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Health See other Health Articles Title: Increasing Rates of Male Infertility + 5 Natural Remedies Increasing Rates of Male Infertility + 5 Natural Remedies Dr. Josh Axe Is a Western lifestyle to blame for increased rates of male infertility? All signs are pointing to yes. According to a recent report, sperm counts of men in North America, Australia, Europe and New Zealand have dropped by more than 50 percent in less than four decades, and show no signs of stopping. Why is this occurring? And can be stopped/slowed down by adopting natural infertility treatments? Increasing Rate of Male Infertility: What the Study Says Researchers originally examined more than 7,500 studies published that looked at sperm counts and concentrations between 1973 and 2011. (1) Then, they conducted a meta-analysis of the 185 studies that met their criteria. These included studies of men who either didn’t know if they were fertile — like they’d never tried to have kids — and those who were known to be fertile. They eliminated any studies where men were suspected of being infertile. The studies were spread over the time period and included nearly 43,000 men in 50 different countries. The findings were startling. The analysis found there was an almost 60 percent decline in the total sperm count over the nearly four decades. Importantly, researchers looked only at studies published after 1995, and it doesn’t seem like the decline in male fertility is slowing down. Male infertility isn’t just related to procreation, either. Oftentimes, a decrease in sperm count is an indicator of an increased risk in premature death. (2) In fact, the study called it a “canary in the coal mine” for male health. And though the researchers didn’t set out to figure out why sperm counts were decreasing, they floated several theories, including environmental and lifestyle influences. So what are the causes of male infertility the study suggests? Let’s take a closer look. Causes of Male Infertility What are the causes of male infertility? While there are a number of male infertility causes, ranging from hormone imbalances and certain medications to infections and chromosome defects, we’re going to focus on environmental and lifestyle factors today. (3) For starters, what is the percentage of male infertility? It’s hard to come across hard figures, but studies suggest that in North America, male infertility is between 4 and 6 percent. (4) In cases of couples attempting to conceive, in about 1/3 of the cases, infertility is caused by male reproductive issues. (5) What are the causes of male infertility? One of the reasons why so many scientists suspect manmade factors, like lifestyle and environment, for the increasing rate of male infertility is that the changes are happening too quickly to be attributed to genetics. These include both prenatal and adulthood exposure. Prenatal Endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Prenatal endocrine disruption because of chemical exposure is one major reason scientists believe male infertility is on the rise. (6, 7) Endocrine-disrupting chemicals, or EDCs, are all around us. They include things like phthalates, triclosan (yes, the stuff in your anti-bacterial gel!) and BPAs. These substances interfere with our endocrine system, which regulates all of our body’s hormones and biological processes. And when EDCs mess with our endocrine systems, it can have serious developmental, reproductive, neurological and immune effects. Unfortunately, damage is thought to be most serious during prenatal or early pregnancy exposure. EDCs are especially tricky because even teeny doses of exposure can have serious effects, but it can be years or even decades until the health impact fully manifests. Smoking. Hopefully, you’re already well aware of the impact that smoking has on your health. In fact, it’s the leading preventable cause of death in America — causing more deaths than HIV, illegal drug use, alcohol use, car accidents and firearm-related incidents combined. (8) But while smoking as an adult can affect infertility in men (more on that later), prenatal exposure to smoking can play a role, too. One small study found that European men who had prenatal exposure to smoking had a 20 percent lower sperm density than those without. (9) Exposure to second-hand smoke may play a role, too. Adult life Exposure to pesticides. In the last 40 years, we’ve been exposed to a variety of pesticides that haven’t always been around, like Monsanto Roundup. All of these pesticides are affecting male infertility, and we’re not always sure exactly how, because enough research hasn’t yet been done. Remnants of pesticides can stay on our foods long after the pesticide has been sprayed. There’s also pesticide drift, where the chemicals travel even to foods that haven’t been sprayed with pesticides. Is it just a coincidence that male infertility has increased in the last four decades, around the same time that powerful pesticides have come into play? It could be, but I find that unlikely. Smoking. As I mentioned before, smoking affects male infertility. There are more than 4,000 toxins in tobacco smoke, which combine to harm male fertility. If you’re a smoker, you can expect lower-quality semen, reduced sperm function, a dysfunctional reproductive hormonal system, impaired sperm maturation and other reproductive side effects. (10) How much you’re smoking matters, too. Heavy smokers are likely to experience more negative effects in their fertility than casual smokers, though, to be clear, any type of smoking can have an effect on male infertility. (11, 12) Stress. We already know that chronic stress is harmful to your health. Did you know that it also plays a role in a man’s fertility? Men who are stressed tend to have lower sperm concentrations during ejaculation and reduced sperm quality, which makes it more difficult for a sperm to fertilize an egg. This holds true even once other health issues are accounted for. (13) Obesity. Obesity has been on the rise in the past few decades, and it’s playing a role in male infertility. While we’ve known for some time that an obese woman may have difficulty conceiving, an obese male partner plays a role, too. It seems that obesity affects the sperm’s ability to fertilize an egg. (14) This is likely due to impaired semen quality. Obesity comes with its own set of other health issues, too, which can affect male infertility, like hormonal changes and sexual dysfunction. (15) Poster Comment: Bill Clinton always claimed he was shooting blanks. But he left that stain on Monica Lewinsky's uniform skirt. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
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