sperm count

A drunken night on the town or romantic dinner over a good bottle of wine may seem like the perfect precursor to an evening of baby-making, but men might want to think again before pouring another cocktail. A man's sperm count can be directly affected by toxic chemicals, including alcohol. According to the Mayo Clinic, only 50 to 70 percent of a man's sperm are healthy enough to fertilize an egg. When alcohol and tobacco are added to that mix the number of healthy sperm decrease significantly.

It said:

Heavy drinking may reduce the quality and quantity of sperm. Limit alcohol to no more than one or two drinks a day. The combination of tobacco and alcohol is particularly harmful.

So if you and your partner are actively trying to conceive, it may be time to reduce the number of drinks you both consume each week. There's no harm in a little early prep work for once the baby arrives.

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With all this talk about meat and dairy products causing heart problems, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, more people are switching to alternative foods made with low fat, high protein soy. Tofu, soy milk, and fermented soy products such as tempeh, miso soup, and soy sauce are just a few, and so many people are adding them to their diets to be healthier. Some rumors have been spread that eating soy causes breast cancer, but right now the American Institute for Cancer Research says that there's no evidence that proves this theory. Well that's good news for the ladies, but as far as men go, now there's talk about how soy may affect sperm count. A US study discovered that men who included soy in their diets (equivalent to one cup of soy milk or one serving of tofu every other day) had an average sperm count of 41 million sperm per milliliter less than men who didn't eat soy foods. Geez, that's a huge drop in those little guys!

Now before you freak out, this isn't to say that eating soy affects the chances of having a baby; after all, soy products have been a part of Asian diets for generations with no signs of fertility problems. Also, this study doesn't touch upon the quality of sperm, and since it only takes one good swimmer to make a baby, it seems that more research needs to be done before drawing any conclusions about tofu and fertility. So as with everything, I think moderation is the key.

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Forget phone sex. If you're looking to procreate find a man who doesn't have a BlackBerry attached to his ear.

New research conducted by the Cleveland Clinic found a connection between guys who spent hours on their cell phones and poor sperm quality.

A Reuters article about the study of 361 men said:

In general, the researchers found, sperm count and sperm quality tended to decline as daily cell phone hours increased. Men who said they used their phones for more than four hours each day had the lowest average sperm count and the fewest normal, viable sperm.

So if you are going to talk dirty, take precautions and use a land line.

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