On and off social media, there have been claims that consuming things like pineapples, juices, ice cream, and other sweet edibles tends to improve the taste of sperm from a man. A scroll on X would be bombarded with posts like...
"As a man, do you know that, if you eat banana and pineapple in large quantity, your sperm will begin to taste like Pineapple yoghurt?" Or “pineapple improves the taste of sperm" and "Yes, the food you eat has an effect on the flavour of the sperm you produce. Pineapples are commonly recommended to improve it, along with things such as celery, papayas, and oranges".
Even in your personal chats, there might be one or two people, usually men who would believe such.
But are these claims true? GhanaWeb's FactCheck Desk clarifies.
Explanation
First, don’t use the word “sperms”.
What a man ejaculates during sex is not sperm, it's actually
“Semen”.
Sperms are actually Spermatozoa, the male reproductive cells responsible for fertilizing the eggs.
Semen is a fluid that contains a mixture of different components, including sperm, seminal fluid, and various enzymes. It is released from the male reproductive system during ejaculation.
It also contains proteins and amino acids. It has fructose and glucose (both are sugars), zinc, calcium, vitamin C, and a few other nutrients.
Naturally, semen tastes sour, this is because it is alkaline in nature (it has a pH higher than 7). (Chaudhari, Singh, Bhat, & Ingley, 1990). However, certain foods can affect the taste of one’s semen.
Do sugary fruits like strawberries, bananas, blueberries, apples, pineapples tend to make semen taste sweeter?
Yes and no, they suddenly won’t make the semen taste like yoghurt. It simply reduces the sourness of the semen making it bearable for the consumer.
In the same way, foods like coffee, tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana can also increase the sourness of the semen.
Salty foods as well can make the semen taste… salty.
Take note that these changes aren’t even instant, don’t drink a litre of pineapple juice and expect your semen to taste like Kalypo. These could take a while and may not even be noticeable.
Verdict
Although sugary foods affect the taste of semen, it is not always noticeable. Thus moderation should be taken care of when these foods are consumed.
Rather, endeavour to eat healthy, avoid too much sugar, salt, and alcohol, and remember to exercise.
With additional files from menshealth.com, Shiffer (2018) and Owen & Katz (2005)
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Mixed fruits