About this episode
Hang with us, the audio quality of this episode isn't our best, but we have great information for you. We all know that sperm is essential to creating a baby. This episode is all about helping your partner have the healthiest sperm to contribute to the party. About 13% of the population has fertility struggles. About 30% of the cases of infertility are estimated to be male factor infertility. Could be too small of numbers, can't swim, weird shape, genetic issues. Reflux, sperm not going into the urethra in ejaculate, but spilling back into the vas deferens, obstructions. Female factor infertility can be unexplained infertility, anovulation, insufficient progesterone, eqq quality issues, immune system issues, blood clotting issues. How would you know if it is a female factor or male factor or both? Get seman analysis done to rule out if something is going wrong. Sperm count, motility, morphology, and volume of ejaculate. Sperm count - how many per unit volume Motility- Are they moving normally? Morphology -percent of sperm that have normal shape Sperm count has dropped 33% over the past 50 years worldwide. The y chromosome is also shrinking, what?! Have no fear listeners! Diet and lifestyle can have a huge impact on sperm quality. Cantaloupe is shown to help increase sperm over-all quality. Across all studies, fruit and veggie intake , especially leafy greens. It's not shocking as we return to whole foods, that sperm quality improves. Higher exposure to pesticides affected sperm quality in a study. Don't let this discourage you from eating fruits and vegetables. Eating conventional fruit and vegetables will always trump eating a bowl of sugary cereal for a snack before bed. When possible consider the clean 15 and dirty dozen when making decisions on organic versus conventional grown produce. Everything but the bagel recipe knock off. Yummy on eggs. Food prep may be the key to help intake of snacks and meals that are healthier for sperm quality. A lot of the vitamins in veggies are better absorbed when eaten with fat, so don't be afraid to saute in oil, add cheese on top, or some avocado on the side. High fat processed meat products are good to limit in the diet. Sourcing good quality meat, eating nose to tail, eating organ meats, can be very helpful in consuming enough vitamins. Organ meat consumption offered better concentration, better morphology, better sperm count, better motility, and ejaculate volume in studies. We know eating organ meat is something that is pretty abnormal in modern cultures, but getting back to eating more "nose to tail" - making use of all of the animal that you can, will improve health factors for both fertility partners. Liver has a lot of iron and zinc, both very helpful for sperm quality. Most people don't even know how to source liver. You can source liver at: https://grasslandbeef.com/ (US Wellness Meats). We are NOT SPONSORED by them. You can also ask a local butcher or find at a local health food store like "whole foods". I like to buy it frozen, then grind in my food processor, and save in 1-2 tbsp servings. Cooking at home can help you save money and get better food than you will have at the drive-thru. Fish - in and of itself is healthy. Can have some pollutants to the table. The omega-s are healthy for sperm. So try to source quality fish when consuming it while trying to conceive. 43:40 Milk and dairy are controversial topics. The research shows that high fat dairy has benefits in terms of fertility for females. It is suggested that high fat dairy intake might be related to sperm quality, and skim milk might be better. May not be beneficial to be drinking milk period. Having things like cheese on veggies, yogurt, cottage cheese could be good options. Alcohol can have a negative effect on sperm quality. Decreasing drinking and especially binge drinking can help improve sperm health parameters. Tobacco, chewing, smoking, even vaping will all negatively impact sperm quality. This is a great opportunity to help improve sperm quality, and overall health for a new dad. No better time than now to kill the tobacco habits. Sugar and sugar sweetened beverages are not great for sperm. Obesity and extra weight are also negatively impacting sperm health. Decreasing intake of sugar, sodas, desserts will help impact sperm health. If erectile dysfunction is something is affecting your ability to even have sex or have an ejaculation, it's important to see your physician to get help with that. There is no shame in getting assistance when needed. Supplements can be supportive. Antioxidants can be helpful to protect sperm from oxidative damage. Fish oil or omega-3 can be helpful to add in. Adaptogenic herbs can also be helpful during stressful times like ashwagandha.