Pesticides & Your Sperm

Research conducted by Harvard University found that men who ate the greatest amount of fruit and vegetables with high levels of pesticide residue had about half the amount of sperm normal for their age, and 32% fewer normally formed sperm than those who consumed the least of these veggies.

 

So what were the low-sperm makers eating?

 

Mostly the thin-skinned, softer produce that tend to have higher pesticide residue – grapes, potatoes, apples, and pears. The other men in the study ate more produce of the low pesticide residue type – avocadoes, cantaloupe, and pineapple, for example.

 

Before you go and throw out half your fridge, let’s take these findings with a grain of salt:

 

Less than 200 men were given a questionnaire and evaluated at a fertility clinic between 2007 and 2012.

 

All in all, 338 semen samples were taken for these men. The questionnaire asked them what types of fruits and vegetables they ate, and the men where then separated into groups based on how much high-pesticide produce they ate – low, moderate, or high.

 

This study, the first of it’s kind, brings up a very interesting relationship between pesticide exposure and sperm count and quality. It seems that overexposure to pesticides can cause hormone influences and cell death of otherwise normal sperm.

 

Yet, a lot more research needs to be done to prove that cause and effect relationship.

 

For now, keep up with your 6-8 daily servings of fruits and veggies, guys! Try to buy organic, especially when it comes to the highest pesticide residue items (think thin skin and soft=high residue).