QUICK SCAN
12 THE WEEK · JULY 29, 2018
HEALTHEAT NUTS TO BOOST
SPERM QUALITY
Eating nuts daily can improve
sperm quality and functionality,
according to a Spanish study
presented at the European
Society of Human Reproduction
and Embryology in Barcelona.
Sperm quality has been
declining, possibly due to
pollution, smoking, and a
unhealthy diet.
The study included 119 young
and healthy men aged 18 to 35.
They were randomly assigned
to follow either their usual
western style diet along with60 grams of mixed almonds,
hazelnuts and walnuts daily,
or their regular western diet
without the nuts.
Sperm and blood samples were
tested at the beginning and end
of the 14-week study.
Men in the nut group improved
their sperm count by 16 per
cent; motility (movement) by 6
per cent; vitality by 4 per cent;
and morphology (shape) by 1
per cent. All of these factors
help improve male fertility.
Those in the nut group also
showed a significant reduction
in their levels of sperm DNAfragmentation, a factor closely
associated with male infertility.
Nuts are rich in omega-3
fatty acids, folic acid and
antioxidants, all of which can
improve fertility.
“Our findings support a
beneficial role of chronic nut
consumption in sperm quality
and explore the molecular
mechanism that could explain
our results. Additional efforts
to identify male-specific
dietary recommendations that
optimise sperm quality and
fertility should be encouraged,”
the study concluded.FIRST MARIJUANA-BASED
PRESCRIPTION DRUG
APPROVEDUS Food and Drug
Administration has approved
the first prescription drug
made from the marijuana
plant. Epidiolex, made by
GW Pharmaceuticals, is an
oral solution approved for
the treatment of seizures
associated with two rare and
severe forms of childhood
epilepsy, Lennox-Gastaut
syndrome and Dravet
syndrome, in patients two years
of age and older.
The drug contains cannabidiol
(CBD), a purified form of a