When couples are trying to conceive a baby, many women know to be extremely conscious about what they eat because it can improve fertility and increase the chance of a healthy, strong offspring. It is becoming clear that the dietary intake of fathers-to-be is also very important in improving sperm count and quality to increase the chance of conceiving a healthy child.
Antioxidants
Antioxidants help fight off free radicals which can damage or kill sperm, resulting in a low sperm count. Eat foods high in antioxidants to increase sperm including blueberries, sweet potatoes, carrots, spinach, kale, apricots, tomatoes, egg yolks, fish, nuts, mangoes, oranges and broccoli.
Vitamin B-12
Vitamin B-12 deficiency has been linked to lower sperm count, according to the Langone Medical Center at NYU. Eating foods high in vitamin B-12, such as animal liver, beef, chicken, pork, fish and eggs can increase your sperm count and fertility.
Folic Acid
Meat (chicken, liver, kidney, egg yolk), legumes (beans, peanuts, soy, lentils, almonds), starches (whole wheat flour, potatoes and sweet potatoes), fruits (bananas, oranges, peaches) and vegetables (spinach, broccoli, cabbage, asparagus) are good sources of folic acid. Folic acid improves quality of the sperm but no evidence shows it improves the quantity.
Carnitine
Carnitine helps increase sperm count by providing more energy to the cells. Carnitine can be found in red meat, fish, chicken and milk.
Zinc
A 2002 study showed a correlation between zinc and increased sperm count, according to the National Institutes of Health. Zinc is commonly found in pumpkin seeds, turkey, eggs, seafood and oysters.
