Increase sperm count- Improving Male Fertility
Preconception Care
If you’re trying to conceive know that sperm health and quality is vital for positive outcomes. It’s even more important if the female partner has poor egg quality or has a small number of eggs available from an IVF retrieval.
One research study has compared sperm from 1974 to today and the findings are astonishing. With male fertility dropping by an average of 1% per year up to 2008.
It’s so concerning that WHO has listed it as one of the major health concerns of our times.
Recent research has also found that sperm quality is also a contributing factor in recurrent miscarriages. So supporting your swimmers in the months leading up to conception is going to improve your outcomes.
Sperm quality does decline with age! There is plenty of research published on this one too, with studies finding that a 45 year old man has significantly lower fertility than a man who is in his 30’s. This seems to be due to higher levels of DNA damage.
So if you’re over the age of 40 consider getting a sperm analysis to see exactly what’s going on and getting a base line will also help to guide you as to what vitamins and minerals may be indicated.
The health parameters for sperm…
Count- the number of sperm per unit
Motility- the sperms ability to swim properly toward the egg
Morphology- the percent of sperm that have a normal shape and overall appearance
Beyond this you want to request a reading called DNA fragmentation, this is generally an additional cost in Australia but it’s well worth having done because you can have all of the other parameters come back normal but if this one is off, you may have challenges conceiving.
Recent studies have shown that DNA quality matters even more than semen parameters.
A 2017 study found that the degree of DNA damage in sperm has a significant impact on your chances of conceiving via IVF.
What can you do to improve sperm quality?
Understand that each sperm takes a little over two months to produce, during this two month period there are lots of environmental factors and lifestyle choices that can impact the health of sperm.
The biggest factor…
OXIDATION
What is that and why is it a problem you ask?
There are many chemical reactions constantly happening in your body and as sperm are created there is generally a healthy level of oxidation that takes place as a result, however there are anti-oxidants that stop this from getting out of control.
Things like Vitamin C and vitamin E.
When lifestyle factors increase the amount of oxidation in the body this is where fertility is compromised. Things like:
Environmental toxins
Alcohol
Nutrient deficiencies from a poor diet or poor gut function
Chronic inflammation in the body. This is why addressing existing health conditions like gut problems etc is important, reducing the inflammation in the body.
All of these factors increase oxidation and therefore the need for anti-oxidants and in our current lifestyles keeping up with the demands is very difficult so naturally sperm cells will also be subject to DNA damage.
Anti-oxidants for sperm quality
The single most important thing you can do to improve your sperm quality is to take anti-oxidants daily.
One extensive review study looking at men who took antioxidants daily found that their partners were four times more likely to conceive. There was also a 5 time increase in the progression to live births compared to men who didn’t take anti-oxidants.
Different studies use different combinations of anti-oxidants however some of the key ones to keep in mind:
Vitamin C
Vitamin E
Zinc
Selenium
And Folate (please keep in mind that methylfolate is a much better option for most)
A deficiency in zinc and folate can directly cause increased DNA damage. You can easily look to the amount of these minerals via a hair tissue analysis. Blood serum levels are another way of assessing these minerals however in the hair we can also assess the potential of heavy metals which cause oxidative damage and can impact fertility.
Remember I mentioned it can take sperm over 3 months to be created in the body so start these anti-oxidants well before you start trying.
CoEnzyme Q10 for male fertility
This is a vital antioxidant found in every cell of your body. It is critical for energy production. Researchers have found a clear link between sperm quality and the amount of CoQ10 in semen.
With studies showing that men with lower CoQ10 levels tending to have a lower sperm count and poor motility. This is one nutrient to don’t want to leave off the list. And please note that not all supplements are created equal, this is a difficult molecule to keep stable so you want to consult your naturopath for a high grade clinical only product.
One study has found that the combination of CoQ10 with vitamin B12 significantly improved all semen parameters and the quality of DNA.
Alpha lipoic acid improves male fertility
One study found that 12 weeks of supplementing with alpha lipoic acid improved total sperm count and motility. One you might want to add to the list particularly prior to IVF protocols and sperm collections.
Omega 3 fish oils
Double blind, studies have found that this supplement can improve sperm quality and in particular DNA damage. A 2016 study found that men who took fish oils for 3 months saw significant reductions in DNA damage going from 22 percent to 9 percent. That’s a very good improvement.
Again quality is key here, make sure you select a fish oil that is regularly screened for heavy metals and ensures quality as many of the over the counter fish oils are poor quality and are themselves oxidized which is not going to help you at all.
Diet for improving sperm health
We now have many years of research supporting the fact that men with diets high in anti-oxidants are going to have much better sperm health parameters as well as lower DNA damage.
So large amounts of fruits and vegetables and I can truely say most of my men who are visiting the clinic simply aren’t getting the daily recommended serves of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Can alcohol impact male fertility?
Some studies have shown that even a moderate alcohol intake can have adverse impacts on sperm quality.
A study done at the university of california looking at men going through an IVF cycle and consuming one additional drink a day actually doubled their risk of not achieving a live birth, this appeared in the study to actually increase miscarriage rates.
Alcohol intake is known to increase oxidation rates in the body and so will absolutely impact oxidative DNA damage as well.
Heavy Metal Toxins & Sperm Health
Lead and other heavy metals have been linked to poor sperm health, one study finding that men with a lead toxicity were more likely to have a significantly lower sperm count and a greater risk of sperm abnormalities. So use a water filter have a hair mineral analysis and work on removing lead from you system if it’s an issue.
A hair tissue mineral analysis is a great way to see if you have toxic metals in your system with the added benefit of assessing the amount of essential minerals as well. To find out more check out this article.
Can cell phones decrease sperm health?
This one always brings up a heated debate! But I want to remind you that sperm cells are among some of the smaller most delicate cells in the human anatomy.
Researches at the Cleveland clinic concluded the use of cell phones. especially when kept in the pocket decreased sperm count, motility, viability and morphology.
Length and frequency of exposure seemed to be a contributing factor here. Please keep your cell phone out of your pocket whenever possible as the study showed when sperm cells were put in close proximity to the radio and electromagnetic frequencies of a mobile phone they were significantly impacted and had higher oxidative damage.
So the fun police isn’t done just yet!
You need to keep cool…
That’s right temperature cool there have been countless studies that have shown that heat damages sperm cells and reduces fertility measures or men.
This can even be heat caused by a fever.
Beyond this avoid, hot baths, spas, tight underwear, saunas, and of course if you’re already fighting and uphill battle you want to address things like bicycle riding, sitting all day and no breathable clothing. All of these will increase the temperature of your anatomy and damage those delicate sperm cells.
Believe it or not we’ve only scratched the surface here there are other factors that impact male fertility but hopefully what you’ve found here is something to get you started and even more importantly the evidence that men are a very important equation in preconception care.
If you’re a woman reading this please support your man to get his health on track so that you can increase your chances of conceiving and decrease your incidence of miscarriages most of which happen before you even know you're pregnant.
If you’d like more information on how I can help you conceive please check out this page.
Alternatively you can fill out the form below and I’ll be in touch.