Nutrition
plays a role in reproductive health
At the 62nd Annual Meeting of the
ASRM several new studies were highlighted for the impact
nutrition has on the reproductive system
Dian Shepperson Mills presented how nutritional therapy
provides an effective method of improving fertility
rates and reducing abdominal pain in women with endometriosis.
She promotes an integrated medical approach to improve
health looks for underlying factors in the diet that
may cause or perpetuate a condition.
Shepperson Mills claims that nutritional therapy highlights
possible triggers in pain mechanisms that affect endometriosis.
Thus, immune reactions to certain foods may affect the
way in which the body's immune system is able to deal
with endometriosis. Foods affect the digestive system
and the right type of fibre enables the body the excrete
excess oestrogens by forming anti-oestrogen compunds
(enterolactone and enterodiol), which are protective.
Shepperson Mills treated 180 women with endometriosis
over a period of six months with nutritional therapy.
86% of the women showed an improvement in their symptoms.
Fertility rates of 29.5% were observed in the 68 women
presenting with infertility [1].
Previous studies have suggested that the use of multivitamins
can improve a female patient’s infertility. A
team from Harvard set out to examine this relationship
further. The investigators examined a group of nearly
20,000 married pre-menopausal women with no history
of infertility who had become pregnant in the 1990’s.The
discovered that women who reported taking multivitamins
were less likely to have ovulatory infertility [2].
The impact of soy isoflavones on the reproductive system
has been the topic of much research in recent years.
Researchers from the University of Rochester set out
to examine if antioxidants might prevent damage to sperm
DNA. The team studied 48 men with abnormal semen parameters
whose partners had been attempting to conceive. Levels
of antioxidants in the blood were measured and diet
histories were taken. Analysis showed a significant
correlation between dietary phytoestrogens and semen
parameters, including DNA integrity of the sperm [3].
Finally, a recent study out of Rochester New York
suggests there is an association between diet and semen
quality. Forty-eight men with abnormal semen analyses
and 10 normal controls took a questionnaire to characterise
their diets. 83% of the infertile men had low dietary
intakes of fruits and vegetables versus 40% of the controls.
Even though similar percentages of both groups took
vitamin supplements, the daily intake of vitamin C was
significantly lower among the infertile men. In general,
the men who had the lowest intake of dietary antioxidants
had the lowest sperm motility [4].
Steven Ory, MD, ASRM President-elect, concluded: “Nutrition
and nutritional supplements are of growing importance
in reproductive medicine. This kind of research will
help us better understand the impact of nutrition on
reproductive health.”
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