Ep 172: Sperm Health and Family Planning with Deb Valentin of Sage Wellness (Part 2)
Fertility Forward Episode 172 :
The male factor is one-third of fertility overall and therefore, sperm health is imperative to fertility! Welcome to part two of our conversation with Deb Valentin about sperm health! In this part of the conversation, we discuss how diet affects sperm health, how different nutrients and food groups improve (and harm) sperm, the best supplements to support sperm health, and more! We delve into the dangers of alcohol and smoking when it comes to sperm health and the importance of exercise before discussing how to manage testicular temperature regulation. Be reminded to drink water, learn about how often a man needs to ejaculate, and the power of acupuncture for sperm health. We even talk about how important optimism and positive thinking are during any fertility journey. Finally, Deb shares the importance of finding the joy in getting healthy through your fertility journey. Thanks for listening!
Rena: Hi everyone. We are Rena and Dara and welcome to Fertility Forward. We are part of the wellness team at RMA of New York, a fertility clinic affiliated with Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. Our Fertility Forward podcast brings together advice from medical professionals, mental health specialists, wellness experts, and patients because knowledge is power and you are your own best advocate.
I am so excited to welcome back to fertility four today, Deb Valentin of Sage Wellness, who is an amazing acupuncturist, and here to follow up on our prior episode with part two, which is going to focus on how to improve sperm health. So I know we left our last episode off with this cliffhanger and we said we'd be back for more to, to tell people, you know what they always wonder, right? There's a problem. How can I fix it? So Deb, so excited to have you here.
Deb: Great, well thank you so much, Rena. I'm so excited to be here. And yes, you know, the last episode we kind of talked about just the fact that, you know, in the last four decades, sperm, you know, has declined 40 to 50%. So I feel, you know, as a practitioner there, you know, even as a practitioner there's so much focus on kind of women and we really need to look at male factor fertility and why it's declining and more so what we can do about it. So I wanted to really focus this episode on the beauty that there's so much that can be changed that really can increase whole body health that has a reflection in sperm health. As I spoke about last episode, sperm regenerates every three months just like eggs. And so we have kind of this three month, you know, time frame where, you know, a man can make some changes that can reflect in sperm health. And when I say sperm health, I always let people know, just like women, we really are talking about overall health that reflects in sperm health. You know, overall health. If a man is overweight, if he's drinking alcohol, if he's smoking, if he's not exercising, if he's eating the wrong foods, that is gonna have a reflection in also his sperm health. And so some really great ways that we can start to, you know, have men look at their health in a he, in in a different way that in can increase the health of their sperm. And so one of the most impactful things that I really believe in is diet. And you know, if we, we, I kind of talked about it, you know, the last episode, but you know, it's kind of like why has sperm got, you know, gone down so much? And I do believe a lot of it has to come through diet. I mean back, you know, how many years ago women were at home, they were cooking whole foods, you know, there wasn't so much processed foods. And nowadays there's processed foods, there's highly processed foods, there's a ton of trans fats, foods that are all really bad for overall health and sperm health, you know, trans fats that are found in processed foods and fried foods increase inflammation. Inflammation is the hallmark of any disease in that it damages cells. And so when you look at diet, you really want to look at a diet that is, has good Omega-3 fatty acids. It has good amounts of lean proteins, variety of fruits and vegetables. That's why I love the Mediterranean diet. I've been kind of tooting it for years, but when we kind of, I wanna break down kind of certain foods and the overall arching diet, and then I wanna go into supplements and then I want to kind of also talk about some other factors that can help to increase sperm health. And so one of the things that when we look at, when you look at, you know, diet is first of all, variety is really important. Don't eat the same thing every day. More variety in, in your food means more nutrients and different types of nutrients. And so, you know, having something that is like high nutrient dense, so not processed foods, eating actual whole foods if you can cook, that's even better. And foods that are low in inflammation that really help to support firm health. And so if you look at a man in like we kind of talked about those trans fats that are found in, you know, fried foods that increase inflammation. They lower testosterone and they damage sperm if you replace it with really good omega threes that are found in fishes and nuts and seeds and oils. The studies have shown that a higher DHA level that are found in these Omega-3 fatty acids tend to have a better outcome in sperm morphology, the shape and the overall function of the, of the sperm. So that's really important when it comes down to proteins, proteins are building blocks. Those amino acids that make up proteins are very important for sperm health and development. So the higher protein intake is actually linked to better sperm count morphology and volume studies have shown that inadequate amounts of foods proteins have shown lower sperm concentration. And so lean meats, fishes, nuts, seeds, beans, a really great source of protein is really important. When we look at carbs, you know, kind of the white processed carbs we wanna stay away from, they increase blood sugar and then that leads to the release of insulin and that could lead to kind of a blood insulin resistance that is not good for testosterone. It also leads to inflammation. And so you want kind of slower type of carbs in the body. More from whole grains. And whole grains help are essential actually for sperm DNA integrity, testosterone regulation as well as they improve count immotility. They have a lower glycemic index so they regulate blood sugar much better and it kind of prevents these insulin spikes. And so sources of like whole grains would be quinoa and brown rice is really good. Oats are really good. Bulgar is really good. Kind of moving on to fruits and vegetables, that's probably when I kind of look at someone's diet, I really like the protein. I like, you know, whole grains, but I do like a lot of vegetables and some fruits. Fruits and vegetables are really important because first of all, if we go back to just that color of rainbow, different colors have different vitamins which are really important. They have prebiotics and probiotics that are very important for the gut. So not only is the the food intake, it's the, the, the strength of the gut that's very important when you're looking at sperm health. You want a good, you know, gut in order to break down and absorb