Will Anyone Give Up Bacon?

[Robin Of House Hill]

From http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10378407/Daily-rasher-of-bacon-can-harm-mens-fertility.html

The study by Harvard University on 156 men in couples suffering problems conceiving examined their diet and the size and shape of their sperm.

Researchers found that men who regularly ate processed meat had significantly lower amounts of normal sperm, compared with those who limited the amount of foods like bacon, sausages, hamburgers, ham and mince.

On average, those who ate the equivalent of less than a rasher of bacon a day had 30 per cent more normal sperm than those who ate higher quantities of processed meats.

Meanwhile, those who ate a portion of white fish every other day had a similar edge over those who ate foods like cod more rarely.

Dr Myriam Afeiche, from the Department of Nutrition, at Harvard School of Public Health, said: “We found that processed meat intake was associated with lower semen quality and fish was to higher semen quality.”

To think that the world's population may decline because bacon is so tasty. Oh, the humanity.

[WillWork4NinjaPowers]

I don't eat pork, but I think there has to be a difference in types of bacon and how they affect you.

[Relic]

I gave it up years ago.

[kairparavel]

So how is your semen quality?

[Wise Fool]

Bacon: Revenge of the Pigs.

[Welease Woger]

I'm a vegetarian. But then again, I don't want to have kids... Well, looks like I'm doing it wrong :P

[Iskaral Pust]

I fell out of love with bacon. Too salty. I rarely eat it now.

But hamburgers and minced meat are frequently on the menu. There is a big difference in the level of processing compared to bacon.

Flipping it around, could an all-bacon diet be an effective male birth control? I bet we could find some volunteers for a gluttonous binge of bacon and sex to test the hypothesis.

[Prince of the North]

Flipping it around, could an all-bacon diet be an effective male birth control? I bet we could find some volunteers for a gluttonous binge of bacon and sex to test the hypothesis.

I'll bet we could, too! But the truly ingenious way an all bacon diet could curb reproduction would be in the vastly reduced lifespans of the males in question. Their hearts would explode in a matter of weeks! It would simply mean much less time in which to reproduce :P

[Kelli Fury]

I have never eaten a pork product in my whole life.

[ljkeane]

I have never eaten a pork product in my whole life.

There probably aren't any issues with your sperm count then. :P

[Hutch]

I eat bacon daily, and don't want kids, so...win/win?

[MercenaryChef]

My bacon is not what I call a processed meat. It is pork belly, salt, pepper, maple and curing salt. 7 days curing, 10 hours smoking.

Not something I would call a processed meat.

[Madfunkymonkey]

never

[Greywolf2375]

If this was an issue, sure. Would't be a question.

French Fries on the other hand, not so much.

[Theda Baratheon]

I'm a vegetarian, lol.

Even when I did eat meat, I was never that fussed on Bacon.

[Robin Of House Hill]

What about the people who eat bacon and white fish daily?

You'll have to swim upstream to spawn. :P

[FCOS]

Nope

[RaceBannon42]

Never. The world is overpopulated anyway.

[Robin Of House Hill]

Ok, now. I need a show of hands. How many of you have counted their sperm?

[Glaurung]

It doesn't look like this was a truly controlled study. did they follow this up by seeing if the sperm count rose in men who kept their diet the same but removed the pork(or processed meat)? Otherwise I'd say this new find could very easily be a biased sample. I'm not giving up my bacon without clear proof.