Daily dose of tomato soup can boost male fertility

3:46PM Monday July 30, 2007
By Eveline Jenkin

Researchers found eating a daily serving of tomato soup increased levels of the antioxident lycopene in men’s sperm. Photo / Listener

Eating a can of tomato soup every day can help men increase their fertility, scientists have claimed.

A research team from the University of Portsmouth set out to study the effect of lycopene - the carotenoid that gives tomatoes their red colouring - on sperm.

Six healthy men were asked to consume a 400g tin of Heinz cream of tomato soup every day for two weeks, the Daily Mail reported.

Sperm samples were taken from the men over the duration of the study and it was found that the levels of lycopene in their semen rose between seven and 12 per cent when they consumed their daily dose of soup.

Writing in the British Journal of Urology, the researchers said the increase was “significant”.

Although the link between lycopene levels and fertility is not yet fully understood, it is known that infertile men have much lower levels of the carotenoid.

Lycopene is known to be a powerful antioxidant and it is thought it may play a part in mopping up free radicals in the body, which can play a part in infertility.

Tomato products have long been thought to lower a man’s risk of developing prostate cancer, but because lycopene is bound to the tomato’s cell structure, it is better absorbed when the fruit is processed.

The researchers hope further studies can be carried out to see whether the same boost in lycopene levels is measured in infertile men who follow the same eating regime.