A small study conducted in Spain suggests that men who consume large amounts of animal fats as part of their daily diet ““ particularly processed meats and full-fat dairy foods ““ may be at a higher risk for infertility than their counterparts who eat a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products.
The study examined 61 Spanish men who were seeking professional fertility counseling. Among the participants, some 50 percent suffered from a below average sperm count and admitted to a relatively high intake of fatty meats and dairy products. Of the other 31 men who were found to have high-quality sperm and a normal sperm count, most consumed a well-balanced diet including fruits, vegetables and skim milk.
Dr. Jaime Mendiola of the Spanish Instituto Bernabeu explains that though the findings do not offer conclusive evidence that diets high in animal fats lead to dysfunction in sperm production, they do suggest that reproductive potency may be just another of the many health benefits associated with a healthy, well-balanced diet.
In a previous study, Mendiola and his colleagues found that diets rich in antioxidants like lycopene (found abundantly in tomatoes) and vitamin C seemed to be connected with healthy sperm quality in adult males. Mendiola explained that the antioxidants probably guard the genetic material carried in sperm from other potentially harmful elements found in the body.
Another potential factor in reducing sperm quality may the increased exposure to xenobiotics that is associated with the consumption of high-fat foods; particularly meats. Xenobiotics are chemicals that are not found naturally in the body or as part of a normal diet. They include substances like non-human steroids, pesticides and PCBs ““ all of which are known to mimic the effects of estrogen in the human body.
Estrogen, though typically known as the “Ëœfemale hormone’, is essential to sperm production in males. Dr. Rex A. Hess, a professor of veterinary biosciences at the University of Illinois, hypothesizes that estrogen-mimicking contaminants may interfere with and block the receptors responsible for incorporating the real hormone into the sperm-production process.
Xenobiotics are usually associated with environmental pollutants that often find their way into livestock through food and water supplies, explains Mendiola. Since these compounds are often fat-soluble they tend to accumulate in the animal’s fat deposits, which are later passed on to the consumer of the products made from these animals.
Mendiola also suggested that the antibiotics and hormones used to increase growth in livestock may play a role. Though the use of growth hormones in livestock farming has been illegal in Europe since 1988, he noted that most of the men involved with the study were born in or before the 1970’s and thus would have had significant exposure to the hormones before they were outlawed.
The use of antibiotics and growth hormones in the United States is still legal and widely practiced.
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