A factor you may have never considered relating to sperm count is nutrition. If you are experiencing a low sperm count and are struggling with fertility, let food be your medicine. Here are five of the best foods for boosting your sperm count, and they are luckily all delicious!
Oysters
Oysters contain some of the highest levels of zinc, which is a key building block for sperm and helps both in testosterone production and the immune system. You should be consuming around 50 milligrams per day.
Oysters are also an aphrodisiac, so you really have the complete package here for getting a bun in the oven. Oysters are, however, quite costly. If you cannot afford to make this luxurious item a staple, try other zinc-filled foods such as pumpkin seeds, turkey, mussels or lobsters.
Dark Chocolate
Who doesn”t like chocolate? The beneficial ingredient in dark chocolate is the amino acid L-arginine. This is a building block of the neurotransmitter Nitric Oxide (NO). NO regulates the blood flow throughout the body inclusign of course to the reproductive systems. It also contains L-tryptophan, which is converted into serotonine in the body and makes you happy. Dark chocolate is also lower in sugar than white or milk chocolate, which keeps your blood sugar at a more steady level.
Antioxidants are essential for getting rid of free radicals, which constantly attack our cells, and have been shown to promote male infertility. Obviously you don”t want to go crazy on the stuff. Too much sugar will cause you to gain weight and throw your testosterone levels out of balance. This actually lowers your sperm count.
Garlic
This essential ingredient for many tasty foods might be a bit difficult to eat for some. It is, however, essential in getting the male reproductive system working well. Its benefits are twofold.
Firstly, its high allicin content will ensure a clear and healthy flow of blood to the sexual organs, as well as providing protection for the sperm itself. It also includes selenium, which is a potent antioxidant and helps to promote sperm motility. Try munching on at least one clove per day.
Bananas
The classic fruit for innuendos is also ironically super beneficial for raising the male libido and regulating sex hormones. This is thanks to its potent levels of the enzyme bromelain.
Broccoli
This fluffy vegetable is an excellent way to improve the swimming ability (motility) of your sperm. A lack of vitamin A can severely drain your sperm cells” abilities, which broccoli will reverse with its peaking vitamin A content.
If you introduce these 5 foods into your diet as a regularity you will be well on your way to getting the perfect family started. There are plenty more foods that will greatly aid you in improving your fertility, so make sure that you do more research.
www.amitamin.com/en/fertilsan-m New life deserves the best possible start!We provide the essential building blocks for this.
Improve your fertility with micronutrients
Several micronutrients such as vitamins, vitaminoids, amino acids and trace elements have proven themselves effective in improving sperm quantity, mobility and shape. This directly translates into better overall sperm quality and therefore a higher chance of pregnancy.
A natural food supplementation therapy for men is:
- relatively inexpensive
- effective after three to six months
- able to increase sperm motility by up to 23%, ejaculate volume by up to 33% and sperm count by up to 215%1 “Imhof, Martin et al., “Improvement of sperm quality after micronutritient supplementation”, e-SPEN, the European e-Journal of Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism, Epub published ahead of print.”
- without side effects
For those reasons, male fertility food supplements are most definitely recommended as the first step in the treatment of oligospermia and asthenospermia.
We have tested the best natural male fertility boosters[/caption[/mfn]
Also men who have not yet taken a semen analysis test will benefit from supplementing micronutrients to ensure they are able to deliver high-quality semen.
There are no contraindications or side effects to this form of natural “sperm boosting”.
An excellent and detailed overview of many studies can be found in Steven Sinclair’s Male Infertility: Nutritional and Environmental Considerations.
A considerable range of male fertility supplements available on the UK market.
However, the products differ widely in price and composition. Menfertility.org has compared 10 of them in terms of value for money and the nutrients they provide.
The most effective male fertility nutrients
A multitude of studies has shown that highly dosed nutrients have potentially significant impact on overall sperm quality.
The amino acid L-arginine has been proven to increase sperm count and motility 2 “http://www.altmedrev.com/publications/5/1/28.pdf” 3 “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7701414“.
Another amino acid L-carnitine has been found to significantly improve sperm concentration (count) and motility over a relatively short period of only 8 weeks4 “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12568837“ 5 “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8085668“.
Vitamin D has been shown to improve sperm count, motility and morphology6 “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21427118“.
Vitamin B9, better known as folic acid has been shown to increase count, motility and morphology7 “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20978181“.
Zinc improves the immune system and significantly improves sperm count in combination with folic acid8 “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11872201“.
Selenium in combination with vitamin E has been found to improve motility9 “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21403799“ 10 “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12623744“ 11 “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8862739“.
Nutrients must be applied permanently
Sperm cells take 11 weeks to mature in the testicles. Only then they are ready for ejaculation.
If you adjust your diet today it will thus take three months for the better sperm to be ready for fertilisation.
You must therefore keep the diet or supplement on an ongoing basis – ideally until your partner is pregnant or you decide for a different treatment.
All of the male fertility supplements in our great test include several of these nutrients at once, albeit at a lower dose. This is a cost-effective and convenient way making this type of fertility therapy affordable and requiring taking only one all-in-one supplement instead of many.
To find out more about the effects of the individual nutrients and how the various supplements compare, please read menfertility.org’s male fertility supplement review.
The top male fertility supplements
Dr. Jones is an experienced consultant in assisted reproduction.
He has worked as a Fertility specialist at Kingston Hospital Assisted Conception and nearly 10 years experience of working in Obstetrics and Gynaecology across hospitals in the UK.
He completed his Masters in Assisted Reproduction Technology and then his PhD, from Imperial College London. Dr. Jones main areas of interest are Single Embryo Transfer, Endometriosis, PCOS and Implantation failure in IVF patients. He is a member of the British Fertility Society and an associate member of the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
Bibliography
- 1“Imhof, Martin et al., “Improvement of sperm quality after micronutritient supplementation”, e-SPEN, the European e-Journal of Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism, Epub published ahead of print.”
- 2“http://www.altmedrev.com/publications/5/1/28.pdf”
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