Men- Eat Your Junk Food!

    I reviewed two online articles which discussed sperm quality in relation to exposure to pesticides. The first article from The Guardian titled, “Pesticide residue on food could affect sperm quality", discussed the results of a Harvard study, which showed that consumption of fruits and vegetables with residue from pesticides decreases and affects the quality of sperm. One of the identifiable limitations of the research was that the study subject was men who attend fertility clinics and not a wider cross section of the public such as the general population.
    The second article from “Our Stolen Future” discusses the same topic, however the source of pesticide that was studied was from drinking water. The study was carried out in Missouri. The study purposely choose men who had a pregnant partner. This was used as an indicator of potency. The study tested men from rural parts of Missouri compared to urban areas in Minneapolis and the result showed that the men were affected by different chemical pesticides. The two articles addressed the issue of pesticides' affecting sperm level and quality from either fruit and vegetable or drinking water.
    These articles were interesting because in society today children and adults are being educated and advised to consume more healthy food to include fruits and vegetable, however it appears that this may be having a negative on men’s health. The pesticides used on fruits and vegetables protect the produce from the dangers from weeds, insects and plant diseases. This raises whether men, who attempt to have a healthier lifestyle with a focus on fruits and vegetables as part of their diets are actually unwittingly negatively affecting the health of their sperm, a problem that their junk-food eating counterparts do not experience?

--Nyala Clyne