Boost Fertility Naturally

Vitamins to Increase Male Fertility

By Natural Fertility ⋅  Email ⋅  Print ⋅

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to the Natural Fertility RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

By: Sacha Tarkovsky

Male fertility rates have dropped dramatically over the last 100 years and one of the main factors has been changes in our diets and toxins in our environments.Here we will look at diet and lifestyle changes that can be made to increase male fertility, as well as 11 natural supplements for male reproductive health.

There is no single cause of increasing male infertility rates. Likely causes include a combination of the following: Diet, environmental and lifestyle changes. Male fertility does not exist on its own, its part of our overall body functions and what you put into your body affects how efficiently it operates. Here are three quick lifestyle changes to make immediately if you are trying to conceive.

1. Avoid or cut alcohol consumption because medical evidence has linked alcohol consumption with defective sperm.
2. Don’t smoke because medical evidence has shown there is a link between smoking and low sperm count.
3. Recreational drugs. There is not enough room here to go into the effect of all the recreational drugs on sperm count and male fertility, but there is medical evidence linking a number of them with male infertility.

Nutrition
Not eating the right diet can impair hormone function, inhibit sperm production, and produce abnormal sperm. There is no question that our diets have undergone dramatic changes in the last 100 years and these have affected male fertility rates and seen a dramatic rise in male infertility. Before we look at our top supplements, here are some tips on a diet for increasing male fertility.

Eat “naturally from the earth” get plenty of fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fish, poultry, legumes, nuts, brown rice and seeds. Avoid junk food, processed foot and foods high saturated fat. Drink plenty of water at least 8-10 large glasses a day to flush out any toxins in the body.

Pumpkin seeds are a great food for male fertility, as they contain high levels of zinc and essential fatty acids which are vital to healthy functioning of the male reproductive system.

Look for the following vitamins, minerals and amino acids in your fertility supplement because they can help increase sperm count and mobility. Don’t expect overnight results as they will take a few months to become effective.

1. Arginine
This non essential amino acid and is needed to produce healthy sperm. Natural production of arginine declines with age and a supplement here may help older patients

2. Coenzyme Q10
Helps increase sperm count and motility.

3. L-carnitine
Required for normal sperm function, Carnitine is a naturally occurring amino acid and men with healthy sperm in high numbers often have high carnitine levels.

4. Selenium
Selenium is believed to be good for sperm mobility.Nearly 50% of the selenium in a man is in the testes and seminal ducts; men lose selenium in their semen.

5. Zinc
Required for a healthy male reproductive system and sperm production. Zinc is required for the production of testosterone and zinc content in the prostate gland and sperm is higher than in any other body tissues. A deficiency of zinc is associated with numerous sexual problems, including sperm abnormalities and prostate disease. Zinc helps to maintain semen volume and adequate levels of testosterone; keeping sperm healthy.

6. Vitamin B-12
B-12 deficiency reduces sperm motility and sperm count and is one of the most frequent vitamin deficiencies so make sure your intake is adequate.

7. Vitamin E
Helps to improve the overall health of sperm. Sperm can be damaged by harmful molecules (free radicals). Vitamin E is an antioxidant which helps to reduce the number of free radicals, vitamin C also can be taken for its antioxidant qualities

8. Omega fatty acids
Omega 3 fatty acids (found in oily fish and flaxseed oils) and omega-6 fatty acids ( evening primrose and starflower oils) can help improve the sperm membrane fluidity and male fertility.

9. Astragalus
A Chinese herb which is now grown in popularity worldwide medical research indicates that Astragalus has a stimulating effect on the production of sperm and also helps to improve sperm motility.

10. Ginseng (Panax ginseng)
Used in Chinese medicine for thousands of years, and popular worldwide to help increase testosterone levels and sperm count and improve the quality of sperm

11. Saw palmetto (Serenoa repens)
Saw Palmetto contains a variety of fatty acids, including capric, caprylic, caproic, lauric, palmitic and oleic acid, and their ethyl esters. Saw Palmetto oil is high in phytosterols (beta-sitosterol, stigmasterol, cycloartenol, lupeol, lupenone and 24-methyl-cycloartenol), as well as other oils, resins, and tannin and is seen as an overall body tonic for men and is believed to help male fertility rates.

Male fertility rates are affected by a number of factors however having the right diet can and does help in the production of healthy sperm and should be a consideration for all men seeking a family.

About the author:
For more sensible health advice including articles, ezines magazines and regular features, please visit our website: http://www.net-planet.org/health.html

Image Source: http://flickr.com/photos/madabandon/3236520/

Tags for this post