Title : Nutritional approaches for practical suggestions in fertility
Abstract:
This presentation details the essential role of nutrition and the challenges in fertility with a futuristic outlook for research and clinical purposes. Dietary amino acids (especially branched-chain amino acids; BCAA), microminerals, vitamins, and fatty acids have been shown to have a role in maintaining and improving male/female fertility. On the other hand, advanced glycation end products (AGEs) was introduced as a striking link between modem diet and health. Hence, the effects of dietary pattern (Western diet versus Mediterranean diet) on fertility have been discussed in several studies. While previous studies confirmed the critical roles of oxidative stress on infertility related diseases and syndromes in female, the quality of the evidence in the antioxidant versus placebo/no treatment and in the antioxidant versus antioxidant comparisons was assessed to be very low. Interestingly, antioxidants appear to be beneficial when it is the male partner who is supplemented. Folic acid supplementation may improve fertility indices in women and decrease erectile dysfunction in men which warrants further studies. Although the vitamin D levels and the association between vitamin D and health is a hot topic, previous studies found that vitamin D supplementation was not associated with clinical pregnancy rates. Our research at Royan Institute, Tehran, Iran on vitamin D levels in serum of sub-fertile men showed a high incidence of deficiency and insufficiency 25(OH) D Levels (<20ng/ml) observed in Iranian men. Uniquely, the challenges of women and men infertility is more pronounced today than ever before and could be partially related to the changes in the human diet over the past 100 years, most notably with regard to the type and amount of fatty acids (FAs) consumed. Therefore, a growing body of evidence points to a link between FAs and male/female fertility. Generally, studies regarding dietary FAs are expected to contribute to the research and clinical practices at least along three broad lines, namely research on the negative effects of trans FAs, positive effects of n-3 FAs, and optimization on n-3: n-6 FAs ratio. It seems that plant proteins appear to have a positive impact on fertility, while animal protein (especially from processed meat and red meat) a negative impact. In this regard, more attention should be given to BCAA metabolism as well as dietary BCAA and fertility that was previously ignored. While the studies on nutrition and reproduction crosstalk for providing a complete picture of the role of nutrition on fertility is far from complete, much progress has been made. In conclusion, the survey on diet and lifestyle of men/women suffering from sub-fertility/infertility who referee to infertility clinic of each country is considered as a spectacular and emerging issue for clinic and basic.
Audience Take Away Notes:
- I will discuss new approaches regarding nutrition and reproduction which they will use
- Since we worked on fertility improvement for more than ten years in a research institute (Royan Institute, Tehran, Iran), I will provide some practical suggestions for nutritionists
