One of life’s great joys is bringing a child into the world. But it’s not just about all the day-to-day craziness that ensues—the diapers and coloring books, the first steps, the coos, the toots, the school send-offs, and everything in between. It’s also about the monumental responsibility, raw emotion, and awe that come with the absolute miracle that happens from conception to graduation.
We also know that in the field of reproductive health, one of life’s great frustrations is not being able to conceive a child. In the scope of this book, we can’t cover the complexity of most medical issues, especially that of infertility and reproductive health, because so many factors are involved. For this chapter, we will look at just one factor: sperm health.
Men are most likely to be fertile if their ejaculate—the semen discharged in one ejaculation—contains at least 15 million sperm a milliliter. Quantity is important; simple math dictates that the more sperm, the better the chance that one of them can fertilize an egg. But here’s the problem: Sperm counts are going down, according to recent research out of Hebrew University in Jerusalem.9 Some four decades ago, sperm counts in North America, Europe, and Australia averaged 30 million sperm a milliliter, compared with an average of 15 million a milliliter today. Experts in this field do not know why this reduction has occurred, but believe food choices, reduction in physical activity, increased stress, and toxins in the environment have all played a role in this decline.
Sperm count is considered the best measure of male fertility, so this decrease is alarming for many folks. But it’s not the only factor. You need more than just numbers. You need sperm that can move, known as motility. As you can imagine, motility is about having enough sperm that are strong and fast enough to travel through a woman’s cervix, uterus, and fallopian tubes to reach an egg.
That may not seem like such a major task, but here’s why it may be complicated: Some sperm don’t give a hoot about getting to an egg. Turns out that some of them serve as biological blockers: counterpoints to help other sperm achieve fertilization. And some sperm even try to do both: get to an egg and block other sperm (an action thought to evolve from the animal kingdom, where sperm from multiple partners made it important to block sperm from competing males).
So how can food play a role? For one, weight gain and sleep apnea (often caused by the former) seem to play a role in sperm counts.10,11,12 Therefore, men who reduce their weight through better eating may improve their fertility. In addition, some nutrients have been shown to help sperm count and motility, whereas others can harm them. We certainly cannot say that if you eat X, you’ll automatically start producing a gaggle of thumb suckers. But if you want to improve the chances that you and your partner will conceive a child, some dietary decisions can help:
MVPs: Walnuts and certain fish. These foods are the best sources of ALA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids, which have been shown to have an important effect on improving the quality and quantity of sperm.13,14 Snack on walnuts, and have plenty of fish for dinner, lunch, or breakfast—especially ocean trout and salmon. Do make sure to choose low-mercury fish, and vary from where the fish come. You can also supplement with fish oil that has a purified form of the key fat DHA omega-3.15 Why walnuts? They seem to help decrease the chances that sperm will be damaged by a process that hurts the membranes of sperm cells, which are made up of polyunsaturated fats.16 Walnuts are the only tree nuts with a significant amount of ALA, and data show that eating about a handful of walnuts a day is associated with increased sperm quality and motility.17
Key Players: Many other nutrients, including zinc, selenium, folic acid, and vitamins C and E, have been shown to be important for maintaining a healthy sperm count. One of the best choices here are tomatoes, which contain the flavonoid lycopene. Lycopene appears to help increase sperm motility.18 It’s best to receive lycopene from cooked sources, so tomato sauce is better than raw tomatoes. Add a little extra-virgin olive oil to improve your body’s ability to absorb it.
Cut From the Team: Saturated fat, which comes in red meat and dairy. Multiple studies have shown that saturated fat is associated with reduced semen quality.19,20 As a general rule you should cut down on the saturated fat (yes, that includes coconut oil). But if you’re trying to have a baby, you should be especially in tune with reducing this food from your diet.
| SUB OUT… | SUB IN… |
| Chips | Pumpkin seeds. They’re high in zinc, which plays a role in the development of sperm and production of testosterone. |
| Corn | Lentils, which have some of the highest amounts of folate. Men with lower intake of folate have higher rates of genetic abnormalities in their sperm.21 |
| Milk | Water. Besides getting a boost because you will have cut the saturated fat, water can help. Semen is water based, and increasing your H2O intake can help increase your ejaculate and thus your sperm production. |
| Cookies | A bowl of pomegranates and blueberries. Blueberries have quercetin, which in animal studies helps sperm swim.22 And pomegranates have been found to increase testosterone levels,23 which may improve sperm quality. |