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7 Essential Foods to Improve Sperm

Having strong and healthy sperm is essential to ensure pregnancy. To do this, have a healthy diet, have an adequate levels of calcium and often ejaculate are the main aspects that you should not overlook. The foods you eat directly affect the quality of your sperm and, if not appropriate, can reduce the number of sperm or damage them. If you intend to be a father and cares about the fertility, this article will show you what foods to eat in order to improve your sexual health.

The first thing you should know is that a balanced diet is not the only factor to be considered to improve the quality of semen. Here in this article you can find out all aspects that influence the improvement of sperm.

1. Foods rich in vitamin C

The foods rich in vitamin C are essential for improving sperm quality, as its antioxidant properties stimulate the movement of sperm. The orange is one of the fruit with more vitamin C, so it is recommended to drink at least a glass of orange juice a day to improve sperm. The cranberry or blueberry is also an important source of vitamin C, very effective for improving sperm.

2. Foods rich in vitamin E

Vitamin E is another powerful antioxidant essential for the improvement of sperm and can be found mainly in vegetable oils and dried fruits. However, more effective sources of vitamin E for improving sperm quality are the nuts, almonds, wheat germ and olive oil.

3. Foods rich in vitamin A

Vitamin A influences the formation of steroid androgens, which are essential to the creation of sex cells and thus favors the quality and fertility of semen. The foods rich in vitamin A that benefit most for the improvement of sperm are dairy products, carrots, pumpkin and spinach.

4. Folic acid and zinc

Folic acid and zinc are essential to maintain the quality of sperm. Without folic acid, the number of sperm decreases and its formation becomes weak. And without zinc, growth and development of sex organs are affected negatively. Folic acid is found in foods rich in vitamin B6. The chicken is one of the foods with folic acid and zinc, which help to improve sperm quality. The pumpkin seeds and oysters are other important sources of zinc, very beneficial for sperm.

5. Omega-3

Omega-3 and omega-6 are essential for improving sperm, since the fatty acid and linolenic acid are essential for proper maturation of sperm process. The main foods rich in these substances that improve sperm quality are walnuts, flax seeds and fish.

6. Garlic

Garlic is a food that favors considerably the production of sperm and also improves heart function, reduces blood sugar and cholesterol, among many other benefits. Surprisingly, another food which improves the quality of sperm is the popcorn, since it has a high level of plant arginine, which is a major component of the sperm.

7. Healthy and balanced diet

Studies of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine show that following a healthy and balanced diet that includes fruits, vegetables, fish, meat and cereals, improves sperm quality. The excess intake of alcohol and tobacco however, decrease the number of sperms and affect its quality.

How to Keep your Sperm Healthy?

Determining the sperm quality can be done through three parameters. The first and most important one is the number of sperm in around two cubic centimeters of sperm. There are usually around 35 million sperms in this amount of sperm. If the number is 50% lower, it can cause a lot of problems in male fertility. The second parameter is the mobility of those sperms. Even if someone has 35 million sperms it doesn’t mean that they are healthy. They can be exposed to mechanical damages, abnormal heat or other risk factors that can cause damage. Sperms can be damages while they are in the testicles but they can also be damages while they are on their way from the testicles to the glans penis. If more than half of the sperms are mobile this means that the man is perfectly fertile. This amount of sperms is more than enough for successful conception. The third parameter is used to test and determine the shape of the sperms. Sperms have standard form that allows them to easily fertilize eggs. According to some experts if there are around 15% of sperms with standard shape than the conception should be successful. These numbers are slowly decreasing in the recent years.

There are few ways that can help men keep their sperm healthy. For example, wearing proper underwear is very important. By proper we mean underwear that is not very tight and preferably made of natural materials especially if the weather is hot. Wearing synthetic underwear in hot places can have negative impact on the development of new sperms and the health of the ones that we already have. Try to wear clothes that allow as much air flow as possible. Even in places where it is cold try to wear the minimal amount of clothes. Boxer shorts are probably the best choice for men.

Things such as alcohol, tobacco and drugs have strong influence on the quality of sperm. Besides that they are bad for your overall health and your sex life too (they often cause decrease in sexual desire, erectile dysfunctions etc.). These substances can lower the number of sperms.

Sperm is collected in the testicles and if you don’t have sexual intercourse for a longer period, the sperm is excreted on its own mostly during the night when you are asleep. This is a completely natural way of our body to get rid of the excessive amount of sperm. Of course, it is always better to help our body by having sex or with masturbation because we speed up the process of secretion of “stagnant” seminal fluid. Keep in mind that abnormally frequent masturbation or sex can also affect the development of sperm quality in a negative way. Secretion of sperm once a day is an optimal frequency.

As we have mentioned before a good diet can keep your sperm healthy. A good diet that is consumed regularly will definitely boost your sperm quality.