Folic acid can help men deliver healthy sperm

MEN who increase their intake of a vitamin traditionally recommended for pregnant women can cut their chance of having abnormal sperm, researchers said yesterday.

A study published in the journal Human Reproduction found that men who consumed a higher than recommended daily amount of folate and folic acid had lower frequency of abnormal sperm.

Researchers in California analysed sperm samples from 89 men and questioned them about their daily intake from both diet and vitamin supplements.

The results showed that men who consumed between 722 and 1,150 microgrammes had a 20-30% reduction in abnormal sperm.

In the UK, the daily recommended amount for adults is 200 microgrammes per day and 400 microgrammes for women trying to conceive and until the third month of pregnancy.

Folic acid is known to help protect against the development of spina bifida.

Folate is a water soluble B vitamin that occurs naturally in food such as pulses, beans and spinach, while folic acid is its synthetic form.

One of the principal researchers, Brenda Eskenazi, Professor of Maternal and Child Health and Epidemiology and Director of the Centre for Children’s Environmental Health at the School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, said that while the importance of maternal diet on reproduction, especially folate intake, was well known, the results of the study suggested the importance of also studying paternal nutrition.

She added: ““This study is the first to suggest that paternal diet may play a role after conception in the development of healthy offspring.”

Ms Suzanne Young, a researcher in Professor Eskenazi’s group, and the study co-ordinator, said: “Increasing folate intake can be as simple as taking a vitamin supplement, with at least 400 microgrammes of folate, or eating breakfast cereal fortified with 100% of the recommended daily intake for folic acid.”