Men make sperm continuously from puberty to death so general lifestyle factors and health can have a very direct influence on sperm production. So what can a guy do to improve sperm quality?
Firstly, start young as men's sperm quality worsens with age and there is a slightly increased risk of autism, schizophrenia and dwarfism in the children born from older dads. Secondly, keep the testes cool, they are located outside of the body for a reason, so being active, wearing baggier pants and not sitting in a hot bath or sauna every night is wise. Then, stay slim as fatter men have worse sperm and lower success rates on an IVF program compared to slimmer men. Having just said that, there should be some caveats around moderation as serious cyclists (greater than 200km per week) may have poorer sperm.
Avoiding cigarettes and dope also improves sperm health. Too much alcohol is also detrimental to both sexual performance and sperm production and the recommended limits are 20 units per week.
Antioxidants may also benefit sperm and they can be found in brightly coloured fruit and veg such as berries, dark chocolate, red wine and nuts such as brazil nuts. There was a recent study showing that men who had a prudent diet consisting of fish, fruit,vegetables, legumes and whole grains had better sperm motility compared to men having a typical Western diet.
Bisphenol A found in soft plastics are also thought to be disruptive to the DNA in sperm so avoiding drinking out of BPA bottles is wise.
Frequent ejaculation is also great for sperm, definitely saving it up does not help.
There are also some commonly prescribed medications which may be detrimental to sperm such as hairloss medication, sulphasalazines, paroxetine, methotrexate and some blood pressure medications. Check with your doctor.
Next week I am planning to blog about supplements, which are good, bad or downright ugly.
Thanks,
Mary
Thursday 24 November 2011
Sunday 13 November 2011
What can women do to improve their fertility?
I get asked this question at least 10 times per day so what I am going to talk about is the evidence for lifestyle changes that have been shown to impact fertility.
The first is age, but this is always a difficult one because you cannot change how old you are but I guess the key message in terms of fertility is always sooner not later, the average 30 year old woman has a 22% chance of having a baby each month she tries and by 40 it is 5%.
Weight also impacts fertility and the optimal healthy fertility range is 19 to 25, so being really skinny is not so great but also increasing weight reduces fertility and increases miscarriage risk.
Cigarette smoking is a big no no, halves the chances of conceiving each month, increases miscarriage risk and makes menopause happen sooner.
The alcohol question is less clear, in a perfect world probably no alcohol is best but probably a little has minimal impact but the problem is no one can define what a little actually is.
Caffeine is an interesting subject, as lots of caffeine (more than 5 to 6 coffees a day) does increase miscarriage risk and reduce fertility so minimising caffeine is reasonable.
Other recreational drugs are all bad.
Are there any special foods I can eat to boost my fertility is another commonly asked question. My opinion is a good balanced diet with lots of fruit and veg is great. There is no evidence that vegetarians have better fertility. There is some evidence coming through about transfats or hydrogenated oils being bad for fertility fertility. Bisphenol A which is found in any soft plastics is a compound that is attracting a significant amount of attention as it acts as a hormone disrupting agent. This is present in plastic bottles and in other plastic food containers and leaches out more in the presence of heating.
Moderate exercise is also a good thing and get a screen for thyroid disease and diabetes.
So this is what is good for women, next blog will be all about men and their lifestyle.
The first is age, but this is always a difficult one because you cannot change how old you are but I guess the key message in terms of fertility is always sooner not later, the average 30 year old woman has a 22% chance of having a baby each month she tries and by 40 it is 5%.
Weight also impacts fertility and the optimal healthy fertility range is 19 to 25, so being really skinny is not so great but also increasing weight reduces fertility and increases miscarriage risk.
Cigarette smoking is a big no no, halves the chances of conceiving each month, increases miscarriage risk and makes menopause happen sooner.
The alcohol question is less clear, in a perfect world probably no alcohol is best but probably a little has minimal impact but the problem is no one can define what a little actually is.
Caffeine is an interesting subject, as lots of caffeine (more than 5 to 6 coffees a day) does increase miscarriage risk and reduce fertility so minimising caffeine is reasonable.
Other recreational drugs are all bad.
Are there any special foods I can eat to boost my fertility is another commonly asked question. My opinion is a good balanced diet with lots of fruit and veg is great. There is no evidence that vegetarians have better fertility. There is some evidence coming through about transfats or hydrogenated oils being bad for fertility fertility. Bisphenol A which is found in any soft plastics is a compound that is attracting a significant amount of attention as it acts as a hormone disrupting agent. This is present in plastic bottles and in other plastic food containers and leaches out more in the presence of heating.
Moderate exercise is also a good thing and get a screen for thyroid disease and diabetes.
So this is what is good for women, next blog will be all about men and their lifestyle.
Wednesday 2 November 2011
Egg Freezing
For years we have talked about egg freezing and how great it would be if eggs could be frozen and then thawed and fertilised with the same success rates as fresh eggs. Now finally science has delivered. A group from Spain have reported on the vitrification ( a form of freezing) of more than 100,000 eggs and found the same success rates as with fresh eggs. They estimate that for women aged less than 38, if 13 eggs were frozen there was a 50% chance of an ongoing pregnancy, 15 eggs a 60% chance, 20 eggs 76% chance and with 35 eggs a 97.6% chance.
The Spanish group have also followed up all the babies made with frozen eggs and have found no increased chance of abnormalities.
Egg freezing is a useful option for women about to undergo chemotherapy, where no sperm can be found on the day of egg collection or for social reasons.The process is the same as for IVF, where drugs are given to stimulate the ovaries for around 10 to 12 days, the eggs are then collected under sedation by putting a needle through the vagina and into the ovaries. The eggs are then aspirated and frozen. Eggs may be frozen for 10 years in New Zealand. The cost is around $10,000 and there is an annual storage charge. When required, the eggs are thawed and injected with sperm and grown into embryos.
The success rates for frozen eggs are still largely determined by the age of the woman at the time of egg freezing. But is is really exciting that a technology that we have all wished for, is now looking so promising.
The Spanish group have also followed up all the babies made with frozen eggs and have found no increased chance of abnormalities.
Egg freezing is a useful option for women about to undergo chemotherapy, where no sperm can be found on the day of egg collection or for social reasons.The process is the same as for IVF, where drugs are given to stimulate the ovaries for around 10 to 12 days, the eggs are then collected under sedation by putting a needle through the vagina and into the ovaries. The eggs are then aspirated and frozen. Eggs may be frozen for 10 years in New Zealand. The cost is around $10,000 and there is an annual storage charge. When required, the eggs are thawed and injected with sperm and grown into embryos.
The success rates for frozen eggs are still largely determined by the age of the woman at the time of egg freezing. But is is really exciting that a technology that we have all wished for, is now looking so promising.
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