Low Folate Levels May Harm Sperm

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Up till now, birth-defect researchers have typically focused on women's diet in the period around conception, Eskenazi said. "Based on these data, maybe men, too, need to consider their diet when they are considering fathering a child," she said.

Although this study doesn't conclusively prove a link between folate and chromosomal abnormality, Eskenazi advises men who are thinking of becoming fathers to increase their folate intake, perhaps with a supplement or a multivitamin containing folate.

This isn't the first study to find a link between diet and sperm health. A report published last year in Human Reproduction found that women who ate beef seven or more times per week tended to produce sons with lowered sperm counts, perhaps due to the effects of hormones or pesticides on developing testes.

One expert agrees that healthy eating is linked to having healthy babies -- even for men.

"This is another common-sense article that says good nutrition is associated with a better reproductive outcome," said Dr. Jamie Grifo, director of reproductive endocrinology at New York University Medical Center.

Grifo noted that rates of abnormal sperm seen in the Berkeley study were four to six per 1,000, which means that men with poor nutrition still had more than 99 percent normal sperm.

"Even though this may be the case, don't smoke, drink modestly, eat healthy unprocessed food and take your vitamins," Grifo advised prospective fathers.

More information

For more on infertility, visit the American Society of Reproductive Medicine.