Zita West, a practising midwife and fertility expert, believes nutrition is the building block for strong and healthy sperm needed for conception
On Friday, we showed you the foods to eat to prepare a woman's body for baby-making.
Now, a fertility expert says good nutrition can also maximise male virility.
Zita West, a midwife and fertility expert, believes a good diet provides all the building blocks for healthy semen.
Sperm need a range of vitamins, minerals and proteins to stay strong and give them energy on the journey to the egg.
Below, in an extract from her new book, Eat Yourself Pregnant: Essential Recipes for Boosting Your Fertility Naturally, Ms West describes the best foods for fathers-to-be to eat...
It takes two – the fatherhood factor
Despite the fact that conception takes place in the woman’s body and that she will carry the baby, we now know that half of all fertility problems are down to what’s going on inside the man.
This means that the fertility diet is important for fathers-to-be, too.
In some ways, men are luckier than women.
Whereas a woman is born with all the eggs she will ever have in her lifetime, a man will produce sperm 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
While there comes a time in a woman’s life when she is no longer able to become a mother, a man can become a father (in theory) until his dying day.
Nonetheless, studies show that men shouldn’t become complacent.
Here, I want to focus on what’s going on inside the man’s body and show you why it’s so important that fathers-to-be follow the fertility diet, too.
The structure of sperm
The sperm cell is much, much smaller than the egg cell and consists of the head (which contains the genetic material), the mid-piece (which is the energy powerhouse of the sperm) and the tail (which propels the sperm forward).
The head of the sperm is covered with a cap called the acrosome, a fine membrane that is vulnerable to damage and has to come off before the sperm can penetrate the egg.
Making sperm
The most important role a man has in the process of babymaking is to deliver healthy DNA via sperm carried in his semen.
Most of the fluid in semen is made up of secretions from the male reproductive organs and contains citric acid, amino acids, fructose, enzymes, prostaglandin, potassium and zinc. Semen is slightly alkaline.
Sperm are made in special tubules, called seminiferous tubules, in the testes.
Watermelon contains lycopene, an antioxidant that will help sperm stay healthy, says Ms West. Guava, grapefruit, Sharon fruit and tomatoes also contain lycopene
Berries and citrus fruits are a rich source of Vitamin C. The health of the sperm begins with the health of the semen, which contains 22 different nutrients and is rich in minerals – notably calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and zinc, and vitamins B12 and C
It takes 100 days for a sperm to become fully grown. Over that time, what a man eats can have an impact on how healthy each and every one of his sperm will be, Ms West says
It takes around 100 days altogether for each sperm to become fully grown – 74 days for a single sperm to develop, before it moves from the tubules into a coiled tube called the epididymis, where it spends 20 to 30 days maturing.
Over that time, what a man eats and the lifestyle choices he makes can have their own impact on how healthy each and every one of his sperm will be.
Sperm need enormous amounts of energy.
Think of the scale of the journey they undertake relative to their size. From inside the scrotal sac, they are propelled out of the penis into the woman.
Eggs contain amino acides, the proteins that are the building blocks for healthy sperm
Passing along the woman’s reproductive tract to get to the egg is like a human swimming the Pacific Ocean.
But each sperm not only has to make the journey, it also has to win the race.
Each sperm swims as fast as it can to get to the woman’s fallopian tube first.
Once there, the winning sperm has to drill into the egg to download its most precious genetic material.
Forty million sperm or more are ejaculated and begin to make this journey.
The remainder of the ejaculate comes from the prostate and is rich in zinc, which sperm need in order to stay healthy on their journey and to stabilize their DNA.
Despite the millions of sperm that enter the woman's body, only about 200 will reach the fallopian tube, helped by the woman's alkaline vaginal secretions.
Sperm can usually survive between three and five days once inside the woman's body.
What is the sperm carrying?
The head of the sperm contains half a baby’s DNA (half the baby’s genetic blueprint; the other half is in the woman's egg).
In the egg, the DNA is tightly packed into an X-sex chromose.
Sperm may carry their DNA in either an X or a Y sex chromosome.
The sperm's chromosome pairs with the egg's chromosome to make either XX (which results in a baby girl) or XY (a boy).
What nutrients do healthy sperm need?
The health of the sperm begins with the health of the semen, which contains 22 different nutrients and is rich in minerals – notably calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and zinc, and vitamins B12 and C.
Every man should ensure his diet provides a good intake of these vital nutrients.
Proteins contain amino acids that are essential building blocks for sperm (protein is also an excellent fuel source).
