Contents:
- Medical Video: Tomato ketchup - 5 Surprising Health Benefits
- Tomatoes help increase male fertility
- Not only the amount, sperm quality is also better
- Then, should I take supplements instead of eating tomatoes?
Medical Video: Tomato ketchup - 5 Surprising Health Benefits
The difficult case of getting pregnant is not only because of the infertile women. Male fertility problems can also reduce the chances of pregnancy. Whether it's due to lack of quantity or quality of sperm. Or it could also be due to the movement ability of sperm is not good, so it cannot reach the egg. There are many foods that are predicted to increase male fertility, one of which is tomatoes. However, is it true that tomatoes can make men more fertile?
Tomatoes help increase male fertility
Not just a mere figment, tomatoes can actually make men more fertile. This is evidenced in a report published by the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio that the content in tomatoes can affect male fertility.
The content that is considered to increase male fertility in tomatoes is lycopene, which is one of the substances forming carotenoids. These are antioxidants that give bright colors to tomatoes.
These antioxidants can counteract free radicals that are usually formed from consumption of unhealthy foods. Over time, unhealthy food, full of fat and calories can reduce sperm quality.
In the study, it was found that lycopene in tomatoes could increase the number of sperm counts by 70 percent.
When lycopene enters the body, the body absorbs 20-30 percent of the total lycopene entering. Lycopene will be spread to several parts of the body. One of the most common parts of lycopene is the testis, the place where sperm is produced.
Not only the amount, sperm quality is also better
Quality sperm will be seen from three important factors, namely sperm count, shape and movement. If there is one factor that is not good, for example sperm movements are less agile and fast, then men will be at risk of being infertile and even barren.
Lycopene in tomatoes has been shown to increase sperm count. Other studies conducted at the University of Sheffield England prove that lycopene can actually help improve sperm quality and reduce DNA damage, thereby increasing the number of mature sperm. Therefore, tomatoes are believed to increase male fertility.
In the study participants consisting of men aged 18-30 years were given lycopene supplements every day. Then, at the end of the study it was known that men who took lycopene supplements had better sperm quality and quantity.
In addition, it is also proven that sperm in men who consume lycopene, move faster and agile, so that it can increase the chances of fertilization.
Then, should I take supplements instead of eating tomatoes?
Actually, in order to increase fertility, you don't need to take various supplements. If you can meet your nutritional needs through food, then supplements are the last choice.
Because the food is the best source of nutrition rather than supplements. Apart from tomatoes, there are many other foods that contain high lycopene. Here are examples of foods with high lycopene in 100 grams:
- Guava: 5.2 mg
- Watermelon: 4.5 mg
- Papaya: 1.8 mg
In addition to eating foods that are high in lycopene, applying a healthy lifestyle is also the key to increasing male fertility. So, make sure that you do other healthy habits, huh.
