Carrots tipped as new sperm superfood

Washington: A new study has found that eating orange and yellow fruits and vegetables may make sperm swim faster.

According to researchers at Harvard University's School of Public Health, eating red vegetables may increase the production of healthy sperm.

Carrots in particular were singled out for their sperm-boosting properties. These orange veggies, along with lettuce and spinach, are high in beta-carotene.

Researchers found that this antioxidant improves sperm motility, or its ability to swim toward an egg, by 6.5 percent to 8 percent.

Lutein, a carotenoid or antioxidant also found in spinach and lettuce, had a similar effect on sperm motility, researchers said.

The participants with diets rich in lycopene, the chemical that gives tomatoes their red colour, had lower levels of abnormally shaped sperm.

The study is published in the journal Fertility and Sterility.