How to Increase Male Fertility
There is often a lot of discussion on how to increase fertility in women, but an equally important point is how to increase fertility in men. Studies have shown one in every three cases of infertility is due to fertility problems in the male partner alone [1] [2]. Not only does age affect the count and quality of eggs, but age will also affect the count and quality of sperm. Therefore, as with many health-related aspects, there are certain things men can do and supplements men can take to increase the quality and count of their sperm. In this article, we will examine 10 supplements men can take from a scientific perspective as well as certain lifestyle changes which may be helpful.
Beneficial Supplements
In this section, we will review 10 supplements that have been shown to improve aspects of male fertility.
CoQ10 Ubiquinol
I have written several articles on a wide array of health benefits CoQ10 offers. To access the first article in the series, “CoQ10 for Headaches, Parkinson’s,” click here.
A 2013 literature review found CoQ10 supplementation resulted in improvement of sperm parameters including sperm concentration and sperm motility [3].
Also, a 2012 double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study investigating the effectiveness of CoQ10 ubiquinol on semen parameters found when 200mg of the ubiquinol form was given to infertile men, they had significantly effective in men because it greatly improved sperm density, motility, and morphology [4].
Antioxidants: Vitamin C and Vitamin E with Selenium
Oxidative stress has been shown to play a role in male infertility [5] [6]. Therefore, antioxidant supplementation has been researched to determine whether it can help to increase fertility and sperm parameters in men, with two major antioxidants being vitamins C and E.
A 2006 examination found men who took 1,000mg of vitamins C supplements twice a day for two months had increased sperm motility by 92% and increased sperm count by up to 100%. The researchers also found vitamin C supplementation to decrease the number of deformed sperm cells [7]. Another study found completing results and concluded supplementation of vitamin C may increase sperm parameters [8].
Vitamin E supplementation with selenium has also been shown to increase sperm parameters [33]. A 2011 study including 690 men found supplementation of 400IUs of vitamin E with 200mcgs of selenium for 100 days dramatically increased sperm parameters. After the supplementation, the researchers found a 52.6% total improvement in sperm motility, morphology, or both and a 10.8% increase in spontaneous pregnancy [9].
To conclude, a 2016 study found a combination of vitamin C, vitamin E, and CoQ10 supplementation resulted in a dramatic improvement in sperm parameters [28].
Zinc
Like vitamins D, observational studies have shown low zinc levels are associated with low testosterone levels, poor sperm quality, and an increased chance of male infertility [17].
Studies have shown zinc supplementation can increase sexual function and levels of testosterone in males [18] [19] [20].
Vitamin D
It has been shown that vitamin D may help to increase testosterone levels. One study discovered men who were deficient in vitamin D were more likely to have lower testosterone levels [10].
A 2011 controlled study found men who took 3,332IUs of vitamin D every day for a year experienced increased testosterone levels of about 25% compared to men who took a placebo [11]. Further, another 2011 study found vitamin D supplementation increased sperm motility and various other sperm parameters [12].
Therefore, taking vitamin D supplements may help to boost testosterone levels in men who are deficient in vitamin D resulting in increased sperm quality.
Tribulus terrestris supplementation has been widely used by men to help increase testosterone levels, especially by men who workout and exercise consistently.
A 2012 study found 6 grams of Tribulus terrestris supplementation for 60 days to improve erectile function and libido [13].
Though I did not find any research that directly showed Tribulus terrestris to increase testosterone levels, research has supported that it may help to stimulate high-libido effects of men who do have higher testosterone levels [14] [15] [16].
Ashwagandha
Like tribulus terrestris, ashwagandha is a medicinal herb.
A 2013 study found men who took 675mg of ashwagandha for three months had increased sperm counts by 167%, semen volume by 53%, and sperm motility by 57% when compared to the men at the beginning of the study [34].
However, unlike tribulus terrestris, there is research that draws a direct correlation between ashwagandha supplementation to increased testosterone levels.
An 8-week, randomized, prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study performed in 2015 found some interesting results. Compared to the placebo group, men taking 300mg of Ashwagandha twice a day had significantly greater increase in muscle strength on the bench-press exercise, leg-extension exercise, greater arm increase size, and a significantly greater increase in testosterone levels as well as a significantly greater decrease in body fat percentage [35].
Additional studies found ashwagandha supplementation increased sperm motility, sperm counts, testosterone levels, and antioxidant status [36] [37].
