Trying to get pregnant? Tell your hubby to lay off the bacon.
Doctors from Harvard University presented new research earlier this month at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine’s Annual Meeting suggesting that everyone’s favorite pork product could negatively affect male fertility.
“We found the effect of processed meat intake lowered quality, while fish raised quality,” said Dr. Myriam Afeiche from the Harvard School of Public Health.
The researchers, including Afeiche, studied 156 men with infertility concerns who were involved in IVF. They found that that men who ate less than half a portion of processed meat per day had 7.2% “normal” sperm, while men who ate one half portion of the meat or more per day had just 5.5% “normal” sperm.
The results seem to indicate that eating bacon, or other types of processed meats (like sausage) have a negative affect on a man’s virility. However, Dr. Allan Pacey, chairman of the British Fertility Society, is skeptical of the study’s findings.
“In this instance, the authors link men’s intake of processed meat with the size and shape of their sperm. This may be a real effect, but the study is small, and we know that accurately measuring sperm size and shape in the laboratory is fraught with error,” he said, in an interview with The Daily Mail.
“However, it is already known that high intake of processed meat is linked to other health issues and so advising men to limit their intake of processed food may improve their health generally, as well as possibly be good for their fertility.”
What do you think of the study? Will you tell your husband to stop eating bacon?
