Not only is a diet rich in saturated fats debilitating in that it increases one’s risk of heart disease, but it can also lower a man’s sperm count, according to a new study.

Danish researchers discovered that the men who ate the most saturated fat in their diets had the lowest sperm counts, in addition to worse quality sperm than those who ate less saturated fats.

This coincides with the fear that both the quality and quantity of sperm in western countries are decreasing, with the average sperm count having fallen by more than half over the past 60 years.

Approximately 30 percent of men are classified as sub-fertile, while 2 percent are “totally” infertile.

The study by a team from Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen surveyed and examined 701 young Danish men around the age of 20 years old who were getting checkups for the military between 2008 and 2010.

The young men were not seeking fertility treatment, which takes out a variable of previously taken surveys and studies.

The men were asked about their diets and then asked for a semen sample.

The men who ate the most saturated fats had a 38 percent lower concentration of sperm (45 million sperm per milliliter) and 41 percent lower sperm counts (128 million) in their semen than those who ate the least fat.

Those eating the least fat had an average sperm concentration of 50 million per milliliter of semen and a total sperm count of about 163 million.

“We cannot say that it has a causal effect, but I think other studies have shown that saturated fat intake has shown a connection to other problems and now also for sperm count,” said study author Tina Jensen to Reuters.

This is just another reason to cut saturated fats out of your diet.

James Gilbert | Elite.