Could men’s diet be the key to conceiving a healthy child?

As men get older, it has been shown that they are more likely to father children with health problems. For example, recent studies suggest that older dads can be more likely to father children who have an autistic spectrum disorder or who suffer from schizophrenia. These health concerns can lead to older men choosing not to have children, but fortunately there are steps that can be taken to improve their wellbeing and reduce the risks of this occurring.

Having a healthy diet may be the key to reducing the risk of conceiving a child with a health problem, and will also increase the likelihood of male wellness, which is vitally important to any person embarking on the journey of parenthood, too. A diet that is rich in important vitamins and minerals is thought to be an important contributor to better health.

Research was carried out on 88 healthy men aged between 22 and 80 and they were asked to fill in a questionnaire which investigated their daily vitamin intake. Sperm samples were taken at the same time, and analysed in correlation with their quiz answers.

Results showed that men over the age of 44 who had the highest intake of vitamin C were 20 percent less likely to be suffering from sperm DNA damage, whereas men with lower amounts of Vitamin C did suffer from these types of defect. Intake of Vitamin E, folate and zinc also had a beneficial effect on sperm quality.

As well as showing that older men are likely to suffer from DNA sperm damage (such as chromosomal rearrangements) which can lead to having children with genetic mutations, the study also showed that older men have reduced fertility. On a positive note, however, it did also show a strong link between intake of antioxidants and vitamins and better quality of sperm and higher fertility rates.