Walnuts Appear to Improve Semen Quality in Healthy Men

If you say so.

The daily addition of 75 g of whole-shelled walnuts to a typical Western-style diet appears to have positive effects on the vitality, morphology, and motility of sperm in healthy men, according to the findings of a randomized, parallel, 2-group, dietary intervention trial.

Wendie A. Robbins, PhD, and colleagues from the University of California, Los Angeles, published their findings online August 15 in Biology of Reproduction.

The authors note that despite the connection between food and reproduction throughout history, the evidence of the effects of diet on male fertility is lacking.

"Dietary habits and essential nutrients to promote successful reproductive outcomes have been identified for the maternal peri-conceptional and peri-natal period, but healthy dietary habits and essential nutrients for paternal reproductive fitness are less clear," the authors write.

"Evidence is particularly limited for men who routinely consume Western-style diets that may lack optimal nutrients and [polyunsaturated fatty acid] profiles needed for healthy sperm and fertility," they continue.

More interesting is what prompted the study.

I mean, who would think to do such a thing?

This study was funded through a grant from the California Walnut Commission. Dr. Lamb has received grant support from the National Institutes of Health and from the William and Ella Owens Medical Research Foundation.

Answers: These folks and payola.