Encyclopedia Of Fertility Supplements L-Z

So you'd like to try adding some vitamins and supplements to your diet in hopes it will increase your fertility, but the list is long: how do you decide what to take and what to avoid? Here we list good things you can take with assurance to boost your fertility. This article treats fertility supplements L-Z.

L-Arginine: This amino acid helps the circulatory system bringing better blood flow to your reproductive organs. Such an environment is desirable for egg implantation. Women should take 16 grams a day. The supplement has been shown to have a beneficial effect on women who had undergone previous failed attempts at IVF. Many physicians now tell their IVF patients to take L-Arginine.

Arginine taken in doses of 2-4 grams per day has also shown encouraging results in a number of studies, where it improved both sperm motility and sperm count.

L-Carnitine: Take this in doses of up to 3 grams per day. One Italian study showed that men who took 2 grams of L-Carnitine every day for a period of three months, had a dramatic improvement in their sperm counts and in their sperm motility.

Strengthens Estrogen

PABA: Para-aminobenzoic acid is a member of the B-Complex family. B vitamins are essential for helping women metabolize other vitamins and minerals needed to create a pregnancy. Many women have found PABA, taken in doses of 400 milligrams per day, helped them to conceive. It is believed that PABA strengthens the effects of estrogen as a helpful factor in conception.

Selenium: This supplement has antioxidant properties which can protect a potential fetus from the dangers of free radicals. That means it lowers your chances of having a baby with birth defects.

In one double-blind study, men who took selenium supplements were found to have doubled sperm counts. Semen contains high levels of selenium and the body must replenish its source for this nutrient with regularity. A deficiency of this substance causes the production of sperm that are too delicate to withstand the travails of ejaculation and the journey to the egg which can result in broken sperm tails and no fertilized egg.

Dosing Cautions

Like vitamin A, selenium can build up to toxic levels when taken in high doses. Selenium should be taken in doses of 100-200 micrograms daily. Never take more than 200 micrograms a day.

Zinc: By taking zinc, you can maintain the right levels of testosterone. Too little zinc may lead to lowered sperm counts. Women also need zinc and the way their bodies use estrogen and progesterone are dependent in large measure on their stores of this nutrient. The correct dose is from 15-60 milligrams daily. If you take this for longer than 3 weeks, it's prudent to add 1-3 milligrams of copper to prevent copper deficiency.

In one study on zinc, 37 men with a history of over five years of infertility with sperm counts of less than 25 million per milliliter were given 60 milligrams of zinc every day for 45-50 days. Out of these participants, 22 were found to have low testosterone levels at the inception of the study. After treatment with zinc, their levels of testosterone and their sperm counts rose to significant levels: from 8-20 million per milliliter. Nine of their wives became pregnant during the course of the study.

Sperm Counts

Of those men with normal levels of testosterone, sperm counts increased, but only in slight measure. Their testosterone levels remained the same and no pregnancies resulted from the zinc supplements.

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