The food you eat doesn’t just affect your mental and physical health; it also affects your reproductive health. When you’re trying to conceive, you should eat well-balanced meals at regular intervals. Ideally, your diet should be rich in vitamin C and D, Zinc, Selenium and Folic Acid. At the same time, processed foods, sodas, high glycemic- index foods and deli meat should be avoided. On that note, here are a few food items that improve fertility.
Walnuts are great for sperm morphology and motility. They are also rich in omega 3 fatty acids that help boost sperm vitality. Walnuts can be added to salads and desserts or eaten separately as a snack. You can consume up to 75gms of walnuts each day.
Tomatoes are rich in lycopene. This is beneficial for sperm health and male fertility. Lycopene is generally higher in cooked tomatoes rather than in raw ones. In addition to this, tomatoes are also rich in anti-oxidants. These anti-oxidants protect the sperm from damage caused by free radicals and improve sperm activity and motility.
Lentils are a rich source of folic acid, especially for men who follow a vegetarian diet. Without adequate folic acid, the body will not be able to produce healthy sperm. There is a high risk that the sperm produced will have chromosomal abnormalities. The quantity of sperm produced may also be affected.
Pomegranates can improve sperm health in a number of ways. Most importantly, they are great sources of antioxidants that help boost testosterone levels. This enhances a man’s sex drive and improves the quality of sperm being produced.
Chocolate is known as an aphrodisiac that boosts libido. In addition, it also helps improve sperm motility and sperm count. There are many types of dark chocolate available and the darker the chocolate, the healthier your sperm will be.
Garlic is rich in allicin and selenium. Allicin improves blood circulation in the sexual organs and protects sperm from being damaged. Selenium is an anti-oxidant that improves motility. If you’re trying to have a baby, try eating one or two cloves of garlic a day.
In addition to eating right, you should also drink plenty of water. Ideally, you should drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. This helps keep your body hydrated and is an essential element of semen production. Not drinking enough water can affect sperm production as semen is mostly water.