If you’re infertile, taking zinc supplements may do wonders for your reproductive health. Zinc is one of the most important minerals when it comes to male fertility. It has been repeatedly shown that men who are infertile or subfertile almost always have lower concentrations of zinc in their seminal plasma.
Zinc plays crucial roles in sperm production, sperm quality, as well as in the actual process of fertilization. This is why you can’t afford to be zinc-deficient if you’re planning to be a father soon. Take a look at how zinc protects you from infertility.
Zinc as an Antioxidant
Zinc isn’t just an ordinary mineral. It’s actually an important antioxidant that’s necessary for you to have high-quality sperm. Men who are infertile and long-time heavy smokers often have elevated levels of reactive oxygen species in their seminal plasma. This means that they have a lot of free radicals in their semen that can damage their sperm quality.
Since infertile men who are smokers tend to have low levels of zinc, their seminal antioxidant defense system also tends to be weak. Thus, the sperm quality of infertile men becomes impaired.
High levels of reactive oxygen species in your testicles or in your semen often result in a lot of damage to your sperm cells. These reactive oxygen species cause oxidative damage in the form of lipid peroxidation, DNA fragmentation, and impaired cellular membrane.
This means that reactive oxygen species can make your sperm morphologically abnormal, such as having crooked tails. If your sperm cell’s DNA material is damaged or fragmented, it can make your sperm less viable. Aside from reducing your sperm viability, reactive oxygen species can also cause reduced sperm motility.
This is why it’s very important to have sufficient levels of seminal antioxidants like zinc, vitamin C, and vitamin E. These antioxidants protect your sperm from being attacked by numerous free radicals and reactive oxygen species.
Zinc as a Defense Against Heavy Metals and Inflammatory Agents
When you’re a smoker, you’re vulnerable to cellular damage caused by the heavy metals and other toxic substances found in cigarettes. This is also true even if you don’t smoke but you’re always exposed to secondhand smoke. In addition, cigarettes also contain various inflammatory agents.
When there’s an inflammation in your body, you produce more reactive oxygen species. As your reactive oxygen species levels increase, the chances of your sperm getting damaged also increase. Moreover, reactive oxygen species also attack your testicular cells.
Hence, men with constantly high reactive oxygen species levels often have impaired testicular functions. Since the main functions of your testicles include sperm production as well as testosterone synthesis, these important reproductive processes suffer as a result of high reactive oxygen species concentration in the testicles.
Fortunately, zinc can help neutralize toxic heavy metals and other inflammatory agents in your testicles. By neutralizing those harmful compounds, zinc helps you maintain your testicular health.
Zinc as a Hormone Balancer
Zinc is important for the production of sex hormones such as testosterone. Your Leydig cells in your testicles are the ones which are involved in the actual production of testosterone. If you’re deficient in zinc, your Leydig cells become vulnerable to oxidative stress. In turn, this results in impaired testosterone production.
However, when your zinc levels are low, your testosterone levels are not the only ones affected. Your thyroid hormones are also adversely affected when you’re zinc-deficient. Although your thyroid gland is physically far from your testicles, the hormones that your thyroid produces greatly influence your sex hormone levels.
In addition, zinc is also highly concentrated in your prostate, which is why experts consider zinc as one of the biomarkers of prostatic function. In short, when your prostatic zinc levels are low, it means that your prostate isn’t functioning properly.
You need your prostate to be healthy because it produces your seminal fluid. If your prostate isn’t producing sufficient amounts of seminal fluid, your seminal volume will be low. Zinc in your seminal fluid also helps preserve your sperm motility.
Zinc Enhances Sperm Functions
Zinc is necessary for the stability of your sperm’s cellular membrane. This is why zinc is typically highly concentrated in your seminal plasma, mainly because zinc plays numerous roles in the various phases of spermatogenesis.
For instance, your body needs zinc to initiate the process of spermatogenesis. This means that without zinc, or if you’re low on zinc, your sperm production won’t even start. Zinc is also needed during mitosis and meiosis, the two cellular division processes that occur during sperm production.
When your spermatocytes develop into spermatids, they need to obtain a tale so that they can become fully functioning mature spermatozoa. You need zinc in order for this to happen. Zinc is required for the development of the sperm tail and the proper attachment of the tail to the sperm head.
This helps explain why men whose zinc levels are low often have low motility. Insufficient zinc levels mean that the tail of your sperm are either abnormally shaped, improperly attached to the head, or are not functioning properly.
Although zinc deficiency is not a direct cause of infertility, it has various adverse effects on sperm health. Hence, taking zinc supplements can definitely improve sperm motility, sperm volume, as well as sperm morphology.
Natural Supplements For Improving Fertility
Zinc isn’t the only supplement that can greatly improve your fertility. Other herbal supplements like Tongkat Ali and maca can also significantly improve your sperm count and enhance your sperm motility.
If you need to boost your fertility, you should try an all-natural male sex enhancement supplement that contains numerous pro-fertility herbal ingredients. Aside from maca and Tongkat Ali, this also contains horny goat weed, Butea superba, and Tribulus terrestris, which can help boost your production of testosterone as well as improve your sperm quality.
In fact, Tribulus terrestris has also been associated with increased sperm count as well as improved sperm motility. Since Tribulus terrestris promotes testosterone production, higher levels of testosterone also mean more nourishment for your developing sperm cells.
On top of enhancing your fertility, it can also help you if you have sexual performance issues. It has strong pro-erectile effects and it can definitely help improve your sexual stamina and vigor.
