Male Fertility Problems – Sperm Counts Down by more than 50%

The World Health Organisation (WHO) report notes fertility rates have shown a steady decline since 1950. The question is… why? 

During my twenty-two years working with so-called infertile couples, there were more female than male problems. Now almost twenty years later during my so-called retirement, I see that number has risen to where fertility issues are equal in both sexes. I lost count of the number of times couples asked ’Why us?

With the sperm concentration declining more than 50% during the time the data was collected, this suggests overall bad health of men in developed countries. How can this be when we are known to be healthy outdoor people? One answer could be that although our men do love their sport, they prefer to watch the game rather than participate. Another factor could be the worldwide overuse of chemicals.

Our planet is saturated with hormone-disrupting chemicals. Substances called xenoestrogens (xeno from the Greek word ‘strange’) are a group of synthetic hormones used in the manufacture of contraceptive pills, phthalates, pesticides, PCBs, herbicides, and plastic containers.

These substances are inhaled or enter the human body through the food chain, where they mimic the action of naturally occurring hormones disrupting testosterone production. If the testosterone levels are out of balance sperm production becomes compromised. This not only affects the current generation but also the developing foetus in pregnant women, leading to the next generation being born with low testosterone levels, and other hormone-related problems that affect our physical and mental development.

Other commonly used hormone-disrupting chemicals include paints, fire retardants (used in our carpets, soft furnishings and building materials), plus petrochemicals and formaldehydes (which are used widely in the carpentry trades). There are literally hundreds of chemicals used in our environment that can affect the quality and count of sperm, erectile power, libido, and emotions. Continual exposure to chemicals in the workplace can also cause psychological and other endocrine hormonal imbalances.   If you are working with or taking a substance you suspect is causing ill effects, go online and check it out; most are well-documented.

Would-be parents should be made aware they are both responsible for the health of their baby, their offspring must live with the consequences of the health of both parents at conception.

Stress too has a detrimental effect on our hormone production. When concern turns to anxiety and depression, the heart rate speeds up which increases the blood pressure, putting the whole system on full alert. If the body is in this state too long, the nervous system and the hormone-producing glands will become hyperactive. If there are any genetic weaknesses in any of the endocrine glands i.e. pituitary, pineal, thyroid, pancreas, and adrenals, the reproductive system suffers.

Men experiencing continual stress can have problems with sperm development and impotency. Statistics show that the level of stress from infertility reaches its peak when a couple have been trying to conceive unsuccessfully for three years.

Other reasons related to male infertility include functional problems such as sports injury to the testes, erectile dysfunction, low libido, premature ejaculation, painful erection, varicocele, and other blockages.

The above problems may be caused by undetected diseases; Candida, damage from childhood mumps, herpes, chronic fatigue, anti-bodies, chlamydia, high acidity, or other genito-urinary infections. Diagnostic tests can easily be organised via your doctor and appropriate medication is given, but it is important to wait 3 months until the course of medicine is finished before trying to conceive because it takes the male 3 months to develop fresh sperm, any drug in the body could have a detrimental effect on the developing sperm, causing abnormalities in the developing embryo leading to a failed conception or miscarriage.

Although the damage from cigarettes is well documented, with the new ‘e-cigarettes’ even worse, other aggravating factors include the excessive consumption of alcohol, anabolic drugs/steroids, cocaine, heroin, and marijuana.  All these substances weaken the immune system, cause abnormal sperm development, and reduce the count and motility of sperm; any of which can lead to a miscarriage.

Another aspect to consider is any inherent genetic patterns. Some people can cope with pollution while others develop asthma at the slightest change in air temperature. This is also the reason why some people can tolerate gluten and pharmaceutical drugs while others can’t.

Fortunately, there are many natural remedies that can improve the above problems. To start the process, the male should limit the amount of chemicals entering the body i.e. stop smoking, look at the diet, begin some sort of exercise regime, and undergo a liver cleanse. Check the level of toxic chemicals in the work and home environment.

Before starting a new regime, I suggest all would-be fathers to have an overall health assessment to eliminate past or current infection and a semen analysis. Then in three months (the time it takes to develop new sperm) have another test to see if the above changes did help.

Although it is well known that women have a monthly hormonal cycle, not many realise men also have a cycle lasting 3 months in which new sperm are created. To ascertain the effect of lifestyle changes the male should undergo sperm tests before and after making any changes. Another point to note is that it is the male who determines the sex of the child. Women have the egg sac for baby’s growth, the sperm are created either male or female within the testes.

The father’s diet plays a large part in the development of the sperm, a diet high in protein is more likely to produce female sperm, while a high salt diet produces male sperm, which can help parents choose the sex of their children.

The above article is based on ‘Fertile Fathers’, the companion book to the best-selling ‘Natural Conception – Mother Nature’s Help for infertile couples’, published by Ruth Sharkey.

Ruth Sharkey is an internationally renowned natural therapist, best-selling author of several natural health books, columnist and artist. Known as ‘Australia’s Baby-maker’, Ruth also co-hosted two, weekly talk-back radio programmes for fifteen years.