Vitamins For Optimizing Sperm Health

You may become pregnant more quickly when the various parameters for sperm health - counts - morphology and motility - are optimal or average rather than in the low/normal ranges. Even though average numbers are still considered 'normal' they may represent a common problem called sub-fertility.

Taking action to improve the health of sperm that fall in the low/normal ranges - but are not frankly abnormal - can speed conception and may lower miscarriage risks caused by sperm DNA damage. Some studies - such as this landmark study in the New England Journal of Medicine - have focused on identifying optimal - and sub-fertile - ranges for sperm health and have come to some interesting conclusions: sperm may be sub-fertile when:

Sperm counts are below 13 million/ml

Sperm morphology is below 9%

Sperm motility is below 32%

Fortunately, the study also identified the ideal sperm parameters for optimal male fertility that may help to speed conception, they are:

Sperm counts above 48 million/ml

Sperm morphology above 12%

Sperm motility above 63%

The researchers of the study concluded that:

"The odds for infertility increased with an increasing number of sperm measurements in the sub-fertile range."

"The percentage of sperm with normal morphologic features had the greatest discriminating power."

This study shows that low/normal is most certainly not optimal when you are trying to conceive. Natural methods such as vitamins can often restore optimal sperm health and have great value in helping to boost sperm parameters into the optimal ranges.

Most couples just don't realize that natural vitamins can have such a powerful effect and may help them to get pregnant faster, even when sperm health is normal, but levels are at the lower end of the normal range.

There are many very well-researched and proven natural strategies for restoring sperm health, and many have even been published in the top medical journals read by reproductive endocrinologists. Despite this, natural methods for restoring male fertility are rarely offered by physicians as a way to speed conception. All to often, IUI or IVF with ICSI are the choices proposed, and often nothing is said as couples pursues cycle after cycle of expensive fertility treatments with sub-fertile sperm that just passes the lower limits for normalcy.

Diet change can be a powerful factor for improving sperm health, especially increasing daily fruit and vegetable consumption to boost antioxidant intake. Studies on Danish organic farmers have shown that they had extraordinarily good sperm health indicating that organic food may give you the edge too. Avoiding the 'dirty dozen' - the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables - is certainly a good idea even if you don't go 100% organic. The dirty dozen list is available at the environmental working group's web site, ewg.org.

Certain things are known to be damaging to sperm health such as excessive cell phone use, environmental estrogens and endocrine disruptors, and alcohol. Studies show that even minimal alcohol use by men in the month before IVF has detrimental effects.

When you consider that just vitamin C alone can have a very powerful effect upon sperm counts, you can see the power and potential for multiple vitamin supplements to improve male fertility. One study on this inexpensive vitamin gave vitamin C, 1000 mg twice a day for 2 months to 13 infertile men (age 25-35) with oligospermia (low sperm count) but otherwise good general and reproductive health. With just this small dose of vitamin C, their mean sperm count more than doubled to a healthier 32 million/ml, as did sperm motility, which more than doubled to 60%. The study concluded that:

"...vitamin C supplementation in infertile men might improve sperm count, sperm motility, and sperm morphology and might have a place as an additional supplement to improve the semen quality towards conception."

Many vitamins and other supplements such as herbs have a proven track record of helping sperm to reach higher levels of health - improving morphology, motility, counts and DNA fragmentation - which may help you to get pregnant faster.

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References:
J.Med Food. 2006 Fall;9(3):440-2. Improvement in human semen quality after oral supplementation of vitamin C. Akmal M. et al.
Sperm morphology, motility and concentration in infertile men. Guzick et al. New Eng J Med. 2001;345:1338-1393 Nov 8