Middle-aged Men: Get Antioxidants

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Reuters reports on a new medical study published in a journal called Fertility and Sterility…

Researchers found that among men age 45 or older, those who got the most vitamins C and E, folate and zinc tended to have fewer DNA-strand breaks in their sperm.

This means better chances of a healthy pregnancy. But senior research Andrew J. Wyrobek cautions, “People who eat well are probably doing a bunch of other healthy things too.” And you don’t need to eat too much…

Among men ages 45 and up, those who got the most vitamin C had 20 percent less DNA damage than those who took in less of the vitamin. Men in that high-intake group typically got about 700 milligrams of vitamin C a day; the recommended amount for men is 90 mg, but an intake as high as 2,000 mg is considered safe.

The findings were similar when the researchers looked at vitamin E, zinc and folate, though the differences in sperm DNA damage were smaller. Again, older men in the high-intake groups typically got more of each nutrient than is recommended, but were still well within the safe ranges.

The recommended daily intake for vitamin E is 15 mg (and no more than 1,000 mg); for zinc, it’s 11 mg (and no more than 40 mg); and for folate, it’s 400 mg (no more than 1,000 mg).

The study does not claim this is a cure for infertility, nor does it provide any sexual benefits for younger men. But antioxidants are good for everyone for many reasons. Learn more in How to Shop for Disease-Fighting Antioxidants.

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