Eating these nuts every day may help boost sexual function

In a new study, researchers found that eating 60 grams of nuts a day may improve sexual function.

The nuts include walnuts, hazelnuts, and almonds.

This is the first nutritional intervention study with healthy participants of reproductive age.

The research was conducted by a team from the Human Nutrition Unit of the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (Tarragona/Spain) and the Pere Virgili Health Research Institute (IISPV).

The prevalence of erectile and sexual dysfunction is thought to affect 2% of men under the age of 40 years, around 52% of men aged 40 to 70 years and more than 85% of men over 80.

The risk factors of sexual and erectile dysfunction include smoking, excessive alcohol drinking, a lack of physical exercise, stress and an unhealthy diet.

Previous research of the team had described how certain nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts, and almonds) improved sperm quality in men.

In the current study, the team wanted to see if regular eating of nuts has any effect on sexual function.

The analysis forms part of the FERTINUTS project, which has been created to test the effects of regularly consuming nuts on the quality of semen.

A total of 83 individuals who were following a western diet (poor in fruit and vegetables and rich in animal fats) were tested.

The participants were divided into two groups: one group continued to follow their normal western diet over 14 weeks, while the other complemented their diet with a daily intake of 60 grams of walnuts, hazelnuts, and almonds.

At the end of the study, each person completed a questionnaire on sexual function.

The team found that adding walnuts, hazelnuts, and almonds to an unhealthy western diet can improve sexual desire and orgasm quality.

Further work needs to confirm these results and to determine how these benefits arise.

The lead author of the study is post-doctoral researcher Albert Salas-Huetos.

The study is published in the scientific journal Nutrients.

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