Increase Sperm Count

Researchers at the universities of Manchester and Sheffield found that smoking cannabis can have a severe effect on male fertility, yet other lifestyle choices such as drinking alcohol and wearing tight briefs were not considered to cause problems, despite earlier reports suggesting otherwise.

Sperm quality has been in decline for decades, and scientists are unsure as to the exact causes. Last month a report published by Ohio’s Cleveland Clinic, following analysis of 12 studies conducted by different groups around the world, found that consumption of lycopene improved the quality, mobility, and volume of sperm dramatically, increasing sperm count by up to 70 per cent. Lycopene is an essential nutrient found commonly in red fruit and vegetables such as tomatoes, strawberries, cherries, and peppers.

A 2009 Spanish study by the Andalusian Center of Sports Medicine and the University of Las Palmas found that a prolonged spell on your bike can severely affect the shape and quality of sperm. After monitoring 15 Spanish triathletes with an average age of 33 the study found that "those that systematically cycled 300 kilometers a week, had a fertility problem."

In 2003, researchers from Sao Paolo University in Brazil studied 750 men and concluded that drinking coffee can improve the swimming speed of human sperm, although whether this means pregnancy rates are higher among coffee drinkers is unclear.

In 2012, a research team at the University of California published the results of a study which showed that men who consumed 75g of walnuts each day experienced a marked improvement in sperm vitality, motility and morphology.
Their conclusion was that there is a direct link between an increase in the consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids (which exist at high levels in nuts) and an improvement in sperm quality among healthy men eating a western diet.

Like walnuts, almonds are rich with arginine, an amino acid that has been shown to increase sperm production. Peanuts contain high levels of zinc, which is also associated with an increase in sperm count and motility.

Sperm Study

Here is another of those studies that makes us wonder who thinks up this stuff. The British Journal of Sports Medicine, looked at the lifestyles of 189 healthy men between the ages of 18 and 22, during a three-month period to establish a link between environmental factors and semen quality. Its finding - men who watch more than 20 hours of television a week risk halving their sperm count.

It said, while regular, vigorous exercise was shown to boost sperm count, excessive television-watching can counteract the positive effects of physical activity and can have a major impact on a man’s ability to reproduce.

Another study by researchers at the University of Sheffield and Manchester compared the lifestyles of 939 men with poor sperm quality with 1,310 men with normal sperm quality. It found “little evidence” that a high BMI, excessive alcohol consumption or recreational drugs were contributing factors to sperm quality. It also found that wearing boxer shorts rather than tighter underwear was linked to higher sperm levels. There was even evidence that high levels of physical activity might have a detrimental effect on quality and quantity.

Dr George Chavarro from the Department of Nutrition at Harvard School at Public Health, senior author of the recent study said, “In general, very little is known about what influences sperm count.”  Too bad for us their fathers didn't watch more TV.

Alcohol and Arthritis

Drinking alcohol can not only ease the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, it appears to reduce disease severity too, research suggests.

Scientists at the University of Sheffield asked two groups of patients with and without the disease to provide details of their drinking habits. They found that patients who had drunk alcohol most frequently experienced less joint pain and swelling.

In the study, 873 patients with rheumatoid arthritis were compared to 1,004 people who did not have it. Both groups were asked how often they drank alcohol in the month running up to the start of the study. Patients completed a detailed questionnaire, had X-rays and blood tests, and a nurse examined their joints. The patients in the study did not drink more than the recommended limit of 10 units of alcohol a week.

It's possible that the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of alcohol may play a role in reducing the severity of symptoms, according to Dr James Maxwell consultant rheumatologist.

Patients who drank alcohol most frequently had less severe symptoms than those who had never or infrequently drunk alcohol. X-rays showed there was less damage to their joints, blood tests showed lower levels of inflammation, and there was less joint pain, swelling, and disability in those patients, the researchers found.

The study showed non-drinkers were four times more likely to develop RA than people who drank alcohol on more than 10 days a month. Previous studies have shown that alcohol may reduce the risk of developing the disease initially.

However, they do not yet understand why drinking alcohol should reduce the severity of RA, and people's susceptibility to developing it, but there is some evidence to show that alcohol suppresses the activity of the immune system, and that this may influence the pathways by which RA develops.