So often females are looked at so intently when it comes to fertility issues within couples, which often times leaves men getting a bit of a side glance and a sperm analysis. Battabing battaboom.
Here’s the thing though – did you know that male fertility issues account for up to 50% of the total fertility concerns in heterosexual couples? A bit crazy isn’t it? Good thing we’re talking about this then. Let’s go through how naturopathic medicine can support male fertility.
A work up for a male includes an extensive intake – going through lifestyle factors such as sleep, stress, and diet. We understand past medical history, physical trauma and inquire about any risk factors. I often times will then look at extensive bloodwork assessing the hormones and other contributing factors to semen production and quality such as LH, FSH, prolactin, testosterone, estrogen, SHBG, thyroid panel, fasting insulin, fasting glucose, cholesterol panel, vitamin B12, ferritin and cortisol AM. And although I make light of ‘just’ a semen analysis above, these are useful in directing treatment most definitely. Semen analysis looks at count, motility, morphology, viscosity and DNA fragmentation of the sperm.
Treatment for all cases look very different as is the way naturopathic medicine works, yet there are areas I focus in on that I want to highlight.
Diet: This is an area that I find can move the mark quite easily. Adding in omega 3 fats and nutrient dense foods (if you don’t eat your veggies you’ll get a wedgie) that have anti inflammatory qualities has been shown to be helpful in male fertility.
Movement: Exercise has been shown to reduce oxidative stress and improve sperm function in males with fertility issues. One study showed that jogging/running is better than walking. I wonder if this is due in part to the body sweating, thereby improving liver function and reducing oxidative stress. However any exercise is better than none.
Reducing toxic burden: This can be as simple as choosing the clean fifteen vs the dirty dozen when picking out fruits and vegetables at the grocery store. This also can look like choosing glass containers for food storage vs plastic.
Making lifestyle choices: Marjuana, alcohol, anabolic androgenic steroids use, smoking – these have all been shown to have a negative impact at varying doses and frequency of use.
Sleep: All be it so simple yet this is so important in male fertility! It has been shown that sleep deprivation, and also poor quality sleep have negative impact on sperm function via hormone effects on the leydig cells.
Stress: This is another obvious/not so obvious factor. Cortisol effects sperm production. Finding ways to reduce this overall can be tough – self reflection, lifestyle choices, career choices etc – it takes looking at the big picture to shift cortisol levels here.
Supplements: Adding in these little nuggets are a great way to add to the lifestyle changes that are needed for overall fertility support. Reducing inflammation, supporting mitochondria, encouraging detox pathways, and supporting the body with antioxidants are all areas I take into consideration when picking the correct supplements for each individual.
Male fertility is talked about a lot less than female, yet opening up the conversation EVEN if a sperm analysis comes back totally clear is a great idea as overall good health will always move the marker on healthy sperm production!
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