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Men should eat plenty of fruit to improve fertility

By Hannah Thomas on Tuesday 22 November 2011

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Man and Woman (LP) REX

Female fertility has previously been linked to obesity, but a Brazilian study has discovered that a poor diet in men can lower sperm concentration and affect their ability to reach the egg.

A new study involving 250 men with partners undergoing IVF reveals that those who regularly drink alcoholand eat a poor diet are less fertile than those who eat a diet high in fruit and grains.

Lead researcher Edson Borges, from the Fertility-Assisted Fertilization Center in Sao Paolo, says: 'The sperm concentration was negatively influenced by body mass index and alcohol consumption, and was positively influenced by cerealconsumption and the number of meals per day.'

The results from the study reveal that, from the speed of their sperm to their partner's chance of pregnancy, men who drank alcohol and ate a poor diet were less fertile.

Lynn Westphal from Stanford University hopes that the study, published in the Fertility and Sterility journal, will encourage men to make healthier lifestyle choices.

'We talk about having a healthylifestyleand trying to eliminate any of these things that are bad for health, but I think most of the emphasis tends to be on making sure the woman is as healthy as possible,' she says.

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