I have a low sperm count. How can I improve it?

Although it only takes one sperm to fertilise an egg, there’s very little chance of this happening unless you have millions of vigorous, healthy sperm per ml of semen.

If your specimen didn’t make the grade, don’t despair. There is a lot you can do to assist the production of healthy sperm and this may make all the difference.

For a start, your testicles hang outside the body for a reason: body temperature is too high for efficient sperm production. So replace those tight underpants and hot baths with boxer shorts and showers. Finish your daily shower by spraying the testicles with cold water for a few minutes; this may sound masochistic, but it’s not at all unpleasant, as long as the cold water is directed at the testicles and not the chest. (I’m not advocating a cold shower; you won’t make a baby if you don’t have sex.)

The diet and lifestyle plan in Dump Your Toxic Waist! will improve the health of every cell in your body – including your sperm. Toxins, tobacco smoke, alcohol, inactivity and a poor diet are all damaging to sperm production.

A lot of people are eating diets deficient in nutrients such as selenium and zinc that are needed for the production of healthy sperm. Whole grains supply zinc, and you can get all the selenium you need for one day from three brazil nuts. Antioxidants such as vitamins C and E, found in vegetables, fruit and nuts, help to protect sperm from damage by free radicals.

When you need to supply a specimen for semen analysis, it’s best to avoid ejaculation for exactly three days beforehand – not more, not less.

Make sure you know exactly where you have to take the specimen and produce it nearby. Write the time on the laboratory form and get it to the lab within minutes! If you produce your sample at home and then drive through a traffic jam to the other side of town, by the time they get under a microscope, a lot of the sperm will be flagging in their futile pursuit of an egg.

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