The brekkie food that could be destroying your husband's sperm count

Slap that bacon out of your man's hand. Unless you've finished having kids in which case you can eat up!

Bacon is a sperm killer, and so is caffeine, alcohol, all processed and refined food, bad fats and soy.

I know, not fun, but here are the foods that can boost your sperm count: Oysters, salmon, tuna, dark chocolate, bananas, asparagus, walnuts, pumpkin seeds and garlic.

Exercise and general good health is also good for little swimmers.

"Helping men understand how their behavior may impact their fertility is very important," said Dr. Rebecca Sokol, vice president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. "These studies help us provide better information to our patients."

So, just how many sperm makes for a healthy count? More than 15 million sperm per millilitre of semen, to be exact. They also need to be of good quality - shape and structure - and mobility - movement.

If, like me, you control the groceries and cooking in your home it will be easy to remove the offending items and replace them with those that boost sperm but bacon can be a deal breaker. Bacon is something most men will fight for.

So it needs to be done carefully...

I suggest replacing it with something equally delicious. Here are some ideas:

Bacon for breakfast - try healthy sausages instead;

Bacon on a burger - use better quality beef, add an egg, or pineapple;

In an omelette or quiche - salmon;

Caesar salad - Hmmm, that's a tough one.

Look, we don't want to demonise bacon. It's just that it's a processed meat and therefore a sperm killer, like all processed meats.

To be honest, my husband would struggle more with giving up coffee but caffeine just isn't good for those 15 million sperm. "Even though caffeine and alcohol are generally considered a risk factor for decreased fertility, we saw no evidence of that," Dr. Jorge Chavarro, an assistant professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, told HealthDay.

French scientists confirmed took a closer look at caffeine intake for the third sperm study, analyzing samples taken from nearly 4,500 men in infertile couples. They noted that a previous study found a slight decrease in sperm concentration and count among people who consume lots of caffeine, so they wanted to analyze the men to see if caffeine intake damaged sperm characteristics or DNA along the way.

Even though more than 75 percent of the men were coffee drinkers -- sipping on about three cups a day on average -- the researchers found caffeine intake did not have a detrimental impact on sperm.

And while we're at it, be careful about exercise. Sperm killing activities include anything that puts pressure on the testes...so cycling is out. Try jogging instead.

Weightlifting is good too. It boosts testosterone.

The bottom line is that no matter what you eat or how you exercise, it's bye bye bacon.

Which food would the men in your life struggle to do without?