Fatty acids may affect men's fertility

By David Liu (davidl@foodconsumer.org)

A new study suggests that high intake of omega-6 fatty acids and low intake of omega-3 fatty acids  may harm their fertility.

The study of 150 Iranian men published in the journal Clinical Nutrition found that infertile men had a higher ratio of omega-6 fatty acids to omega-3 fatty acids in their blood and semen.

“These results suggest that research should be performed to assess the potential benefits of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation as a therapeutic approach in infertile men,” Mohammad Reza Safarinejad from Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran, Iran and colleagues were quoted by Nutraingredients.com as writing.

Omega-6 fatty acids are present abundantly in vegetable oils while omega-3 fatty acids are largely present in oily fish, walnuts and a small number of other foods.

The study involved 82 infertile men who had abnormal spermatozoa and 78 fertile men.  The researchers measured levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids in their blood and semen.

Particularly they looked at levels of omega-3 fatty acids including alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and omega -6 fatty acids including linoleic acid (LA) and arachidonic acid (AA).

Fertile men had higher levels of all three omega-3 fatty acids in their blood and semen while infertile men had higher ratios of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids in their blood, Safarinejad and colleagues found.

The AA concentrations and the ratios of AA to DHA and EPA, which were linked to lower sperm counts and decreased sperm motility, were particularly higher in the infertile men. 

DHA is present in the membranes of spermatozoa. Lack of this omega 3 fatty acid should understandably result in abnormal semen and affect men's fertility.