Men worry so much about the amount of
sperm they produce that they sometimes forget how important the quality of
their sperm is to fertility. Unfortunately, around 15 percent of couples are
unable to conceive a child after a year or more of unprotected sex, the Medical
Daily reported. Male infertility can be caused by several factors including the
production, motility (the ability to move spontaneously and actively), and
blockage of sperm. Excessive alcohol and tobacco use have been known to limit
the production of sperm and damage its quality, but what are some other
behavioral and environmental factors that can ruin a man’s chance of
conceiving? Here are six things that men may not realize are destroying their
sperm count:
Eating bacon
A crispy strip of bacon may be
delicious, but research shows it could also be destroying your sperm count. A
recent study conducted at Harvard University included 156 men enrolled in an in
vitro fertilization (IVF) trial. Lead researcher Dr. Myriam Afeiche and
colleagues from the university tracked the eating habits of each male
participant and his female partner, including how often they ate processed
meat, red meat, white meat, poultry, and fish. Men who reported eating a
healthy portion of fish actually improved the quality of their sperm.
Sauna
If you’re looking for a healthy way to
sweat out all of your body’s toxins, you may want to avoid trips to the sauna.
Researchers from the University of Padova in Italy asked 10 healthy Finnish men
in their thirties to participate in 15-minute sauna sessions twice a week for
three months. Each study participant reported normal sperm count prior to the
sauna regimen and no history of sauna use in the past year. They were also
asked to provide blood and semen samples and had their scrotal temperatures
taken before and after each sauna session. The group’s sperm count and
concentration experienced a significant drop off after three months of
15-minute sauna sessions and remained low in the three months following the
program. However, sperm production was restored to normal levels after six
months.
Stress
Stress and anxiety can have a damaging
effect on our overall health, including male fertility. Take for example a
recent study involving 193 men between the ages of 38 and 49 who were assessed
by a subjective and objective scale including life events that led up to stress
at work and in life. Semen samples provided by each male participant were
analyzed by University of California-Davis technicians for sperm appearance,
motility, and semen concentration. While men who reported stressful life events
suffered from impaired fertility, stress at the workplace had no damaging
effect on semen quality. Work stress, however, did lower the group’stestosterone levels.
You may recall being told to keep your
laptop off of your lap to prevent the heat from damaging your sperm count, but
you may not know that even a computer’s Wi-Fi connection can hinder male
fertility. Radiation from the laptop’s Wi-Fi connection caused DNA damage and less
motility in sperm.
Pesticides
Exposure to pesticides has been implicated in a variety of health
complications, including birth defects, nerve damage, cancer, and even
decreased sperm count. A research team from George Washington
University’s Department of Environmental and Occupational Health investigated
17 recent studies testing the effects of certain pesticides on male fertility.
Out of all 17 studies, 15 reported significant damage to sperm quality due to
pesticide exposure
Smoking marijuana
With all the research coming to light
surrounding the alleged healthy effects of marijuana use, it may be hard for
men to accept what cannabis is doing to their fertility. University of Buffalo
researchers who tested the sperm quality and concentration of frequent
marijuana smokers found that their little swimmers were burnt out before reaching
the egg because they had swam too fast too early.
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