Men and Fertility

August 18th, 2018

The New York Times published an article by Nicholas Bakalar titled, “Boxers or briefs, It may depend on your fertility goals” which reported that men who wore looser fitting underwear produced more sperm and better quality swimmers than those men who wore tight briefs.  I think this makes complete sense, as the whole reason why nature has designed men’s genitalia to extend outside of the body is because sperm cannot survive in high temperatures, whereas ova (eggs) in woman can tolerate higher temperatures.

Here are some additional advice for men considering becoming fathers:

• Eat organic foods, especially when with fruits and vegetables that you will be eating the skin, have broad leaves or those that grow underground.  Typically organic produce is grown without pesticides.  If you think about it, pesticides are meant to kill small, rapidly growing insects and worms.  Guess what?  Sperm have very similar qualities.  Ingesting high amounts of pesticides could certainly reduce sperm reproduction.  Fruits and vegetables where you have to peel a thick skin (bananas, oranges, grapefruit, pineapple, pumpkin, etc.) may not always need to be organic as the thick rinds make it less likely for the pesticides to penetrate inside.
• Avoid crossing your legs.  For the same reason that tight underwear reduces sperm count by raising the temperature of the testicles, crossing your legs achieves a similar result.
• Avoid uninterrupted sitting.  Have you ever sat in a chair for a long time and started feeling warm in the pelvis?  Sitting in chairs, particularly in upholstery that doesn’t breathe such as leather, plastic, or vinyl can increase the temperature of male genitalia.  Stand up and stretch every so often.  Change your office chair to a mesh chair.  You can also purchase a small fan to place under your desk to promote air circulation.
• Avoid sitting in hot tubs or steam rooms.  These are known sperm killers as the temperatures can be as high as 110 degrees Fahrenheit, far too high for sperm to survive at long periods of time.
• If you smoke, stop smoking!  There are so many reasons to not smoke!
• If you drink alcohol regularly, drink in moderation.  This means no more than 2 drinks in 24 hours for men. (1 drink= 1 shot of liquor OR 1 bottle of beer OR 1 glass of wine)
• Increase your water intake.  Dehydration is not good for any organs in the body.
• Get regular exercise.  When you exercise, your heart pumps blood to all parts of the body including your legs, brain, and your reproductive organs.  In particular, I recommend “male Kegel exercises” which are designed specifically to strengthen the muscles down there.  Imagine exercise as a way to “flush out” old blood and bringing oxygen to those areas.
• Reduce stress.  Try meditating even 10 minutes a day. Don’t know how?  Here is a post on how to do it.
• Get adequate and proper sleep.  While we are asleep, our body repairs itself and relaxes.
• Eat shellfish or take a multivitamin.  Sperm need certain trace minerals to survive and grow.  One of these is zinc, which is naturally found in shellfish.  I believe the old wive’s tale that oysters stimulate libido is likely stemmed from this.  Be careful that the seafood you eat doesn’t contain too much mercury.  Find out more about seafood and mercury here.