URBANA, Ill.—A new study from the University of Illinois suggests a link between low levels of the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and male infertility.
“In our experiment, we used ‘knockout’ mice that lacked the gene responsible for an enzyme important in making docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). In the absence of DHA, male mice are basically infertile, producing few if any misshaped sperm that can’t get where they need to go,” said Manabu Nakamura, a U of I associate professor of food science and human nutrition.
According to the findings published in the February issue of the Journal of Lipid Research, in the DHA-deficient knockout mice, sperm counts were extremely low. The sperm that were produced were round instead of elongated and unable to move well. When DHA was introduced into the diet, fertility was completely restored.
Stacey's Comment
this is important research which again supports a good healthy diet rich in good fats, not trans fats can help with fertility.
Remember eating lots of fish unfortunately can expose you to too much mercury so keeping the fish to small fish like whiting, once a week is a good idea. Unfortunately tuna and most farmed salmon will have elevated levels of mercury and should be eaten only once a week or once every two weeks.
Other ways to get the DHA is thru eating nuts, seeds, and avocado. If you can eat organic to minimise your risk to pesticides and other chemicals. And take a purified fish oil supplement. If the bottle says mercury tested, it doesn't necessarily mean they have removed as much mercury as possible. Contact us for a list of fish oils whose company has bothered to go thru the purification process. Info@naturalfertility.com And chances are if this is good for male fertility, the same would hold true for female fertility as well.
