Trying to conceive? These types of foods could actually worsen your fertility, according to researchers.
A study led by the Harvard School of Public Health reports that eating foods high in pesticide residue can lead to lower sperm counts in men, as well as more oddly shaped sperm. These two factors can make it harder to conceive.
The research was led by Jorge Chavarro, M.D., an assistant professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health.
“The more pesticides are applied on any particular crop, that seems to be having a bigger impact,” says Chavarro, who also served as the lead author of the study. “As far as we are aware, this is the first time that something like this has been reported.”
Publishing his findings in the journal Human Reproduction, Chavarro wanted to see if eating a diet high in pesticides could affect a person’s fertility, basing his hypothesis off an earlier 2012 study. In that study, researchers found that people who worked directly with pesticides decreased their fertility by 29 percent.
For people who don’t work with pesticides, however, the next biggest source of exposure is their diet, which Chavarro explored.
To investigate, Chavarro looked at data from the Environment and Reproductive Health study, or EARTH, examining semen samples from 155 men who sought help at a fertility clinic. Here, Chavarro examined the quality of their semen and the results from a food frequency questionnaire they completed, examining their exposure to pesticides. While pesticide exposure wasn’t measured by taking blood samples, they did measure these levels by referencing the USDA’s Pesticide Data Program.
The result? Men who ate a diet high in pesticides had a 49 percent lower sperm count on average.
“Total fruit and vegetable intake was not associated with semen quality,” write researchers in Human Reproduction. “There were, however, inverse relations between intake of high pesticide residue fruits and vegetables and semen quality. On average, men in the highest quartile of high pesticide residue fruits and vegetables had 49% lower total sperm count, 32% fewer morphologically normal sperm and 29% lower ejaculate volume than men in the lowest quartile of intake.”
As for the reasons why pesticides could affect a person’s fertility, researchers say it could mimic endocrine-disrupting chemicals, preventing sperm from forming correctly or even preventing the body from producing more semen. A person’s age may factor in as well–during the study, researchers found that older men often consumed more pesticide-treated foods. A person’s age often affects the quality of sperm.
However, because the study did not directly measure pesticide levels from these men, researchers warn these study results should be treated with caution.
“Despite these findings and potential biological mechanisms, our results must be interpreted with caution,” write researchers. “Our pesticide score also lacks specificity to individual chemicals, which could distort associations due to policy or agricultural practice changes.”
As of now, researchers stress further tests are necessary.
What This Means For You
While researchers aren’t sure if pesticides can affect a person’s fertility, evidence is starting to emerge–and it’s bad news if you eat pesticide-treated foods. Want to up your fertility? Try eating local or organic foods instead; these foods are less likely to contain commercial pesticides, lowering your exposure.
Readers: Do you eat organic or local produce? Why or why not?
Sources:
A Diet High in Pesticides is Linked to a Lower Sperm Count – TIME.com
Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Their Pesticide Residues in Relation to Semen Quality Among Men From a Fertility Clinic (Study) – OxfordJournals.org
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