We all know bacon is bad for us, at least in large quantities, but that won’t stop medical researchers and other buzzkills from trying to make it seem even more unhealthy than it actually is. And there’s a new study to throw onto the pile that says bacon may be messing with the sperm of the men who love it.
A new study in Fertility and Sterility looked at men participating in in-vitro fertilization, and found that the men who ate processed meats like bacon the most had a 28% lower success rate in achieving fertilization. And before you vegans get smug, meat consumption in general had zero impact (this is about processed meats), except for men who primarily ate poultry; they did 13 percent better in the insemination sweepstakes.
This, of course, raises the question of why men who love bacon have 28% lazier sperm, and the researchers don’t really have any idea what this could be. It’s not like bacon fat goes directly to your testicles and opens a tiny recliner factory for sperm, after all. It might simply be that, overall, the more health-focused you are, the more potent your sperm will be, which would line up with the chicken fans doing better in the sperm department. Either way, though, it’s smart for your health to view processed meats as an occasional treat instead of a staple. Besides, while bacon may be off the menu, a nice steak most certainly isn’t.
(Via Munchies)
