Men’s Health: How to achieve healthy and fertile sperms

When dealing with reproductive health in men the sperm is the main object of attention; it is the male reproductive cell that enables the man to perform his function in the process of procreation. According to experts, it is the overall structure of the sperm that makes it perfectly designed to carry out its role. The principal role of the sperm is to transmit the necessary biological information that is essential for the production of a new organism. But for this to happen, your sperm needs to be in a healthy and fertile condition. 

A healthy Sperm approaching an Ovum (Credit: Google photos)

In the types of sexual reproduction known as anisogamy and its subtype oogamy, there is a noticeable difference in the size of the gametes with the smaller one being termed the "male" or sperm cell.

Over time, sperm health has been permanently linked with the whole idea of male virility, or masculinity. Despite the fact that it should not be so, it can make sperm health a tough issue to discuss especially with the emotions that it wells up.

Thus it is best for every man to take it upon himself to ensure his sperm is in the best of health through proactive measures. Thus taking the initiative to ensuring this has never been this urgent considering a 2017 survey of about 43,000 men which discovered that global sperm counts dropped considerably between the periods 1973 to 2011.

The issue of sex, fertility, as well as pregnancy can really be complex, and many factors are involved. The conscious steps you take today, no matter how little - to ensure your sperm health experts say can be a very effective move towards achieving growth of your family.

The followings are expert steps you can take to set out on the right path to upping the strength of your sperm as well as optimising your libido; yes, that too.

Tune up your relationship with fertility boost (Credit: Google images)

The importance of healthy sperm

According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, it is not only the woman that should be concerned with the problem of infertility; one-third of the time, a male factor is known as the reason for infertility, in keeping with research.

Thus for the men, we cannot just over-emphasise the need to have healthy sperm, and it does not end with just having to conceive. The quality of the sperm as well contributes a lot towards the overall health of the pregnancy and perhaps that of the baby.

When studies were carried out on rats, factors such as stress and obesity in male rats changed the genes carried in their sperm. As a result the baby rats became more likely to be excessively fat and stressed; though, experts say more research into this would be required to ascertain the likely connection.

The very components of healthy sperm will involve the following:

• Quantity (volume). A healthy sperm count is about 15 million or more for every millilitre (mL) of semen. The more you have, the more likely one of them will make it through the female reproductive system to an egg.
• Movement (motility). Not every sperm moves effectively or even at all, but this is normal, experts say. Only about 40 per cent or more of them are required to be actively mobile for you to be fertile.
• Shape (morphology). Healthy sperm have rounded heads and long, strong tails. Well-formed sperms are more likely to get to an egg.

According to Janice Litza, MD, a Board Certified Family Medicine Physician in Wisconsin, USA, “Semen is most likely to be fertile when it contains more than 15 million sperms per millilitre. That count can go down when your testicles get too hot, when you're stressed out, and when you have an STI that's interfering with sperm production.” Experts agree that you have control over quite a lot of things that shape how healthy your sperm is, which means there is a lot you can do to boost your sperm both immediately and even later.

Get your testosterone up; be fit (Credit: Google images)

1. Eat wholesome diet

Just like your sperm, the truth is that you are what you eat. We have both good nutrients and bad nutrients to look at in ensuring healthy sperm. The popular “Western” type diet does not help matters. Consuming lots of processed meats, grains, dairy, sweets, snacks, and pizza will help to kill sperm motility. Rather, experts say you should stick with a diet higher in chicken, fish, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. When it comes to this, Dr. Phillip E. Chenette, a reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist, emphasises the need for a conscious change in dietary behaviour: “Choose a good diet, rich in fruit, vegetables, and lean meats, free of toxins, emphasising organics and avoiding trans fats.” He adds that also, you must ensure to, “…reduce or eliminate alcohol and cannabis products.”                          

2. Take to regular Exercise

Just a little exercise has the power to grow the quantity of your sperm, movement, and shape, experts say.

Studies have also identified that the combination of inactivity and high body mass index (BMI) contribute directly to poor semen quality. Therefore being overweight or obese can as well negatively tell on your testosterone levels thereby reducing your sex drive, and fertility. So, try out some brisk walking, push-ups, or press-ups, or some hard work, to boost endorphins and blood flow. But do not overdo things as well.

Foods to boost your sperm health (Credit: Google images)

3. Get some Air

Experts strongly advise you keep your underpants loose or airy. According to a 2018 research, it was discovered that men who wore loose cotton material undies had 17 per cent more sperm than men who wore tight fittings and especially heat producing nylon wears for instance, etc.

4. Drink alcohol moderately and reduce caffeine

Recent studies as well put forward that with men, uncontrolled consumption of caffeine present in soft drinks is capable of damaging your sperm DNA, leading to a low sperm count and even possibility of miscarriage in women. However, experts say two cups of caffeine per day is absolutely harmless. For the same reason, you are advised to take it easy on alcoholic beverages at the same time. For as long as you keep to just four drinks or less per week, you’re okay.

5. Keep away from specific chemicals and products

Chemicals capable of disrupting your hormones may possibly be lying around you – at workplace in the air, or even in your personal care and home products like - soaps, body washes, and plastic containers. They are capable of affecting sperm count, volume, motility, as well as shape. These are the major ones to steer clear of: Lead, Styrene & Acetone, Mercury vapour, dibromochloropropane. But most of them actually are highly concentrated in factories or other heavy industrial workplaces.