a day have 30% fewer normal sperm than men who don’t, according to the study.
Eating white fish had a positive effect on sperm shape, while eating dark meat fish like salmon and tuna upped sperm count.
Researchers explained that it’s been known that healthy diets contribute to healthy sperm.
Previous studies have linked dairy products and carbohydrate-heavy diets with sperm decline.
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