Bacon Can Lower Male Fertility According To Research

Bacon has become almost a cult-like food in the anglophone world where shows like Man vs Food and Epic Meal Time have popularised the pork based delight. Yet this processed red meat is apparently bad for your fertility if you’re a male according to a study detailed by Medical Daily. It isn’t exactly a revolutionary finding but the study concludes that processed red meats are bad for your fertility while fish is generally good for it.

“We found the effect of processed meat intake lowered quality and fish raised quality.” Said Dr. Myriam Afeiche from the Harvard School of Public Health.

The research team for the project, which studied 156 men with infertility concerns, found those who ate less than half a portion of processed meat a day had 7.2% “normal” sperm while men who ate half a portion of more had just 5.5% “normal” sperm.

Other health professionals criticised the study for its small sample size and the way the sperm was measured. Dr Allan Pacey of the British Fertility Society stated that:

“The relationship between diet and men’s fertility is an interesting one and there is certainly now convincing evidence that men who eat more fresh fruit and vegetables have better sperm than men who don’t…However, less is known about the fertility of men with poor diets and whether specific foods can be linked to poor sperm quality.”

To bacon or not to bacon?

Image courtesy of Foodbeast.com