Could tomatoes be good for sperm?

A healthy diet came up top, with 77 percent swearing by eating tomatoes and 75 percent relying heavily on oily fish as part of their diet to boost their skin.

A healthy diet came up top, with 77 percent swearing by eating tomatoes and 75 percent relying heavily on oily fish as part of their diet to boost their skin.

Published May 23, 2014

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London - The key nutrient that gives tomatoes their bright red colour could boost fertility in men, according to a study.

The research shows that lycopene could increase sperm count by up to 70 per cent.

The discovery will bring new hope to Britain’s one in six childless couples.

Now a leading support group for the infertile is to conduct a year-long survey to see if giving a daily high-lycopene supplement will lead to more pregnancies.

Karen Veness, of Britain’s Infertility Network, said: ‘We are really positive about these findings. We’re very keen to do an observational study to see if we can help men.

‘There’s an assumption that infertility is a female issue because women are the ones who have the babies, but half the time it is down to problems with sperm function or quality.’

The report was published by the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, which reviewed 12 studies by different groups around the world. All of them showed that lycopene improved sperm count and swimming speed, and reduced the number of abnormal sperm.

Ashok Agarwal, director of the Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Reproductive Medicine, who led the study, said it was part of a general pattern showing lycopene benefited men’s reproductive organs. Other studies have shown the nutrient reduces diseases of the prostate, the gland which makes sperm; and may slow down or even halt the progress of prostate cancer.

His team has already begun a trial giving lycopene supplements to men with unexplained infertility. They expect to announce the results next year.

The findings were welcomed by infertility experts in Britain. Simon Fishel, a co-founder of the world’s first IVF clinic at Bourn Hall in Cambridgeshire, said work here has also shown lycopene reduces damage to sperm.

He said: ‘In some cases it leads to a lowering of the rate of damaged sperm and in other cases you see an improvement in sperm movement.

‘The big difficulty is proving the next stage, which is higher rates of pregnancy. You would need a very big study of very similar men.’ - Daily Mail

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