Red meat, such as steak, is abundant in an amino acid called L-arginine, which produces nitric oxide (NO in the body. This dilates blood vessels and improves circulation
A good intake of anti-oxidants protects the health of the head of the sperm (which contains the DNA). Red peppers contain N-acetylcysteine, while Brazil nuts contain Selenium
Foods containing the amino acids L-arginine, L-carnitine and L-lysine are all important.
Those rich in proteins including L-arginine are fish, poultry and red meat, and dairy products.
Once in the body, this amino acid helps to produce nitric oxide, which dilates blood vessels and improves circulation.
Better circulation to the groin boosts sperm health and increases sperm motility (their ability to swim properly).
L-arginine also plays an important role in cell division, immune function and the release of hormones, and good levels may even improve sperm count.
Folic acid (a B-vitamin found, for example, in broccoli, Brussels sprouts, peas and chickpeas) is just as important for men as it is for women.
This is because it protects the sperm from DNA damage, including having too many or too few chromosomes (known as aneuploidy).
A number of nutrients help to improve the quality of sperm.
Chicken contains large amounts of L-arginine - an amino acid which plays an important role in cell division, immune function and the release of hormones, and good levels may even improve sperm count
Vitamin D may boost motility, while zinc improves the quality of the seminal fluid, and increases sperm count, motility and fertilising capacity.
It also decreases levels of DNA damage, structural abnormalities and antibodies to sperm that can impair sperm quality.
One study showed that an omega-3 rich Mediterranean-style diet boosted the chances of successful pregnancy in previously infertile couples by a staggering 40 per cent
In order to provide sperm with all the energy they need to make their epic journey, men need a good intake of L-carnitine.
This amino acid carries high-energy fat compounds into mitochondria cells, where they are burned to release their energy. (Vegans should be aware that plant foods contain no L-carnitine, so must supplement.)
Co-enzyme Q10 is another important nutrient for the conversion of food to energy in the cells.
It is also boosts sperm motility, because the mid-piece of the sperm needs this nutrient specifically to get the sperm moving and sustain energy to the tail to drive the sperm onwards.
Omega-3 fatty acids are essential for sperm health for several reasons.
They give the sperm flexibility, helping the head to penetrate the egg.
In addition, sperm cells must have specific membrane characteristics in order to be able to bind to the membrane of an egg and produce a living embryo.
Trans fats, found in processed and takeaway foods like pizza, as well as alcohol, cigarettes and other drugs damage sperm cells
Broccoli contains Co-enzyme Q10, an important nutrient for the conversion of food to energy in the cells
Much of those special characteristics come from the sperm’s high levels of omega-3 fatty acids.
Men with poor sperm quality or sperm counts may typically have low levels of omega 3s, or low ratios of omega-3 to omega-6 fats in their semen and sperm-cell composition.
Studies indicate that supplementation with omega-3s can improve total sperm count and concentration.
One study showed that an omega-3 rich Mediterranean-style diet boosted the chances of successful pregnancy in previously infertile couples by a staggering 40 per cent.
Finally, antioxidants are a must – a good intake protects the health of the head of the sperm (which contains the DNA).
Lifestyle and free-radical damage
Free radicals are dangerous oxygen molecules said to have a hand in everything from ageing to diabetes and cancer.
Sperm actually need low levels of free radicals in order to function (and this is why free radicals are generated naturally as the sperm make their way to the fallopian tubes).
But higher levels will damage the sperm cells.
In order to give the sperm the best possible chances of being strong enough and having enough energy to make their journey into the fallopian tube - and of fertilising an egg successfully when they get there - avoiding excess oxidative stress as much as possible is essential.
Causes of free-radical damage in men are:
• Heat: Jacuzzis, tight underwear, heated car seats, mobile phones in pockets and laptops on laps all raise the temperature of the testes, which hang outside the body for the very reason that sperm are damaged by heat!
• Charred barbecued foods
• Trans fats (such as those found in processed foods, deep-fried foods and takeaways)
• Alcohol, nicotine (smoking) and other recreational drugs
• Age, but a healthy diet and lifestyle will keep all the body systems younger for longer
Eat Yourself Pregnant: Essential Recipes for Boosting Your Fertility Naturally, by Zita West, £14.99, available from www.zitawest.com or Amazon.
Ms West has written a book of recipes designed to optimise nutrition, and the chances of conceiving a child. She said: 'I think the connection between mind and body has a huge role to play in fertility, which is why it’s important that your lifestyle choices are good and healthy, but also make you happy'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2947734/How-man-EAT-way-healthier-sperm-Steak-eggs-watermelon-help-make-strong-virile-semen-book-claims.html#ixzz3S8WAM9gu
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