Here is an odd thing that happens in my consultation room. When I speak to couples, somehow they tend to be more hopeless about improving his sperm quality than her egg quality. In this post I thought I’d therefore share with you why I am a lot more optimistic about improving a guy’s fertility than a gal’s (and I am pretty optimistic about you ladies as it is!).
Ok, let’s start with numbers… you know I like numbers, measuring and charts if you’ve followed me any length of time…
A woman has 1 egg (maybe 2 if ovaries are synced that month). That tiny little thing better be in top condition to be fertilized, travel down a Fallopian tube, nest nicely in the womb, and grow. Is it a bad egg? Tough.. month is gone, wait 4 weeks please, add sanitary pads to your shopping list #sadface.
This may sound all doom and gloom, but I did say I was optimistic about a lady’s fertility right? That’s because I believe and know that you can make the most of every cycle. If you are before ovulation, you still have the opportunity of improving the quality of that very egg that is maturing in the ovary and is about to be released. If you are after ovulation, then you have time to make the most of the very next cycle.
Now, if I am this optimistic about improving the quality of ONE egg per MONTH… How optimistic do you think I am about improving the quality of a BAZILLION sperm cells a DAY?!
Ok, bazillion is not a very professional term, but you get my drift right? A single healthy ejaculation can contain between 40 million and 1.2 billion sperm cells (number vary widely though if you search online so don’t pin me on that number). The point is, we are talking about a lot of swimmers that are produced every day. That means that you have the opportunity to improve their quality and amount every day too! And you still need just ONE good one!
So if you have received some disappointing test results stating scary stuff like “abnormal sperm morphology” or “low sperm count”, don’t despair!
To know how to improve the quality & amount, we need to look into what may be affecting it. I might need to write a more extensive post about that some time, but for now let me give you a list of the most common causes of poor sperm quality:
Stress – I know I know, I keep talking about this. However, the way stress causes women’s body to prioritize the production stress hormones over sex hormones, is exactly the same for a guy.
Infections – including yeast (candida) overgrowth and STD’s (sexually transmitted diseases)
History of malaria or malaria medication
(Past) use of steroids
(Past) inflammation, mumps or trauma to the testicles
Varicocele (varicose veins in scrotum)
To treat these most common sperm killers, the following are almost always part of the tailored fertility treatment that I offer:
Hormonal support. Supporting all the glands involved in the sperm making process such as the anterior pituitary gland, adrenal glands, hypothalamus, and of course testicles
Detoxing. Whether that is synthetic hormones, past use of drugs such as steroids and antibiotics, or heavy metals
Inflammation & infection clearing
Of course there are some things you can do yourself!
Stress management. Even if that means just making sure you unwind before bed or getting 3 hours of sleep a week extra. Yes I know you’re busy and have a demanding job and still want to go out with the guys, but priorities man!
Talk. I realize this is something a lot of guys don’t want to do. Not being able to get their wives pregnant can however leave a huge dent in a man’s self esteem. As a wife you can be caring about this and remind him his masculinity is in so many more different areas to you. For example in the way he protects you or sweeps you off your feet. Maybe even in the way he leaves his underwear on the bedroom floor for you to pick up or not being able find his socks haha. Just kidding!
If you’re a guy reading this, don’t be afraid of accessing how you really feel about this. If you stuff it down, your sperm quality will get worse because of the stress it causes. Try talking about it to your wife, you know girls are good with emotions! If you’re worried she’ll want to talk all night, just tell her not to say anything but just let you share your feelings. I promise you, you’ll likely be well rewarded :). We tend to get pretty romantic when our men open up their hearts to us!
Stop smoking! Yes that includes the e-smoker and pot!
Get an STD screening
Eat stuff, take stuff. Let’s keep it simple:
Reduce junk food, carbs & sugar, but up water intake & green tea, vegetables & whole foods.
Start with a multi vitamin specially for guys that includes zinc (there are some great fertility specific multi’s out there), vitamin C 1 gram twice a day, omega fatty acids, and probiotics if your digestive system isn’t perfect.
Homeopathic DIY detox. Last but most definitely not least, get started with one of my homeopathic detox protocols.