Exercise is thought to increase exposure to antioxidant enzymes which may help boost sperm count Exercise improves male fertility R
ecent research from Harvard University has reported that moderate exercise boosts the chances of fatherhood. Men who undertook 15 or more hours of moderate to vigorous exercise each
week had, on average, sperm counts that were 73 per cent higher than those who exercised for less than five hours a week. Interestingly, mild exercise had no effect. Sedentary activity, measured by the number of hours
spent watching television, had a negative effect on sperm count. Those who watched 20 or more hours of television each week had a 44 per cent lower sperm count than those who watched very little TV. According to the researchers, one of the reasons for
the higher sperm counts was an increase in the exposure to antioxidant enzymes, which have been shown to have beneficial effects on sperm count. Being inactive has the opposite effect, leading to high levels of oxidative stress and poor sperm production. However, researchers warn that too much exercise
can be harmful to sperm production. Previous studies involving professional marathon runners, cyclists and triathletes have reported poor semen quality among these groups. This reduction is caused by the stress to the body brought on by prolonged periods of intense exercise. In this situation, the rate of various bodily processes changes, affecting sperm production.
Gaskins, A.J. et al. (2013). Physical activity and television watching in relation to semen quality in young men. British Journal of Sports Medicine. Feb 4. [Epub ahead of print]
April 2013 © Cybertrek 2013
Exercise protects the brain from fat attack
think that fatty acids from food infiltrate the brain and jump-start a process that causes damage to the regions responsible for memory and learning. A recent study by the University of Minnesota in the US
A
examined the result of a high-fat diet (where at least 40 per cent of calories were from fat) on memory in rats, and then the subsequent effects of exercise. Memory declined after four months of the high-fat diet, but then improved once exercise was introduced. After seven weeks, the rats on the high-fat diet were scoring
as well on the memory test as they had at the start, whereas the memory of those not exercising continued to decline. The results suggest that exercise stimulates the production of substances that fight the effects of fatty acids on the brain. The amount of exercise wasn’t excessive – the rats did the equivalent of 30 minutes’ jogging a day – but researchers stress the same protective effect might not be noted in humans.
Mavanji, V. et al. (2012). Exercise reduces cognitive decline induced by dietary fat. Presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience.
diet containing lots of fatty foods is associated with a decline in brain functioning, elevating the risk of conditions such as Alzheimer’s. Exactly how this occurs is unknown, but researchers
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