10 Things You Need To Know Before You Test Your Sperm Count
Last weekend Boots the chemist began selling the SpermCheck Male Fertility Test (29.99). It's a home testing kit which allows men to test whether they have the a low or normal sperm count. The kit is as accurate as a lab test at identifying low or normal sperm count and it gives you clear results in the privacy of your own home in just 10 minutes. Before you try it, there's a few things you need to know...
1. The minimum sperm count required to get your partner pregnant is 20 million+ sperm per milliliter.
2. It takes 10 to 11 weeks for sperm to be produced, so making lifestyle changes now and testing your sperm in three months time will optimize your result.
3. Daily ejaculation encourages the production of newer healthier sperm and leads to a 12% drop in sperm DNA damage.
4. Male sperm counts decline with age. It takes a man over 45, five times longer to get his partner pregnant. Even older men who have very young wives (<25 years of age) take four times longer to impregnate their partners.
5. Research from Harvard School of Public Health confirms that eating certain vegetables and salads can improve sperm motility and sperm quality. Men who ate higher levels of beta-carotene, which is found in carrots, lettuce and spinach, and lutein, which is found in lettuce and spinach, had a 6.5% increase in sperm motility. Those who consumed higher levels of lycopene, which is found in tomatoes, had 1.7% improved sperm quality.
6. Research by Professor Jill Attaman from Harvard Medical School in Boston has linked a diet that is high in saturated fat to reduced sperm counts. In contrast, men who consumed more omega-3 fatty acids were found to have sperm with a more normal structure. Sardines, salmon, flax seeds and walnuts are excellent sources of omega-3 fatty acids and you might also want to add in an oral antioxidant such as vitamin E, L-carnitine, zinc or magnesium.
7. A meta analysis of existing research on male fertility found that couples were more likely to have a pregnancy, or live birth, if the man took certain vitamins or other antioxidants. Sperm count can be improved by a combination of zinc and folic acid. Low levels of vitamin C have been implicated in an abnormal sperm count.
8. Dehydration can also lead to reduced semen production. Semen is the watery fluid that protects and nourishes sperm cells and transports them during ejaculation. If there is not enough fluid, conception is less likely.
9. Keep cool. The testicles hang down from the body is so that they can maintain the cooler temperatures that are required for sperm production. Because it is not advisable to allow the testes to heat up by more than 1°C, long baths or Jacuzzis are not a good idea.
10. Nor is it a good idea to work with a laptop on your knee because the heat from the computer has been shown to increase scrotal temperature by 2.6°C within fifteen minutes. Rates of infertility among chefs are twice the UK average because of exposure to to intense heat and radiation from ovens.
10 Foods to Improve Sperm Count and Quality
Getting pregnant is not always as easy as we think it should be. One common problem is a low sperm count, but the good news is that there are foods that are not only super tasty, but super good for sperm.
The best part? Some of these foods are also aphrodisiacs... so if you've gotten a little bored with getting it on to get preggo, whip up a menu based on these sexy foods.
Asparagus - That little green vegetable that gets so much flack for what it does to the smell of your urine actually has some fantastic powers over sperm. The ridiculously high amount of Vitamin C prevents sperm from oxidizing, and it protects the cells of the testicles. Additionally, Vitamin C decreases free radicals so your man’s body can focus on producing sperm instead of fighting off disease.
Avocado - Summer is the perfect time to pick up some yummy avocados for guacamole… and a hot night at home. Packed with vitamin E, vitamin B6, and folic acid, avocados boost sperm motility and give it the strength to penetrate an egg.
Bananas - Upon reading that this fruit can help your guy out, we had some giggly flashbacks to Drew Barrymore putting a condom on a banana in Never Been Kissed. Phallic shape aside, there are some awesome things going on in bananas to help increase sperm count. Bananas have a rare enzyme in them called Bromelain, which has been shown to regulate sex hormones. There’s also a good amount of vitamin B1, vitamin A, and vitamin C which will help increase his stamina and boost his body’s ability to make sperm.
Beef - This was a little surprising to us given that doctors are constantly saying to lay off red meat if you want a healthy heart. Lean beef, though, is a fantastic source of zinc. A little research on the Dr. Oz site told us that zinc has protective properties that keep free radicals from getting at your man’s little swimmers. In fact, zinc goes even further to prevent testosterone from converting to estrogen, which is the culprit of a low sex drive.
Dark Chocolate - There’s no sexier food to bring into the bedroom than dark chocolate, but now, it’s not just the seductive taste you’ll want it for. Dark chocolate contains L-Arginine HCL, an amino acid related to the arginine in walnuts. It also doubles your guy’s sperm count and semen volume. Men who eat a little dark chocolate everyday have also noted that they have stronger and more intense orgasms. BONUS: it does that for you, too. *wink*
Garlic - Along the same lines as ginseng, garlic possesses the power to increase blood flow. The chemical allicin not only helps keep plaque from building up in the arteries, it also improves the flow of blood to the genitals and boosts the strength and endurance of the sperm. Garlic also contains selenium and vitamin B6 to prevent sperm damage and regulate hormones.
