Men can improve the quality of their sperm by adopting a healthy diet.
- Male infertility, a victim of taboos and a lack of information, is still poorly taken care of.
- Aware of the problem, the startup FabLife is launching a nutrition program dedicated to male fertility.
If infertility “is a couple problem, the man (who is at the origin of half of the cases) however has an active role to take / resume in the care”. As pointed out by François Olivennes, obstetrician-gynecologist and specialist in medically assisted procreation, procreation problems are as much due to women as to men. However, male infertility, victim of taboos and a lack of information, is still much less well taken care of.
Over 50% improvement in sperm health
Aware of the problem, the startup FabLife is launching a personalized nutrition program dedicated to male fertility. It is based on studies conducted on the role of oxidative stress, nutrigenetics, diet and the impact of environmental factors on sperm quality. Recommended by specialist doctors and developed as part of a clinical trial, the project aims to improve sperm health by more than 50% after four months.
“Infertile men are generally in poorer health than the rest of the population. The pathologies from which these patients suffer in particular are very mainly in direct and indirect links with their lifestyles and more particularly their diet”, explains Prof. Rachel Levy, Head of the Reproductive Biology-CECOS Department at Tenon Hospital (AP-HP). “A man in poor health, particularly cardio-metabolic, will transmit an epigenetic pattern, only partially reversible, which will have a negative effect on his fertility but also on the health of his offspring”, she continues.
A personalized food program
After subscribing to the program, infertile men answer a health questionnaire on their mobile application and carry out a genetic test prescribed by a doctor. The results obtained make it possible to personalize the patient’s diet and improve his spermogram. His needs are then translated into meals and menus (which also take into account his tastes and lifestyle). Infertile men thus have a personalized food program each week on their app.
The quality of French sperm has been declining for years, with the increase in male infertility as a corollary. “According to our study conducted among donors between 1973 and 2000, the number of spermatozoa per milliliter has increased from 80 to 40 million in thirty years. This means that in the general population, this figure is surely lower because donors , them, until 2015, had to be already fathers to be able to offer their sperm”, explains in The Parisian Professor Jean-Philippe Wolf, head of the reproductive biology department at Cochin Hospital (Paris XIV). In France, one in five couples is faced with reproductive problems.
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