Ultra‑processed foods flagged
New research is associating high intake of ultra‑processed foods with reduced male fertility and measurable changes in very early embryos — researchers reported slower embryo growth and smaller yolk sacs in recent findings. (medicaldialogues.in) Broader coverage notes the studies are prompting calls for longer‑term research and randomized trials to pin down cause and effect, while some experts argue not all processed items are equally unhealthy. (naturalnews.com) (okdiario.com)
Ultra-processed foods are foods made mostly from industrial ingredients and additives, and a new March 24 study linked higher intake around conception to lower male fertility and slower early embryo growth. (academic.oup.com) The study, published in *Human Reproduction*, analyzed 831 women and 651 male partners in the Netherlands-based Generation R Study Next Programme, with couples enrolled between 2017 and 2021. Researchers measured diet with a food questionnaire at about 12 weeks of pregnancy and tracked time to pregnancy plus ultrasound markers at 7, 9 and 11 weeks of gestation. (academic.oup.com) For men, higher ultra-processed food intake was tied to lower fecundability — the chance of conceiving within one month — with a fecundability ratio of 0.90 per standard-deviation increase in intake. The same increase was linked to higher odds of subfertility, defined as taking at least 12 months to conceive or using assisted reproductive technology, with an odds ratio of 1.36. (academic.oup.com) For women, higher intake was not linked to fertility outcomes in this study, but it was linked to smaller crown-rump length, a standard ultrasound measure of embryo size, at 7 weeks. It was also linked to smaller yolk sac volume at 7 weeks, and those associations weakened by 9 and 11 weeks. (academic.oup.com) The yolk sac is an early support structure that helps nourish the embryo before the placenta takes over, and the researchers measured it with transvaginal ultrasound. The paper reported median ultra-processed food intake at 22.0% of total food intake for women and 25.1% for men. (academic.oup.com) The researchers classified foods with the Nova system, which groups foods by the extent and purpose of industrial processing rather than by calories or vitamins alone. The Food and Agriculture Organization says Nova is the classification system most widely used in the scientific literature on ultra-processed foods. (openknowledge.fao.org) The European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology said this was the first study to test mothers’ and fathers’ ultra-processed food intake together against both time to pregnancy and very early embryo development. The society also noted that ultra-processed foods can make up 50% to 60% of daily intake in some high-income countries. (focusonreproduction.eu) The paper was observational, which means it found associations rather than proving that ultra-processed foods caused the fertility or embryo changes. The authors adjusted for socio-demographic and lifestyle factors, but they did not run a randomized trial that would test cause and effect directly. (academic.oup.com) Scientists are also debating how much the label “ultra-processed” captures on its own. A January 2026 review in *BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health* said foods in that category show “widely heterogeneous associations” with health outcomes, with some linked to higher risk and some to lower risk. (nutrition.bmj.com) That leaves the new fertility study as one more data point in a fast-growing field: a signal in early pregnancy scans, a signal in male conception odds, and no proof yet that changing one part of the diet will change the outcome. (academic.oup.com)
