Relationship between nutrition and improved sperm quality
There is a lot of talk about female fertility and how to improve it and it seems that all the causes of infertility problems or what makes pregnancy most difficult fall on women. Nothing could be further from the truth, in some cases we will find the origin in the woman and in many others in the man and in some cases, a mixed cause is found, which therefore affects both.
What we do know for sure is that since man has lived through the industrial revolution and has lived near factories, semen samples have demonstrated a drastic and progressive drop in sperm quality, so much so that in each WHO review of the sperm quality parameters, they are always lowering them. And what was once considered a sample with some other deficiency or parameter to improve, is now considered normal or even above average.
Improve sperm quality with nutrition
So, how can we stop the decline in sperm quality or improve our sperm quality is this like this? Well, one of the best tips we can give you is to take care of your diet and that's what this post is about.
A healthy and balanced diet seems to play a very important role in the quality of sperm as well as their count since a healthy, fresh and varied diet provides a higher amount of antioxidants. These molecules will protect the sperm from stress or oxidative damage that will occur in cases where the diet is not adequate.
By inadequate diet we are referring to one that abuses fried, refined, ultra-processed foods, sugars and caffeine. Also remember that everything is on point and without excesses, since it is not worth eating balanced and not abusing any type of food but exceeding 2,000 or 2400 kcal in men when there is no argument for that excess.
So, what is going to be the quintessential diet to improve sperm quality?
Well, the diet that has been shown to improve the quality of ejaculate and sperm the most is a Mediterranean diet richer in micronutrients of plant origin than those of animal consumption. Free of poor quality and ultra-processed fats.
What is the ideal technique in this case to know that you are having a more typical Mediterranean diet? Well, it would be great if you could write down what you eat for a week, in an app, notebook or wherever works best for you. Write down what you normally eat “without thinking” much, that is, we don't want to be deceived.
Check your diet
When a week has passed, sit down and look at everything you have eaten, assess if there were more processed than fresh foods, how they were cooked, if you have eaten raw or more aggressive cooking such as fried foods, if what you have eaten has all the range of foods, from nuts, legumes, cereals, meat, fish, fruits, vegetables of all kinds, etc.
Once you have started doing this analysis, assess whether in a group you abuse a lot of an origin or type of food, for example:
- Within the meat group, is it very varied or does it abuse red meat?
- In cereals, are there always oats?
- When it comes to fruits, do I always stick to one or two types?
Nutritional changes and when to repeat the seminogram
I invite you to do a critical analysis, it is in your favor, and if you need it, turn to a nutritionist to see where we can improve and help you implement a plan of attack. If you do, it would be ideal that in 90 days (the time it takes to produce sperm) you take a male fertility test again and I have no doubt that you will be surprised with the result.
Also, apart from nutrition, keep in mind that a active life and without toxins, it also contributes to an improvement in general health and sperm quality.
Here I leave you the LINK to a book that I use a lot in consultation to give notions about diet and fertility and recipe ideas: ZITA WEST, What to eat to get pregnant
Related post on male fertility:
Here is a link to two posts on male fertility that you will surely be interested in.
