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30.04.2025

This diet doubles the testosterone levels of aspiring fathers and improves their sperm cells

A healthy diet, without factory-made products but with lots of organic vegetables, fish, berries and fermented foods, can double the testosterone levels of men who want to become fathers. If these men also limit their carbohydrate intake, their sperm cells will also become healthier.

Study
In 2023, Italian andrologists published a small pilot study in Current Research in Food Science in which they changed the diets of 30 men aged 30-45 who wanted to become fathers but were unable to get their partners pregnant. The experiment lasted 3 months.

These changes included eliminating ultra-processed foods and refined carbohydrates, but adding fermented products, vegetables, nuts, berries and fish. The men also made sure that 80 percent of their food was organic.

Another 20 men went a step further and reduced their carbohydrate intake to the point where a maximum of 35 percent of their energy came from carbohydrates.

Details of the Italians’ approach are below.

Results
In the blood of the men who ate healthier but didn't cut back on carbohydrates, the concentration of testosterone doubled. The average person who ate healthier had very low testosterone levels when the trial began - but after 3 months, those levels were back in the normal range, although still on the low side.

Mechanism
The sperm cells of the 20 men who also reduced their carbohydrate intake became healthier according to lab tests. The DNA fragmentation index [DFI] of the sperm cells decreased. This means that the number of sperm cells with damaged genetic material decreased.

Conclusion
"The male contribution to a couple's fertility is important and the findings of this study underscore the importance of dietary variation and the inclusion of organic foods in achieving this goal", the Italians write.

"Specifically, adhering to a pre-conception Mediterranean diet that is low in carbohydrates and high in legumes, whole grains, and green leafy vegetables, along with consuming 80% organic foods, was associated with improved testosterone levels and reduced sperm DNA fragmentation."

The Italians did not investigate whether the men actually became fathers.

Source:
Curr Res Food Sci. 2023 Nov 15:7:100636.

More:
High glucose levels reduce testosterone production 14.03.2014

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Boosting Testosterone
Organic Foods
Low Carb Diet

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