If you and your significant other are planning on starting a family, it’s important to know that you’re both healthy. Healthy sperm is a must for conception.
How to Produce Healthy Sperm
One of the chief causes of infertility in couples trying to conceive a baby involves problems in the man. Even if the woman has no reproductive problems, she may have difficulty getting pregnant if her partner’s spermatozoa count is on the low side. A low count can occur due to a number of factors. However, the good news is that there are things the man can do to naturally increase his number of little swimmers. They include the following:
- Limit use of plastic: While it’s impossible to completely give up using plastic, a man can improve the quality and quantity of his spermatozoa by limiting his use of plastic. Specifically, those items that include chemicals such as BPA and phthalates should be avoided.
- Lose weight: Being overweight or obese can adversely affect a man’s levels of testosterone by lowering it. Along with that, the levels of spermatozoa are also reduced due to the increased body temperature that typically comes with being obese. Losing weight can help to correct this problem and improve the man’s health in general.
- Avoid excess heat: Heat can negatively impact a man’s spermatozoa as well. Men should avoid taking hot baths, sitting for too long and wearing underwear that is too tight.
- Stop eating soy: Soy is high in phytoestrogens, which can mimic the female hormone estrogen and adversely affect a man’s spermatozoa. While a man is trying to start a family, he should avoid consuming anything with soy in it.
- Consume a healthier diet: Eating healthy foods, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and legumes can help boost male fertility. Meanwhile, alcohol, coffee, tea and anything with artificial ingredients should be avoided.
- Exercise regularly: A man can improve his fertility by getting regular exercise. It’s especially wise to get outdoor activity due to the vitamin D that is gained from the sun.
- Use sperm-friendly lubricant: Most lubricants can kill sperm. Switch to one that is healthy for it instead.
- Take nutritional supplements: Supplements like vitamin C and zinc can help improve a man’s fertility. There should be an average of 2,000 to 6,000 mg of vitamin C taken daily and 100 to 200 mg of zinc.
Boosting Motility Naturally
Sperm motility is important when a couple is trying to get pregnant. Spermatozoa needs to be able to swim through the cervix, to the uterus and up to the fallopian tube for fertilization to occur. Even if the woman has ovulated and there is a healthy amount of egg-white cervical mucus, it might not be possible for pregnancy to occur if the man’s sperm suffers from low motility, a problem that means his spermatozoa are not swimming well.
When he wants to improve his sperm’s motility, a man can do all of the same things as those for improving his fertility.
How to Increase Spermatozoa Count
There must also be a normal number of spermatozoa in order for conception to take place. On average, a healthy man produces 40 to 300 million cells per milliliter. A doctor can test the count by getting a semen sample from the man. The specimen is sent to a lab for analysis.
When a man takes the steps necessary to improve the health and number of his sperm, he and his partner can go on to conceive and hopefully enjoy a healthy pregnancy.