Zinc and Sperm Count

Around 40% of the fertility problems are contributed by men, while the same percentage is contributed by women. The rest 20% are caused due to an unexplained reason. Most of the problems with male fertility are associated with sperm production. As sperm production is greatly influenced by diet and lifestyle of a person, making healthy changes can drastically improve the chances of conception. Supplements such as zinc have shown a very positive impact on sperm production and quality.

Zinc and Sperm Count
Sperm production takes place inside the testes, round the clock. It takes about 3 months for a sperm cell to become mature. The mature sperm cells are ejaculated during male orgasm. Orgasm is a peak of sexual activity and is caused due to contraction of certain muscle groups. This contraction helps the sperms to be expelled out of penis with a force. On an average, a man ejaculates about 2 ml semen, during a single session. When we speak about male fertility, the volume of semen ejaculated is indeed important. However, more than that, the number of sperms contained in the semen and their health is of prime importance.

For a conception to occur, the man should have a sperm count of at least 20 million/ml. However, this does not imply that men with sperm count less than 20 million/ml cannot father a child. A sperm count of 5-20 million/ml is considered low and mainly contributes to male infertility. Apart from this, the morphology, motility and mobility of sperms also matter a lot. Healthy sperms are intact and show forward progressive movement. As zinc is present in the outer layer of a sperm cell and its tail, it greatly determines the overall health of a sperm cell.

Zinc and its Effects on Sperm Count
A clinical survey has indicated that zinc increases sperm count and improves the overall health of sperms. A study was conducted to prove the correlation between zinc and low sperm count. The candidates were divided in two groups depending upon their fertility history. One group comprised men who successfully impregnated their partners within one year of trying, while the rest comprised men with known fertility issues. Both the groups were given zinc supplements for 26 weeks, after which their semen analysis was done. The group with fertility issues showed a whopping 74% increase in total normal sperm count while 4% increase was seen in abnormal sperm count. The healthy group showed only an infinitesimal rise in sperm count.

Zinc and Sperm Motility
Sperms move forward by flapping their tails. As zinc is an essential component in the tail of spermatozoa, it certainly affects its motility. Besides, zinc is also present in the protective outer layer of sperm, thereby preventing any abnormal morphology. As only the most healthy sperms have the chances of fertilizing an egg, taking zinc indeed improves the chances of conception.

Zinc can be taken in the form of supplements or foods. If you opt to take zinc supplements, then make sure you get about 65 mg of zinc everyday. You should preferably consult a medical practitioner regarding the right dosage for you. The best way to increase your zinc content is to eat foods rich in zinc. Bananas are a rich source of zinc. Besides, oysters, red meat, poultry, etc., are some other foods high in zinc. You can benefit the most by combining zinc supplements with other nutrients such as folic acid, vitamins C, E and L-arginine.

Sperm count is greatly affected by your lifestyle as well. Hence, adopt a healthy lifestyle by quitting or at least reducing alcohol, smoking and caffeine consumption. Consult your doctor who will help you approach this problem in many ways. And finally as an advice, keeping yourself physically active does help to increase sperm count.