Enhancing sperm quality. What can be done?
In clinic I am seeing an increasing amount of male patients who are presenting with suboptimal fertility. This usually means they have been unsuccessful at conceiving and therefore have done a semen analysis which has detected either low sperm count, poor motility (swimming ability) or poor morphology (shape & formation). This presents a whole host of questions which I aim to answer throughout this article.
What exactly is sperm quality? What does ‘quality’ mean?
Sperm quality is different to sperm count/concentration.
Sperm quality is used to describe the overall health of the sperm and its chances of leading to a viable pregnancy. Sperm quality encompasses the morphology* (shape) and motility* (swimming ability).
*see below for further explanation
What causes poor sperm quality?
Sperm are some of the smallest cells in the human body. They have a very thin cell membrane which makes them particularly vulnerable to the impact of oxidative stress, which causes DNA damage. Unlike other cells in the body, they do not have the ability to repair their own DNA, so once the damage is done, a sperm is useless. However, nature is clever and the body works incredibly hard to overcome these reproductive hurdles - men produce 1,500 sperm per second, so that millions of sperm are released per ejaculation. Due to these high numbers men only need a small percentage of good quality sperm to achieve pregnancy. I expect about 8-10% of sperm to be looking good, although in recent times men are commonly presenting with 4% or less.
Factors that contribute to damaged sperm and lowered quality are:
poor diet
alcohol
excessive caffeine intake
drugs & smoking
some pharmaceutical medications
obesity
psychological stress
heat exposure to the testes
nutritional deficiencies (particularly low zinc levels)
low testosterone levels
toxins: pesticides, fragrances (colognes and perfumes), plastics, heavy metals* and industrial chemicals
*a note on heavy metals - I am testing for heavy metal toxicity and am commonly seeing elevations of arsenic, aluminium, lead and mercury in men who work in industries including construction, building, mechanics, landscaping and metal works. Please book an appointment if you feel you may have been exposed to these toxins.
Can sperm quality be improved? and how do I improve it?
This is a BIG YES.
Sperm production takes 3 months, everything you do over those 3 months will impact on the quality of sperm you produce.
We have research that demonstrates a diet rich in fruits & vegetables, nuts, seeds, good fats and quality proteins correlates with higher fertility. The choice is yours - you can eat food that enhances your fertility or harms your fertility.
Factors that contribute to improved sperm quality:
healthy diet
exercise
high quality and specific supplementation
some herbal medicines
sufficient sleep
reduced consumption of alcohol, drugs, smoking and caffeine
sustainable weight loss if needed
What supplements do you recommend?
I strongly advise that you book an appointment if you have received news that your semen analysis results are suboptimal. Every person requires an individualised treatment and no two supplement regimes are ever the same.
For example, a man presenting with poor sperm morphology due to heavy metal exposure will require completely different supplements to a man with low testosterone.
If you have no underlying health issues and are wanting to support general male fertility I highly recommend the Naturobest Preconception Multi for Men. This is a supplement that is high in antioxidants and zinc which can help to support male reproductive health. For best results I recommend taking 2 capsules daily for a minimum of 3 months prior to conception.
How long does it take to improve sperm health?
The production of sperm takes 3 months, therefore it takes a minimum of three months of treatment to improve sperm quality. However, for people who have underlying health conditions it may take longer as you will need to resolve these issues first and foremost.
Men who have heavy metal toxicity will need to detoxify these substances and this can take longer than 3 months.
What are the ideal results of a semen analysis?
Please note the reference ranges on a semen analysis are the minimum requirement for conception to be possible. The figures below are the ideal figures:
Sperm count ideally >15 million
Sperm motility ideally >60%
Sperm morphology ideally >8%