Contents:
- Revealing the benefits of vitamin D to improve sperm quality
- What is the relationship between vitamin D and sperm quality?
- What are the good sources of vitamin D for male sperm?
Healthy sperm is the key to fertility for men. Men whose quantity, shape and quality of sperm are not optimal tend to be difficult to have children. So, how do you improve sperm quality? Do you have to use drugs or just IVF? Eits, wait a minute. From now on, try multiplying eating healthy foods to reap the benefits of vitamin D. Why is that?
Revealing the benefits of vitamin D to improve sperm quality
You certainly already know that the benefits of vitamin D are the most important is to maintain healthy teeth and bones. Good news for you men, the benefits of vitamin D can also increase the movement of "swimming" sperm so that it is easier to reach the egg.
This is evidenced by a study from the journal Human Reproduction involving 300 young adult men from Germany in 2007. After testing vitamin D levels in the blood, as many as 44 percent of men are known to experience vitamin D deficiency (less than 50 nanomols). They were then given active vitamin D serum named 1.25 (OH) 2D3 and observed sperm motility or movement.
The experts found that men who were deficient in vitamin D (less than 25 nanomols) tended to have less perfect sperm forms and their movements were not agile, compared to men who had more than 75 nanomoles in vitamin D levels.
When serum vitamin D is added to the sperm sample, sperm movement tends to increase by 7 percent. In addition, the benefits of vitamin D can also increase the acrosome reaction in sperm, which is the ability to penetrate the egg.
What is the relationship between vitamin D and sperm quality?
The addition of serum vitamin D was effective in increasing intracellular calcium concentration in human sperm cells. Intracellular calcium is what stimulates sperm movement faster and optimally. The higher the concentration of intracellular calcium, the faster the movement of male sperm.
Male sperm is also known to contain vitamin D receptors. The more vitamin D that enters the body, the more vitamin D will be absorbed by sperm. Indirectly, the condition of your sperm will be much better and quality.
Vice versa. Men who are deficient in vitamin D tend to have less sperm and their movements are slow. For those of you who experience it, this research is certainly a breath of fresh air for you to improve sperm quality with vitamin D.
However, low vitamin D and sperm counts in men are not solely due to vitamin D deficiency. This can be caused by many things, from the production of sperm cells that are too long (70 to 80 days), low vitamin D receptors on sperm cells, lack of calcium intake, or unhealthy lifestyle factors. So, further research is still needed to prove it.
What are the good sources of vitamin D for male sperm?
There are many ways you can take advantage of vitamin D to improve sperm quality. The easiest way is to take 15-20 minutes to bask in the morning sun to get enough vitamin D. However, this also depends on the location of residence and the type of skin you have.
In addition, you can also get vitamin D through various food sources of vitamin D in the form of:
- Milk
- Egg yolk
- Beef liver
- Cod fish oil
- Salmon
- Sardines
- Tuna
- Mackerel
- Shrimp
- Cereals fortified with vitamin D
You can also take vitamin D supplements, especially if you have severe vitamin D deficiency. But remember, consult your doctor first and ask for the right dose of supplement for your health condition.
