A healthy man produces an estimated 400,000,000,000 sperm in the course of his lifetime, each with a maturity time of approximately ten to twelve weeks, each of which will survive only about one month.
Sperm cells start to lose quality at around age 40. Nevertheless, the fertility rate of men even up to age 50 remains fairly constant.
When it comes to male fertility, crucial parameters that must be examined are semen volume, sperm concentration, morphology (or physical form) of the sperm, and sperm motility, which is measured by the percentage of actively moving sperm cells. Disorders of sperm production, called spermatogenesis, are not the only causes of infertility that can be favorably improved by nutritional supplements. Often, the transport in the seminal passages is the decisive factor.
Studies have proven that these measurable characteristics of sperm health reflect, in principle, a man’s level of nutrition, his choice of beverages, and other lifestyle factors such as daily stress load. When it comes to sperm health, test results tend to be worse in those who are markedly overweight, in smokers, and in those who engage in heavy alcohol consumption.
Besides a healthy diet and lifestyle, one general, well-known recommendation for maintaining healthy sperm is to protect the scrotum against excessive heat. The scrotum, which consists of a skin bag that encloses the testicles, and the epididymis, with vas deferens and spermatic cord, is particularly sensitive to heat because of its plethora of free nerve endings.
