For Him ...Body & Health ...Nutrition

Diet and Lifestyle
The first and most obvious is your diet & lifestyle. Drinking, smoking, drugs, lack of exercise and weight issues (under and overweight) will not help the situation.

Your future children will benefit from the steps you take now to improve your diet

The key to great nutrition is a balanced diet. A balanced diet is one which contains carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamins, mineral salts and fibre in the correct proportions. Although there is a lot of argument about what are the correct guidelines, try to have 55%- 60% carbohydrates, 25%-30% fat and 15%-20% protein per day.

Do not follow any faddy diets, take excessive vitamins, or reduce your calories drastically, all of these can affect your fertility.

Alcohol
Alcohol inhibits the absorption of some essential nutrients e.g. zinc. Zinc is found in high concentrations in sperm, and is important to male fertility.

Smoking
Smoking reduces vitamin C. Lack of vitamin C causes the sperm to clump together instead of swimming towards the egg. Take a visit to the National Asthma Campaign site to find out more about giving up smoking. You can also go to ASH.

Water
Try to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. Water helps to flush out toxins and keep our organs health and lubricated. If you can't manage it all as plain water why not try herbal tea.

Stress
Stress not only affects you chances of getting pregnant but will cause tension in the relationship. Try something like reflexology or yoga.

Medicines
If you are on medication, discuss this with your doctor and see if there some which are non essential for a time. Some medicines can suppress sperm production.

Heat
Try to keep your testicles cool. Throw away those unattractive tight nylon underpants, try some cotton boxers. Even hot work environments or sports where your testicles are jolted and get sweaty could have an adverse effect.

Men's Health Forum - Everything you need to know about your health.

Same sex couples? visit www.freedomhealth.co.uk

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The information provided here is not intended to be a substitute for taking proper medical advice and should not be relied upon in this way. Always consult a qualified doctor. Each situation will need to be looked at individually and you should not attempt to self treat. The author cannot accept responsibility for the failure to seek medical advice from a qualified doctor.