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Improving the sperm count is essential to increase the chances of getting pregnant. All the natural methods I have mentioned in this article are backed by research evidence. Most male infertility cases are easy to treat in the beginning of its course. Therefore I’ll begin by teaching you when to channel a doctor for male infertility.

When does a man needs help to improve fertility?

According to WHO definition

World Health Organization (WHO) defines sub fertility as being unable to conceive a child after one year of regular unprotected sex. But this definition opens up the debate whether a man or a couple should wait one year to get help. Most conditions affecting men’s fertility can be treated easily if they were diagnosed early. Therefore I believe, a man or a couple shouldn’t wait one year to realize that they need treatments for infertility.

A more sensible Time threshold

For the reasons mentioned above, many doctors now think that a man or a couple should seek medical help to improve fertility when they are unable to get pregnant after 6 months of regular unprotected sex.

What’s unprotected Sex?

Both the man and the Woman shouldn’t wear or use any birth control methods. All forms of birth control such as condoms, Birth control pills, Sub dermal implants, DMPA injections, Intra Uterine Devices (eg: MIRENA) and less-reversible methods such as Vasectomies and LRT (Tubal ligation) are very effective at preventing conception. And it takes some time for the return of fertility with these birth control methods.  Unprotected sex means Sexual intercourse occurring without any birth control shield.

How often should a couple have sex to improve fertility?

The more is better! If you can have unprotected sex every day, that’s great. But the average couple aged between 18-29 have sex only a couple of times a week. This number can be even lower for long distance couples.

Try to have unprotected sex at least once a month if you are trying to conceive. But to optimize the chances of pregnancy, you should have sex during the ideal fertility window period.

What’ the ideal fertility window period?

A sperm cell’s life span is up to 5 days (average 2-3 days) in the female reproductive system. It has to swim all the way up to the Fallopian tubes to meet the egg to fertilize. A woman’s ovaries release an egg only one time per month, during the mid-period of her menstrual cycle.  This egg remains in the Fallopian tube for around 24 Hours waiting for a sperm cell to fertilize. Therefore the if the couple has sex during the five days preceding the release of egg (ovulation), the sperms will be available in the Fallopian tubes to welcome the egg.

Shortly put, fertility window starts 5 days before the ovulation. (but 2-3 days before the ovulation is the ideal time for sexual intercourse if you are trying to get pregnant). The date of ovulation varies for individual woman and depends on the length of the menstrual period. For a woman with regular menstrual cycles of 28 days, the average day of ovulation is the day number 14. Therefore the fertility window is from day number 9 to day number 14 with the most ideal period is from day number 11 to day number 14.

There are lots of apps available to calculate the Fertility window. Just search for “fertility window calculator” on apps store.

Does the lifestyle of a man affect men’s fertility?

Sperm production is directly subjected to hormonal influence of Testosterone, FSH, LH and GnRH. GnRH ( Gonadotropin-releasing hormone )is the head hormone of fertility which controls the levels of other sex hormones. GnRH is produced and released from the Hypothalamus, an endocrine gland in the brain. Like most other hormones secreted by the hypothalamus, GnRH is subjected to a Circadian Rhythm.

In other words, the release of GnRH hormone by the Hypothalamus takes place in a rhythmic pattern which fluctuates throughout the day. These fluctuations depend on the sleep, meals (nutrients) and the levels of exercise by men. Both lack of sleep/meals/exercise as well as the excess of sleep/meals/exercise can have a negative impact on men’s fertility. In addition to these, Stress is a major factor which has a negative influence on fertility chances for men.