Ginseng - Dr. Oz recommends ginseng for guys who are dealing with less than impressive bedroom scenarios, but a little more online research tells us that men in Asia have been supplementing ginseng into their diets for centuries because it improves virility. In fact, ginseng increases libido, sexual performance, and aids in blood flow to the testicles. In a study at Southern Illinois University, 45 men with erectile dysfunction were put on a ginseng regimen, and at 16 weeks, 60% of those men reported having stronger erections.
Oysters - The fact that oysters are an aphrodisiac was first presented to me in the form of Sex in the City. The process of feeding to each other and sucking down the slimy little things really gets people going. Did you know they also have sperm count increasing benefits? A good portion of a sperm cell is composed of zinc, which oysters are relatively high in. Eating oysters can not only increase sperm production but it can aid in the repair of damaged sperm.
Pomegranate - This is the most super of all super foods. It seems like it can truly cure whatever ails you from the common cold to low sperm count. Because of the intense cocktail of antioxidants in pomegranates, the juice can lower a chemical in the blood called malondialidehyde. That chemical destroys sperm, so drinking pomegranate juice is like putting a super hero cape on all those sperm so they can destroy the evil free radicals and get to the egg just in time.
Walnuts - In high school, we were given a comparison between the size of a walnut and a testicle. Strangely enough, size is not the only link between them. Walnuts contain arganine, which helps the testicles to increase sperm production and also aids in semen volume increase. It also contains Omega-3 fatty acids which improve the blood flow to the penis. These nuts also have twice the antioxidant power over other nuts so they do a great job of protecting the little guys, too. BONUS: eating 7 walnuts a day lowers cholesterol and the risk of heart disease.
How to grow healthy sperm
There’s that old saying about how “it takes two” – if you’re trying to make a baby, each of you, including him, needs to be in optimum health.
Study after study have shown that if a man has poor health, smokes, drinks too much or has a bad diet, it’s very likely his sperm are also going to be unhealthy and not up for the task ahead.
What makes sperm healthy?
Sperm have a very demanding role to play in reproduction. The journey sperm undertake on their way to fertilise an egg has been likened to a human trying to swim a journey of several thousand kilometres. Then when they arrive at the egg, they need to be full healthy to help make a healthy baby.
There are three principles of a healthy sperm. They are:
- Quantity: Because it’s survival of the fittest, you want many millions to be sent out in search of a receptive egg. Most will drop off or get lost along the way.
- Quality: Only 4% of will have a normal shape and structure – that is, an oval head and a long tail, which work together to propel it forward. Sperm with large, small, tapered or crooked heads or kinky, curled or double tails will struggle to fertilise an egg.
- Motility: To reach the egg, sperm have to move on their own, wriggling and swimming the their way to the egg. In a healthy sperm sample, about 40% are moving.
Getting his swimmers ready
Sperm health is heavily influence by lifestyle and dietary habits. Here are a few ways to boost his sperm quality, and possible even quantity, today.
1. Stop smoking
A new study has been released confirming that that smoking can harm sperm quality. German research showed that men who smoke heavily may experience fertility problems stemming from a drop in levels of a protein crucial to sperm development, as well as damage to sperm’s DNA.
2. Minimise the booze
Alcohol consumption has also been linked with lowering both the quantity and quality of sperm. Fertility specialists advise that when men are planning a baby, they should cut back on how much they drink and avoid all binge drinking.
3. Lose weight
A 2008 UK study confirmed that obese men should consider losing weight if they want to have children after finding that men with a higher body mass index (BMI) had lower volumes of seminal fluid and a higher proportion of abnormal sperm. Other studies have suggested an association between male obesity and increased DNA damage in the sperm, which can also be associated with reduced fertility.
4. But don’t over-exercise
Exercise moderately, particularly while you’re actively trying to conceive, is this message from fertility specialists. Over exercising can cause the internal temperature of a man’s testicles to rise and sperm to overheat and die off. Bike riding has been found to be a less than ideal way of exercising for the man trying to conceive. Also, men who over exercise and become underweight can also experience lower sperm mortality and poor sperm morphology.
5. Eat these sperm-boosting foods:
Obviously a healthy, balanced diet is the way to go at all stages of life. But there are a few foods believed to be especially good at helping make healthy, moving, high quality sperm, such as foods rich in:
- Zinc – like oysters, whole grains and lean red meats
- Vitamin C – strawberries, broccoli and kiwi fruit
- Lycopene – tomatoes, watermelon, pink grapefruit
- Vitamin A – dairy foods, chicken, fish oils, eggs and liver
6. Drink water
Dehydration is a major effect on all the body’s organs including the testicles. So men need to drink at least two litres of water a day to maintain sperm health.
7. Keep them cool
Research has shown that warming the scrotum more than one degree Celsius is enough to damage sperm. So during the baby-making time men should avoid spas, hot baths, over-exercising, tight undies and using laptops on their laps.
8. Ejaculate daily
Men trying to conceive with their partner should have sex every day to improve the quality of their sperm, according to new research, debunking that old myth of too much sex lessens the quality and quantity of semen. The study found on average sperm DNA damage fell from 34% to 26% if men ejaculated daily. Researchers advised couples to have sex daily for up to a week before ovulation.
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