Dietary Supplements that can enhance fertility

Sperm production and egg development are quite complex and energy-dependent processes that depend on or require adequate micronutrients. Human gametes (sperm and egg) follow a specific 90-day growth and maturation cycle. During this time many interactions and structures depend significantly on micronutrients that are difficult to find in the body.

The role of micronutrients in fertility

Lifestyle changes, limiting alcohol consumption, quitting smoking and adopting a healthy diet are the starting point for the journey of conception. However, in the complex equation of fertility, micronutrients come to fill nutritional gaps that the body cannot otherwise fill. As is well known, vitamins play an important role and are essential for many functions related to conception, such as:

• sperm quality (quantity, motility, morphology, DNA fragmentation)

• Menstruation and ovulation

• Thyroid function

• Energy production

• Immune system and anti-inflammatory function

• Egg quality and maturation

Therefore, an adequate intake of vitamins and minerals is extremely critical when trying to form the right environment for a healthy pregnancy. Additionally, certain nutrients may even reduce the symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome and endometriosis, which are underlying causes of infertility at a young age.

Some of the most popular dietary supplements that can promote fertility are the following:

• co-Q10

This coenzyme is produced normally in our body, but its levels decrease after the age of 30 years. Reduced levels can affect the quality and quantity of eggs in women, as well as all the basic parameters of sperm in men.

• Vitamin D3

Vitamin D is aimed at women and men alike and helps improve ovarian stimulation and sperm quality. The results of various studies have identified vitamin D3 or “Vitamin of the Sun” deficiency with infertility in both women and men, in whom it significantly affects spermatogenesis. Women who take Vitamin D3 regularly are four times more likely to conceive, based on the existing literature.

• Omega 3

Taking supplements rich in Omega 3 delays the aging of the ovaries, due to the strong anti-inflammatory effect they have.

• Vitamin B

               Vitamin B contributes to the promotion of egg health, the normalization of ovulation in women, while in men it can lead to improved sperm quality. The most common vitamin B is folic acid, or otherwise vitamin B9, which is considered totally necessary during conception and pregnancy.

• Vitamin C

Vitamin C is mainly aimed at men, as it increases the quantity, quality and motility of sperm. This vitamin is a powerful antioxidant and can reduce cell damage and help increase iron absorption.

• Myo-inositol

It can normalize blood glucose levels and reduce insulin resistance, which affects ovulation in polycystic ovary syndrome by up to 70%.

• Zinc

It contributes significantly to the synthesis of sperm DNA and boosts testosterone levels when taken in the right doses, thus improving sperm quality.

Find out more about nutritional supplements that enhance fertility by the Obstetrician-Gynaecologist Melina Stasinou.