L-Carnitine
Many studies have found that L-carnitine supplementation can increase male fertility by increasing sperm motility and morphology parameters.
Since the amino acid L-carnitine is used in the production of sperm, more L-carnitine implies more sperm and more motile sperm [21] [22]. A 1995 study found 3g of L-carnitine supplementation for three months increased the total number of sperms in 37 out of 47 patients [23], and several more studies have supplementary conclusions [24] [25].
Researchers also directly investigated the relationship of L-carnitine supplementation and pregnancy rates and observed when men were given 4g of L-carnitine, men not only experienced a significant increase in sperm count and movement but also 35% of female partners became pregnant [26].
With L-carnitine supplementation was combined with CoQ10 supplementation, researchers found not only did overall sperm parameters increase, but pregnancy increased from 6.8% in the control group to 30% in the supplement group [27].
L-Arginine
The amino acid L-arginine has also been shown to help increase male fertility parameters.
Studies have shown men who are deficient in L-arginine have dramatically low levels of sperm. A 1973 study saw a 100% increase in sperm count in 23.6% of the men and a marked increase in 38.7% of the men in the study from L-arginine supplementation [29].
Additional studies have linked L-arginine supplementation to increased sperm parameters and increased occurrences of pregnancy [30] [31] [32].
Supplement Review
Quickly, I will conclude the supplement section of this article.
There have been a plethora of studies performed illustrating the positive effects of supplements regarding sperm parameters and testosterone levels.
These ten supplements include CoQ10 Ubiquinol, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium, Zinc, Vitamin D, Tribulus Terrestris, Ashwagandha, L-Carnitine, and L-Arginine.
Healthmasters sells high-quality supplemental options for several of these nutrients listed below:
- Healthmasters’ CoQ10 Ubiquinol
- Healthmasters’ Vitamin C
- Healthmasters’ Vitamin E
- Healthmasters’ Liver Support or Healthmasters’ Thyroid Support (for Selenium)
- Healthmasters’ Zinc Glycinate
- Healthmasters’ Ultimate D3-10,000 with K2
- Tribulus Fuel
- Cortisol Buster (for Ashwagandha)
- Healthmasters’ Carnitine
- HGH Stimulate (for L-Arginine)
Beneficial Lifestyle Changes
In this section, we will review several lifestyle changes which may help improve male fertility.
Have a Healthy Lifestyle
I know this can sound very broad and general but having a healthy lifestyle, in general, has been shown to help support fertility [38]. If you are unsure whether something is part of a healthy lifestyle, it probably is not.
Maintain a Healthy Weight
Studies have linked obesity, BMI, and waist circumference, and excess weight to decreased fertility and sperm quality [39] [40] [41].
Avoid Alcohol
Increased alcohol consumption has been linked to deteriorated sperm parameters and testosterone levels and discontinuation of alcohol consumption can reverse these effects [42] [43].
Supplementation
As mentioned throughout this whole article, vitamin, herbal, and amino acid supplementation has been repeatedly shown to increase sperm parameters and testosterone levels [3-37].
Exercise Consistently
Studies have shown men who consistently exercise have higher testosterone levels and sperm parameters [44] [45] [46].
Conclusion
With all this information, if you are a man experiencing infertility problems, understand this: you can increase your fertility through lifestyle changes. You can also have your doctor perform semen tests to determine your sperm parameters before and after a few months of these changes to note the differences.
If you have any questions about any of these supplements, please call our office at 800.726.1834.
References:
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12537824
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17509286
[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3800531/
[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8973665
[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24872947
[7] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17004914
[8] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22731648
[9] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3048346/
[10] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20050857
[11] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21154195
[12] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21427118
[13] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23723641
[14] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15994038
[15] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15588660
[16] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17530942
[17] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19285597
[18] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8875519
[19] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20446777
[20] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7271365
[22] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6430725
[23] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8529529
[24] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1439-0272.1994.tb00780.x
[26] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1343182?dopt=Abstract
[27] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30157357
[28] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5203687/
[29] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002253471760199X?via%3Dihub
[30] https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/j.1879-3479.1973.tb00901.x?sid=nlm%3Apubmed
[31] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6820754
[32] http://www.altmedrev.com/archive/publications/10/2/139.pdf
[33] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9698665
[34] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24371462
[35] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26609282
[36] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19501822
[37] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19789214
[38] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23870423
[39] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23248766
[40] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25822490
[41] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24306102
[42] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15706796
[43] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23274392
[44] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15204068
