Men's Health

Can Dad's Diet Make a Healthier Baby?.

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Furthermore, understanding nutritional factors in reproductive health would be particularly helpful since changing dietary habits is "easier than surgery," says Goldstein.

 

However, research into male reproductive health to date has been "absolutely neglected," says Philip Werthman, MD, urologist and director of the Center for Male Reproductive Medicine in Los Angeles. "Fertility [research] is driven by gynecologists ... and you rarely see gynecologists who want to treat the male partner."

 

"I certainly think [our study] justifies further research, not only in folic acid and sperm but other nutrients as well," Wallock tells WebMD. When it comes to looking at the potential impact of diet on male reproductive health, she says, "we've just scratched the surface."

 

Sarah Yang is a freelance writer in El Cerrito, Calif., who has written for The Los Angeles Times and The San Francisco Examiner. She is a frequent contributor to WebMD.