A bowl of tomato soup every day can help boost male fertility, scientists have claimed. They believe that lycopene, which gives tomatoes their bright red colouring, can turn sperm into supersperm.
Researchers at the University of Portsmouth studied the effect of lycopene in the diet on a random group of six healthy men, with an average age of 42. They were asked to consume a 400g of tomato soup every day for two weeks. Sperm samples taken from them over the duration of the study, the first of its kind, revealed a marked increase in levels of lycopene. How this affects male fertility needed further research but it is known that infertile men have lower levels of lycopene in their sperm. It is thought the compound may mop up harmful chemicals in the body called free radicals which can play a part in infertility.
The researchers from the university’s biomedical science department said further studies should be carried out to discover whether the same boost would be seen in infertile men. Tomato products are already thought to lower a man’s risk of prostate cancer because of the high concentration of lycopene.
The powerful antioxidant is better absorbed when tomatoes are processed, as in soup. This is because lycopene is bound to the fruit’s cell structure, and released by the processing.
The researchers, a team of five urology experts writing in the British Journal of Urology, said that during the two weeks when the volunteers consumed their daily can of soup levels of lycopene in their semen rose between seven and 12 per cent which was “significant”.
Try making this amazing Roasted Tomato Soup to boost male fertility.
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Source: Daily Mail