Natural ways to improve sperm count

• What can you eat?
  • Dark leaf vegetables: They are rich in anti-oxidants! Why not provide protection for sperms from oxidation damage.
  • Eating lots of fresh fruits is another good natural method to improve sperm count.
  • High protein diets: Egg white, Meat, Fish
  • Eat diets rich in polyunsaturated fats: Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids are found in the sperm membrane. Therefore some scientists argue that you should eat adequate amounts of polyunsaturated fats. They are a lot heart friendlier than the saturated fatty acids. Few examples for meals rich in Polyunsaturated Fatty acids,
    1. Soybean oil
    2. Corn oil
    3. Sunflower oil

• How much exercise should you get?
  • Regular exercise more than 30 minutes a day, for at least 5 days a week (150 minutes per week) will do wonders for your health! It will remove the fatty plaques from arteries, improve the blood flow to all your organs, relieve stress and do many other wonders which are beyond the scope of this article! But I think you get my point- Regular exercise is better for your health and also will improve your sperm count!
  • Obesity is not good for sperm production for multiple reasons.
    • One interesting theory is that, since testicles prefer to have lower temperatures than the body, thick thighs can have an warming effect on the testicles. If you maintained a good body weight, appropriate for your height (good Body mass index value), then your testicles will reward you by increasing the sperm count.
    • The other well established theory is about the main male sex hormone testosterone! It’s known that fat cells metabolize testosterone into estrogen.  Testosterone stimulates the seminiferous tubules to produce more sperm. I’m sure you can understand how the low testosterone levels in obese men can affect the sperm production.
• How much sleep you should get?
  • When men sleep, they recharge their pituitary gland. And Like I discussed early, pituitary gland plays a very important role in sperm production with hormones FSH & LH. You have to sleep over 6 hours a day. A proper sleep will also relieve your stress levels as well.
• Should you quit alcohol?
  • If you think you have to ask this question, the probable answer is yes, you should quit taking alcohol. Some doctors advise for moderate or safe use of alcohol. But personally, I prefer to advise patients to abstain from alcohol completely because it has more harms than benefits.
• Should you quit Smoking?
  • You already know the answer for this question. Smoking is known for its notorious impact on semen quality with DNA fragmentation of sperm cells. If you are smoker, please understand that you are lowering your fertility rate every time you smoke tobacco.
• What Vitamins are beneficial to improve male fertility?
  • Some randomized trials have shown the importance of prenatal vitamins in improving the sperm parameters.  The following Vitamins are recommended by many doctors.
    • Folic Acid
    • Selenium
    • CoQ 10
    • L-Carnitine
    • Zinc
    • Black Cumin

• And here’s a bonus tip!
  • Post sex posture: I’m not going to advise you on sex positions. But once you ejaculate inside the female genital track, the journey is upstream for the sperm to swim from the tip of the penis to the Fallopian tubes. For this reason, some doctors advice the female to prop up the pelvis on a pillow to tilt the pelvis by 20 degrees for at least 15 minutes.

• What about prescriptions?
  • Please make sure to visit your doctor, before you take any medications to improve the male fertility. Any medication must be started by a doctor after evaluating you thoroughly. And the medications should to be tailored for each individual according to their hormone profile and semen analysis. Following medications are some of the commonly prescribed drugs.
    • Clomiphene: Stimulate the testicles to secrete more testosterone and improves the sperm production. But again, not every man will benefit from clomiphene.
    • hCG: It has an action somewhat similar to Clomiphene. hCG too can stimulate the testicles to produce more testosterone and sperms.
    • Anastrazole, Letrozole: Like the above two medications, these drugs also can raise the testosterone levels in blood.
  • Erectile Dysfunction Pills for men with difficulties in getting an erection.

• What surgical procedures are available to improve male fertility?
  • Vasectomy reversal
  • Varicocelectomy for correction of varicoceles.
  • Sperm Extraction
  • Trans-urethral resection of ejaculatory duct (TURED): To relieve any blockage along the spermatic tract.

Summary of Natural ways to improve sperm counts in men.

1. Eat well
2. Sleep Well
3. Get adequate Exercise
4. Quit smoking
5. Quit Alcohol

Please don’t hesitate to ask any questions you have in the comments section. I will make sure to answer them all to the best of my knowledge.