For men struggling with poor sperm motility a 2017 study(1) has found that daily consumption of a readily available juice may be able to help. Tomato juice is a rich source of the antioxidant lycopene, and this study evaluated the effects of consuming tomato juice daily upon lycopene levels in seminal plasma. The study also questioned how regular tomato juice consumption might influence sperm parameters in infertile men.

Men who had been diagnosed with poor sperm concentration (<20×10 6/mL) and/or poor sperm motility (<50%) were followed as they were assigned to either drink tomato juice - one can daily containing 30 mg of lycopene - or to take an antioxidant supplement containing vitamin C 600 mg, vitamin E 200 mg, and glutathione 300 mg for a twelve week period. Meanwhile, another group of men took a placebo.

Forty-four men completed the program and at the end of the feeding period it was discovered that twelve weeks of tomato juice consumption had made quite an impact. Lycopene levels in plasma were significantly increased in the tomato juice group, and it was noted that seminal white blood cells decreased while sperm motility increased significantly as early as six weeks into the study. Interestingly no benefits were noted in the group taking the antioxidant supplement.

"In conclusion, regular consumption of tomato juice seems to improve sperm motility in infertile patients."

“This is the first report to show that commercially available food, such as tomato juice, might be beneficial for male infertility.”

If you are struggling with male fertility tomato juice may be an ideal daily source of food-based antioxidants for improving motility. It may be wise to purchase organic tomato juice when possible given the results of other studies linking pesticide intake to poor male fertility.

Reference

(1) Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2017 Jan;26(1):65-71. doi: 10.6133/apjcn.102015.17.
The effects of tomato juice on male infertility.
Yamamoto Y1, Aizawa K2, Mieno M3, Karamatsu M4, Hirano Y5, Furui K5, Miyashita T2, Yamazaki K6, Inakuma T2,7, Sato I8, Suganuma H2, Iwamoto T4.