Men’s Sperm Health 101: How to Upgrade it
Healthy sperm is turning into gold dust these days. Why?
Since my work began in fertility almost 10 years ago, it was always women walking through my clinic doors but now I treat both men and women and the amount of men that I treat has doubled. It’s now common ground that I am treating both in the couple. According to the Guardian, last year, a team of international researchers published a global review which revealed that sperm concentrations in semen have been freefalling for the last 50 years. From 1973 to 2018, sperm declined at a rate of 1.2% up to 2000, accelerating to 2.6% annually thereafter. A shocking statistic to say the least.
There are a multitude of reasons, firstly that we live in a toxic world and men are the least likely to adopt, believe or even acknowledge that this is the case. We also don’t truly know the real statistics on poor sperm health as men aren’t at the front of the queue seeking medical help for their sexual health either. Only do men address their hormonal and reproductive health when the sh*t has hit the fan and their wife is not getting pregnant. Rarely, do they get a full hormonal profile and assess their health prior to this. A recent survey commissioned by King Edward VII’s Hospital (2019) has highlighted that men’s attitudes towards health are changing in positive ways, but that more can be done and stigma still persists. Campaigns such as Movember continue to do wonders in encouraging open discussion around men’s health — as well as raising awareness around diseases such as testicular cancer. Dr Ian Cole at King Edward VII’s Hospital has observed similar, “I still see men regularly that are embarrassed and anxious about their sexual health.”
If man’s purpose on planet Earth is to procreate, then sperm is key in this process and we need to get to the bottom of understanding why men’s sacred juice if diminishing so quickly.
Let me break it down in simple terms:
What determines sperm health?
Sperm health depends on various factors, including quantity, movement and structure:
· Quantity. Fertility is most likely if the semen discharged in a single ejaculation (ejaculate) contains at least 15 million sperm per millilitre. Too little sperm in an ejaculation might make it more difficult to get pregnant because there are fewer candidates available to fertilise the egg.
· Movement. To reach and fertilize an egg, sperm must move — wriggling and swimming through a female cervix, uterus and fallopian tubes. This is known as motility. Pregnancy is possible with less than 40% of the sperm in ejaculate moving, but 40% is considered the threshold. The more the better.
· Structure (morphology). Typical sperm have oval heads and long tails, which work together to propel them. This is not as important a factor as sperm quantity or movement.
What causes male fertility problems?
Various medical issues can contribute to male fertility problems, including:
· A problem in the hypothalamus or the pituitary gland — parts of the brain that signal the testicles to produce testosterone and sperm (secondary hypogonadism)
· Testicular disease
· Sperm transport disorders
All of the above 3 options, start with a root cause such medical issues are the symptom of an underlying, unconscious disconnection in the mind and body.
Age also can play a role. The ability of sperm to move and the number of typical sperm tend to decrease with age, affecting fertility, especially after age 50. However, we know that men in their can father children to a ripe old age. The oldest ever man to father a child was reportedly Les Colley (1898 - 1998, Australia), who had his ninth child a son named Oswald to his third wife at the age of 92 years 10 months.
What can we do?
Learning to live in our toxic world and taking ownership of our own health is a start.
It is a fact that pesticides and toxic chemicals including those used in plastic are having detrimental effects on fertility. From pesticides applied to golf greens (yes playing golf could make you infertile!) and those in plastic food wrapping, toiletries and household products, it’s everywhere. A paper published by George Mason University (GMU) researchers this November analysed five decades of peer-reviewed studies to definitively conclude that exposure to organophosphates and carbamate-based pesticides correlates with decreased sperm concentration across varying contexts and circumstances. It is now beyond a doubt that the associations between pesticide exposure and sperm health are “enduring and strong”, says Dr Melissa Perry, dean of the college of public health at GMU.
The absolute basics for healthy sperm
Simple steps to increase the chances of producing healthy sperm include:
CLEAN UP & SHAPE UP
Many of these suggestions are what we MUST be doing for better health in general let alone to conceive babies. While society has normalised the eating of toxic food and the drinking of alcohol, it simply isn’t allowing us to live to our optimum health.
· Maintain a healthy weight. Some research suggests that increasing body mass index (BMI) is linked with decreasing sperm count and sperm movement.
· Clean living – go organic with food, get rid of the toxic toiletries , cleaning products, garden chemicals and rid your home of plastics.
· Eat a healthy diet. Avoid any and all processed foods. Choose plenty of organic fruits and vegetables, which are rich in antioxidants — and might help improve sperm health.
· Prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Sexually transmitted infections — such as chlamydia and gonorrhoea — can cause infertility in men. Get tested and treated for these.
· Manage stress. Stress can decrease sexual function and interfere with the hormones needed to produce sperm. High cortisol levels aren’t a conducive place for baby making.
· Get moving. Moderate physical activity can increase levels of powerful antioxidant enzymes, which can help protect sperm.
· Don't smoke. Men who smoke cigarettes are more likely to have low sperm counts. If you smoke, ask your doctor to help you quit.
· Limit alcohol. Heavy drinking can lead to reduced testosterone production, impotence and decreased sperm production. If you choose to drink, do so in moderation. For healthy adults, that means up to one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men.
· Avoid lubricants during sex. While further research is needed on the effects of lubricants on fertility, consider avoiding lubricants during intercourse. If necessary, consider using mineral oil, canola oil, mustard oil or a fertility-friendly lubricant, such as Pre-Seed.
