The research, published online in the journal Human Reproduction, showed that men who ate the most produce with high levels of pesticide residue had a 49% lower total sperm count and 32% fewer normally formed sperm than men who ate the least amount of pesticide-heavy produce. No, that is not permission to skip the salad bar in favor of a burger and fries. “This by no means is indication that people should stop eating fruits and vegetables,” says Jorge E. Chavarro, MD, assistant professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health and coauthor of the study. “But if you were to choose your fruits and vegetables in a way that focused on pesticides specifically—such as either choosing organically grown fruits and vegetables if you can afford it, or choosing fruits and vegetables that are known to have low pesticides—that might be the way to go.” MORE: 12 Foods To Always Eat Organic—And 15 That Are Naturally Clean Pesticide exposure—from the environment and people’s jobs—has well-documented effects on sperm production, Chavarro says, but this study is the first to examine reproductive effects of pesticide exposure through food. And it’s an important risk to understand, considering it’s likely the biggest source of pesticide exposure for those of us who don’t work in, say, agriculture or as exterminators, he says. Chavarro and his team analyzed 338 semen samples from 155 men between the ages of 18 and 55. These men were already seeking help with fertility issues at a medical center from 2007 to 2012 and had opted into the ongoing Environment and Reproductive Health or EARTH study. Each man filled out a comprehensive diet questionnaire when he first visited the fertility center, reporting how often he ate how many portions of various fruits and veggies. Produce was categorized as carrying high, moderate, or low amounts of pesticide residue according to data from the USDA’s Pesticide Data Program. Because pesticide residue is measured according to how a fruit or vegetable would typically be eaten—for example, when testing a banana, the fruit is peeled; when testing apples, they are washed—simply being a bit more diligent about how your scrub your strawberries isn’t the solution, Chavarro says. “Some pesticides do stay on the surface of the fruit or vegetable, and washing does make a difference, but many pesticides get absorbed into the soil and then into the plant through its roots.” No amount of washing will rid your produce of pesticides once the plant itself has absorbed them, he says. This study is the first to show an adverse reproductive effect related to dietary pesticide exposure, so Chavarro cautions that it doesn’t necessarily prove that pesticide residue causes changes in semen quality, nor do those changes necessarily lead to fertility problems. The results will need to be replicated in future research, he says. Until then, if you’re of the “better safe than sorry” camp, look for organic versions of the produce with the most pesticides, or what nonprofit Environmental Working Group deems its Dirty Dozen. (Apples top the list of worst offenders for the fifth year in a row!) Or, stock up on items from the Clean 15, the EWG’s list of—you guessed it—produce with the lowest amount of pesticide residue. MORE: 7 Foods That Should Never Cross Your Lips
