A new study has found that men who take fish oil supplements can boost sperm count and even increase testicle size in a relatively short span of time.

Before you go out and buy some and swallow them by the gallon, here is how the study was crafted.

How study was crafted

The study was published on Jan. 17, 2020, in the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

It has been hailed as the first well-designed study from a general population that includes healthy individuals.

A group of 1,679 male military recruits and couch surfers were split up by researchers to determine whether fish oil could improve their semen.

The study found that men who regularly took fish oil supplements for 60 days had millions more sperm.

The supplement-taking group was compared to those who took nothing, or those who took only vitamin supplements.

Participants were first selected from young Danish men recruited to the military between 2012 and 2017.

Subsequently, young men were approached and invited to participate, regardless of their fitness for military service from 2018 to 2019.

The result?

Participants that stuck to fish oil supplements reported increased total sperm count and motility (activity and movement), and higher proportions of healthy sperm.

How much measurable change?

Taking fish oil supplements for more than 60 days saw a semen volume that was 0.64ml higher, and a testicular size of 1.5ml larger.

Although the increase might be small, it was noticeable due to the large number of participants involved in the study.

Sperm counts were boosted regardless of lifestyle, including but not limited to diet, obesity, medications, smoking, and physical activity.

Tina Jensen, of the University of Southern Denmark, said: “Using a man aged 19 years who did not smoke, was not exposed to smoking in utero, had self-reported good to very good physical fitness, no fever in the past three months, and a mean 72 hours of abstinence as the reference, total sperm count was 147 million for men with no supplement intake, 159 million for men with other supplement intake, 168 million for men with fish oil supplement intake on fewer than 60 days, and 184 million for men with fish oil supplement intake on 60 or more days.”

Jensen also said: "Fish oil supplements were associated in a dose-response manner with higher semen volume and total sperm count, and larger testicular size."

“These findings suggest that healthy men may benefit from intake of fish oil supplements, but a well designed randomised clinical trial among unselected men is warranted.”

The researchers also said men who wished to boost their sperm count in other ways should consume fish, shellfish, poultry, cereals, vegetables and fruits.

Foods to avoid include processed meats, soy foods, potatoes, full-fat and total dairy products, cheese, coffee, alcohol and sweets.

Various details of the study are published online, including the fact that the men who were approached and took part in the study were compensated 500 kr (approximately US$74) for their time.