· Talk to a health care provider about medications. Calcium channel blockers, tricyclic antidepressants, anti-androgens, opioids and other medications can contribute to fertility issues. Anabolic steroids and other illicit drugs can have the same effect.
· Watch out for toxins. Exposure to pesticides, lead and other toxins can affect sperm quantity and quality. If you must work with toxins, do so safely. For example, wear protective clothing, use protective equipment, such as safety goggles, and avoid skin contact with chemicals.
· Stay cool. Increased scrotal temperature can hamper sperm production. Although the benefits have not been fully proved, wearing loose-fitting underwear, reducing sitting, avoiding saunas and hot tubs, and limiting scrotum exposure to warm objects, such as a laptop, might enhance sperm quality. Choose cotton, well aired pants and let those testicles hang lose.
BIOHACK YOUR WAY TO BETTER SPERM HEALTH AND ADD IN
· Ice bathing! Ever thought of using cold exposure to boost your fertility? In a recent YouTube discussion, Dr. Andrew Huberman, a renowned neuroscientist from Stanford University, shares that exposure to cold temperatures may indeed have a positive indirect effect on sperm health and overall fertility for both men and women. heat can be detrimental to sperm, negatively affecting their quality and numbers. A major cause of reduced sperm quality and count is a varicocele, which is like varicose veins in the testicular region. This leads to blood pooling and an overall increase in temperature, damaging sperm quality.
· Infrared Sauna - This is a great way to detox the body from the inside out. The build up of chemicals in our systems is having a detrimental effect on all parts of our health.
· Fasting - Fasting can actually improve the functioning of reproductive organs. Acid and alkaline levels in the body will be balanced out during fasting so that the function of various organs of the body can increase. Consciously restricted intake of food while fasting challenges the survival of bacteria, viruses, germs as well as harmful cancer cells.
In addition, fasting also provides an opportunity for the digestive system to rest, removing various toxins and impurities that can damage your health including your sperm health.
· Breathe – breathwork alkalises the body and has shown significant changes in the biochemistry of the mind and body while also releasing blocks in the emotional AND physical body.
THE PIECE DE RESTITANCE
But before ALL of this, my questions is, what has caused the chink in the males’ energetic field, his fertility blue print that he was born with. While I advocate for all the above to be done there is still a massive issue with male fertility and this is where I see the problem.
As we already know in order for a male to create a baby with healthy sperm they need good motility, quantity and shape. And to create healthy sperm, the male needs a healthy environment and the right chemicals in the body to support them. The right hormones are triggered by the mind body connection so if the mind is sending the wrong messages, it will send out the wrong (or incompatible) hormones for conception. Therefore if the mind HAS to fully align with the desire to conceive in order to send out the right hormones for pregnancy. But it isn’t always. Males can have pregnancy blocks too which then lead to a disruption in hormone levels.
Our environment is the difference between conception and non-conception and I mean from the local environment (the body: the micro) to the environment further afield (our space outside the body: the macro). This applies to the general set up for conception in terms of the moment in which you are choosing to conceive (make love: the micro) and the broader basis in which you are creating an environment to conceive (your life: the micro). It’s all about the perfect cocktail of hormones which are secreted by the pituitary gland in order to create the right environment for conception.
A baby is born and made in an oxytocin rich environment and thus a low lit room with sensual music and beautiful scent in a safe space – this allows for a big boost of the happy hormones and healthy ejaculation of sperm (note: ejaculation for pregnancy and ejaculation/masturbation produce different outcomes due to hormone secretion). High cortisol and adrenalin are not conducive to a balanced reproductive system or body and in this patriarchal led world (yes I used the P word), men are suffering in living up to this toxic view of what a male should be doing, having, being and saying which consequently leads to stress and depletion of hormones such as testosterone which are vital in producing healthy, happy sperm. We need the right environment to exist for the male to be fertile AND certain conditions for the male to offer his fruits in order for the event to be fruitful.
The same applies to how your conscious mind is working with your unconscious mind. You want a baby now BUT what if there is an outdated belief that is not working in alignment with your mind and body, and the desire to conceive? And how might this apply to poor male fertility?
My belief and following the work I have done with males and their fertility, it’s always linked back to early childhood beliefs about their own masculinity and deep rooted fears that have led to the endocrine disruption. This means that BEFORE the medicalisation of ‘low sperm’ and or ‘low motility’, something HAS to have happened in order to create this presenting issue. Meaning that the medicalised label and under par hormonal levels are JUST a symptom of an underlying cause.
If a male has had traumatic early experiences link to his birth, whether he was a ‘wanted’ baby, endured early hospital/medical issues either linked to his reproductive organs or other, his entrance into puberty, suffers from a father wound, or has a dysfunctional relationship with his own masculinity and it’s expectations and many more; all of these may be the root cause of the hormonal short circuit that has LED TO the sperm health issue. Until we get the micro mindset in place, we can’t achieve the macro desired outcome because both feed one another.
THIS IS WHERE THE WORK MUST START.
Making obvious lifestyle changes WHILTST understanding any underlying root cause is a must otherwise you can do all of the above and STILL have the hormonal short circuit further devastating the role of a male that may well of been the issue in the first place.
101 of better sperm health?
Find the root cause of the medicalised label by accessing the unconscious mind, clear the block and realign the mind and body for successful conception, whilst returning the male reproductive system to its original blueprint - all using powerful psychotherapy tools including regressive hypnosis.
Want to know more about how you can upgrade your sperm health? Join my Fertile Mind and Body programme today here.
The fertility angel – Cat Raincock