But, dietary vitamins A, C, E unrelated to semen quality; vitamin A supplement lowers semen quality
TUESDAY, Oct. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Following a Prudent diet is positively correlated with the percent of motile sperm; but dietary vitamins A, C, and E are not associated with semen quality parameters, according to two studies presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, held from Oct. 15 to 19 in Orlando, Fla.
Audrey J. Gaskins, from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, and colleagues investigated the correlation between dietary patterns and semen parameters in 188 healthy, young adult males aged 18 to 22 years. A Western diet and a Prudent diet were identified. Adherence to the Western diet correlated positively with sperm concentration, but this association was not significant after adjusting for calorie intake. There was a positive correlation between adherence to a Prudent diet and percent motile sperm (7.3 percent higher motile sperm in the highest versus lowest quartile).
Jorge E. Chavarro, M.D., also from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, and colleagues investigated whether vitamins A, C, and E and carotenoid intake correlated with semen quality parameters in 99 men seeking fertility evaluation. Intake of vitamin A correlated with significantly lower sperm motility and morphology, and was moderately correlated with lower sperm concentration (P = 0.06). Vitamin A intake from food sources did not correlate with any sperm quality parameters. Alpha carotene intake in the highest versus the lowest quartile was associated with 2 percent fewer morphologically normal sperm. Vitamin C and E intake did not correlate with semen quality.
"Dietary intakes of vitamins A, C, and E were unrelated to semen quality parameters," Chavarro and colleagues conclude.
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