Health todayLiving out sexuality without fathering children – that has always been a human aspiration. However, for centuries there were no safe contraceptive methods available. Some 40 years after the introduction of the contraceptive pill, on the other hand, contraception is taken so much for granted that criteria such as convenience, cost or naturalness come into focus when choosing a method. We have compiled everything you need to know about the individual procedures – from the mode of action to the advantages and disadvantages to the costs.Image source: wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock.com
Background knowledge on contraceptive methods
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Mechanical and chemical contraceptive methods
The sperm quality also depends on the diet.
Hurray for fish and vegetables
For decades, sperm quality among men in industrialized nations has been going downhill. Is this possibly due to the spreading unhealthy eating habits??
Plasticizers, pesticides, cell phones ..
Experts discuss a variety of factors as the cause of the long-known reduced sperm quality of Western men: They range from plasticizers from plastics and pesticides that enter the organism via the food chain to cell phones in the pocket of the pants. Urologists have now investigated whether different diets may also have an effect on sperm production.
3000 men, 4 dietary styles
Around 3,000 healthy young men (average age 19) told their muster examination how often they had eaten certain products from a list of 136 foods in the previous three months. Finally, the scientists distinguished four dietary styles:
– Western-style diet with lots of pizza, fries, processed meat, white flour products and sweetened beverages – Healthy diet style with lots of fish, chicken, vegetables and fruit – Open sandwich style with lots of cold meat, cold fish, whole grains, mayonnaise, condiments and dairy products – Vegetarian style with lots of vegetables, soy, milk and eggs.
Sperm sample at the same time
In addition, the urologists also examined the ejaculate, hormones and testicular volume of the young males. Analysis of the data obtained showed that semen quality was indeed associated with eating habits. Men who ate a healthy diet did best, with an average of 167 million sperm in their ejaculate. The second place was won by vegetarians: they had an average of 151 million sperm to show for it, while the open-sandwich friends came in third with an average of 146 million. Men who indulged in the Western style – i.e. mainly junk food – brought up the rear with an average of 122 million sperm cells.
Testicular volume also affected
But not only for the number of sperm a connection with the kind of the food could be determined. The same tendency showed sperm motility, testicular volume and hormone concentrations. All parameters were better in the health-conscious eaters than in the Western-style advocates. Semen quality appears to suffer from a high-fat, high-sugar, low-fiber diet, urologists write. Whether the unhealthy food is actually the cause or whether both parameters only correlate, this investigation cannot clarify. According to the authors, the attempt to improve poor semen quality through a healthy diet still seems to be justified. After all, other markers such as testicular volume and hormones were better in the healthily fed young males.