Getting Pregnant Naturally (11 page)

Be aware that anti-gout medications, anticoagulant drugs, and potassium supplements may block the absorption
of vitamin ?12, possibly contributing to a vitamin deficiency.

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) can almost be considered a wonder vitamin, especially when it comes to fertility. In the body, it helps bind cells together and strengthens the walls of the blood vessels; it helps fight infection; it promotes wound healing—and it does a fabulous job of promoting healthy sperm. Vitamin C levels are much higher in seminal fluid compared to other body fluids, including the blood.

Studies have shown that men who took as little as 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C daily showed increased sperm count and improved sperm motility and longevity. One study looked at the impact of vitamin C deficiency on sperm clumping, a problem that contributes to infertility because sperm must swim alone in order to build enough momentum to penetrate and fertilize an egg. (The experts say that a clumped sperm figure of more than 25 percent often separates fertile from infertile men.) Researchers looked at thirty-five young men with high rates of sperm clumping; they found that all the men had low levels of vitamin C in their blood. But vitamin C offered a simple and effective cure: After just one week with a daily supplement of 1 gram of vitamin C,
the men had normal levels of vitamin C in their blood and normal sperm motility.

Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley have found that vitamin C also helps protect sperm’s genetic material—its DNA—from damage caused by free radicals in the body. To test the role of vitamin C on sperm, the researchers at Berkeley reduced the dietary vitamin C intake in healthy male subjects from 250 milligrams to just 5 milligrams per day. In response to this vitamin C deficiency, the vitamin C levels in the seminal fluid dropped by 50 percent and the number of sperm with damaged DNA shot up by 91 percent. When the men resumed their normal diet (which included 60 to 250 milligrams of vitamin C), the DNA damage to the sperm declined within one month. The bottom line: Vitamin C not only helps prevent infertility, it may also help prevent birth defects in offspring.

Be aware that the use of aspirin, alcohol, analgesics, antidepressants, anticoagulants, and steroids may reduce vitamin C levels in the body. Medications for diabetes and sulfa drugs may not be as effective when taken with vitamin C. Signs of vitamin C deficiency include scurvy, bleeding gums, loose teeth, slow healing, dry and rough skin, and loss of appetite.

Vitamin E is necessary for balanced hormone production in both women and men. It also helps the body form red blood cells, muscles, and other tissues, and it is necessary for the breakdown of fats.