Fish oil supplements could benefit testicular function in healthy men finds study

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Eating fish in pregnancy could improve attentiveness in children The team wrote that 15 percent of all couples suffer from infertility and of these 40 to 45 percent couples suffer from infertility due to fertility issues with the male partner. They added that over the past 5 to 7 decades there has been a sharp drop in male fertility and semen quality. Lifestyle factors, chemical exposure and behavioural changes have been attributed to these changes they wrote. Healthy diets rich in “ω-3 fatty acids, antioxidants (eg, vitamin E, vitamin C, β-carotene, selenium, zinc, cryptoxanthin, and lycopene), other vitamins (eg, vitamin D and folate) and low in saturated fatty acids and trans–fatty acids,” they wrote, could improve male fertility. Semen quality could be improved by taking, fish, sea food, poultry, fruits, vegetables, low fat dairy foods, cereals etc. they wrote. Semen quality declines with the consumption of processed meats, cheese, coffee, sweetened beverages, alcohol, potatoes and soy containing foods, the team wrote. The authors of the study wrote that till date benefits of fish oil supplements and omega 3 fatty acids have been seen in men with infertility and this is the first study that shows that healthy men also benefit from omega 3 fatty acid supplements. In an invited commentary by Albert Salas-Huetos, titled, “More Evidence of the Association of Diet With Human Testicular Function —Fish Oil Supplements,” the study was vdiscussed further. Salas-Huetos blamed “environmental and lifestyle factors, such as pollution, smoking, alcohol consumption, lack stress, and unhealthy diets,” on the declining semen quality and male fertility. He added that although this was a small study, and only two cut-offs for fish oil supplements (less than or more than 60 days) consumption was provided, the results are significant. He also wrote, “This is the first well-designed study from a general population and including healthy individuals published to date, making the findings more interesting.” He also lauded the authors of the study on including a large number of healthy participants. He added however that more needs to be studied to come to concrete conclusions about the definite benefits offered by fish oil and omega 3 supplements on male fertility. He also speculated that there may be some genetic modification of the offspring of men who take these supplements, that improve the health of the offspring as well. He said, “It will be exciting to see." Journal references: Jensen TK, Priskorn L, Holmboe SA, et al. Associations of Fish Oil Supplement Use With Testicular Function in Young Men. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(1):e1919462. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.19462 Salas-Huetos A. More Evidence of the Association of Diet With Human Testicular Function—Fish Oil Supplements. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(1):e1919569. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.19569