A pint of beer a day 'can double men's fertility': But coffee and being vegetarian cuts odds of conceiving
- Researchers from Boston studied 105 men whose wives were having IVF
- Biggest drinkers had far better chance of conceiving than lightest drinkers
- Found two mugs of coffee a day could diminish men's chances by two thirds
- Another study also claims vegetarians and vegans have lower sperm counts
If you fancy a pint after work then this might be the perfect excuse. Because according to researchers, drinking a pint of beer a day doubles a man’s odds of becoming a father.
But the same study showed that if you want to start a family, it could be a good idea to cut down on coffee – as just two cups a day seemed to slash a couple’s odds of having a baby.
A second study has also shown that vegetarians have lower sperm counts than other men - with the sperm they made was of poorer quality.
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Researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston studied 105 men whose wives and girlfriends were undergoing IVF (file picture)
In the first study, researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston studied 105 men whose wives and girlfriends were undergoing IVF.
The men, who had an average age of 37, filled in an extensive dietary questionnaire that included questions about alcohol intake and caffeinated drinks.
The amount of alcohol consumed by the would-be fathers was relatively moderate, with the biggest drinkers downing just under three units a day on average. A pint of Stella Artois has 2.7 units.
The tests showed that there was no link between the amount of caffeine or alcohol they took in and the quality of their sperm.
But those who had the most alcohol had a 57 per cent chance that a session of IVF would result in a baby being born. This was twice the 28 per cent success rate of those who drank the least.
When the researchers looked at caffeine intake, they found that birth rates plummeted from 52 per cent among those who had very little caffeine to just 19 per cent for those who had the most. The damage was done above 265mg of caffeine a day. A mug of filter coffee contains 140mg.
The American Society for Reproductive Medicine’s annual conference in Honolulu heard that the results could not be explained away by factors such as the men’s age or weight.
Researchers were unsure why caffeine and alcohol had such a noticeable effect on birth rates when it seemed to have no impact on the quality of the prospective fathers’ sperm.
However Dr Allan Pacey, from Sheffield University, said: ‘Moderate social drinking can be of benefit for couples trying to conceive either naturally or during assisted conception because it helps to reduce stress.’
Researcher Anatte Karmon suggested that caffeine could damage sperm in a way that is not currently picked up by tests. She called the increase in pregnancy rates ‘very impressive’, but said more tests would be needed to confirm the finding – and pointed out that none of the men was a heavy drinker.
The tests showed that those who had the most alcohol had a 57 per cent chance that a session of IVF would result in a baby being born. This was twice the 28 per cent success rate of those who drank the least
Dr Karmon said she can not be sure that caffeine and alcohol have the same effect on natural pregnancies, but added: ‘If you can improve IVF success rates so you take home a baby on your first cycle, you are going to save a lot of emotional, financial and physical distress.’
- A team from Harvard University said that men who ate food laced with chemicals had poorer quality sperm. Dr Paul Turek, from the Society for Male Reproduction and Infertility, said: ‘Men who want to optimise reproductive health need to choose fruit and vegetables grown with lower levels of pesticides.’
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