these nutrients in a bloodstream. But fruits and vegetables in particular are high in antioxidants. And I kind of covered this last time in that our body naturally has like free radicals that are released even in digestion. It's just like, you know, throughout the day, cell maintenance, you know, our, our body's also giving off inflammation and free radicals go in and they, they're not good for cells, they damage cells and antioxidants go in and they kind of fight off these free radicals and they preserve the cell more, which is very important when it comes to fertility health in both men and women. And so fruits and vegetables are high in antioxidants. They have different types of a variety of nutrients in them. They reduce inflammation which is very important and they are essential for sperm health and they reduce oxidative stress and as well as boost testosterone production. And so berries, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries are really good. They're either high in vitamin C, flavanoids. Pomegranate’s really good. Kiwi is a great, is also a great resource for vitamin C. Cherries reduce inflammation. They also can boost sperm function. Vegetables also play a critical role. 'cause Just like fruits you have, you know, good macronutrients and micronutrients, pro and prebiotics very important for serm and vegetables are also high in fiber and they're very important for, they support like sperm production and motility and morphology and they reduce inflammation, which again is very important when we're looking at sperm health. They detoxify the body. Dark leafy greens are really good. They're high in glutathione and folate, which is very important to in improve sperm count. You have carrots that are high in beta carotene which increase sperm motility. You have bell peppers that are loaded in vitamin C which is important for the sperm DNA and you have tomatoes as well which can improve sperm morphology. And this is just to name a few vegetables when it comes to sperm health. You know, when you also going back to those proteins, the lean meats and fishes and beans and nuts are really important with the omega threes. The nuts and seeds are really great. So when you kind of look at diet in, in men, if a male has a diet that's say high in red meat and pastas and low in vegetable intake, he drinks, you know, alcohol like five days a week, you know, a couple beer glasses of beer might be overweight. You know, that type of diet is gonna be high inflammation for one. Not that nutrient dense, low fiber intake, not really any an like antioxidants. So right then and there I can tell okay there's probably more inflammation there that we have to clear. And overall the sperm health is probably not getting as much nutrients or the entire body isn't much as possible. And so that's something I always tell patients we control and things we can't control. We can't control diet's one thing that we can control.And moving on to, you know, outside the diet there's certain essential nutrients that are very important when it comes to diet. I really believe in a good gut, really good diet. And I do think supplements are important overall. I'd like it to come from, you know, the diet, but supplements are exactly that - they supplement. And when it comes to fertility health, I highly believe in certain types of supplements. So I'm gonna go over those. Zinc, which is essential for sperm production and motility. It is also very important for testosterone production. Zinc is found in pumpkin seeds, lentils and oysters ate reduces the sperm DNA and it's found in dark leafy greens, avocados and citrus fruits as well as lentils. Vitamin C which we talked about. Very powerful antioxidant both for male and female fertility improves sperm count motility and morphology and it prevents oxidative stress. Vitamin D is very important. It boosts testosterone and also improves sperm function. So vitamin D is something it's a little hard to get. Sardines are actually very high in vitamin D, but I do tell people to go out in the sun without SPF for like 10 minutes between 10 and two, like get your vitamin D. We actually do need the sun. We just don't want over exposure to the sun. Co-Enzyme Q is really good. It supports sperm energy and motility as, as well as overall health. It's really good for the heart. You can find co-enzyme Q and fatty fishes and seeds and nuts and meats. And again there's Omega-3 fatty acids that we talked about. Really important for sperm quality, it reduces inflammation and omegas are found in fatty fishes and flax seeds, olive oil, walnuts, chia seeds and then selenium is a really good nutrient, improves motility of sperm and it reduces DNA fragmentation. It's a great antioxidant. Sources of foods are Brazil nuts, seafood, eggs, whole grains, A-carnitine which you've probably heard about, enhances sperm movements, that motility of the sperm and that's found in meat and dairy and avocados and nuts. Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant that improves sperm morphology and the motility of the sperm and tomatoes, peppers, watermelon and pink grapefruit are actually really good sources of lycopene. And then you have your B vitamins which are really important that actually supports sperm production and it reduces DNA fragmentation and damage and that is found in meats and eggs. Dark leafy greens and bananas. If a man is vegetarian, that's something that's really important to supplement because it oftentimes is found in meats and NAC or an acetylcysteine, I love this supplement. It supports antioxidant defenses and reduces sperm. DNA damage. You could find it in eggs and garlic and onions. And so those are some of the, like the good sources of vitamins when it and nutrients when it comes to sperm health. And so that's something that I will, if people are trying to get pregnant and when I am speaking to a man I will put them on these types of supplements to enhance, enhance sperm health and other lifestyle factors. I kind of dove into this in the last episode about alcohol and smoking. Those are very bad for sperm health in that it increases inflammation, it's destructive to the DNA in all parameters of concentration, motility and morphology. It reduces. And so that's really important to, basically when it comes to alcohol, I have patients limit their alcohol intake and help them to quit smoking 'cause that's just not good overall.
And also other types of things like exercise. So it's kind of like when you look at these different lifestyle parameters, it's diet, it's exercise, it's sleep, it's stress. Exercise is very important. Overweight men can, you know, with adipose tissue that can give off inflammation, which again is very destructive to cells. And so also being overweight can also convert testosterone to estrogen. So oftentimes there is kind of a hormone imbalance. So a good healthy BMI is very important when it comes to overall health and reflected in sperm health. And so we start out with diet and when we move on to exercise, exercise is very important. Now with exercise, you know, over exercising or too much high intensity isn't good because that can increase cortisol levels, which can throw off hormones and testosterone. But moderate exercise and high intensity in limited stages is good. As well as yoga is really good to really help with, you know, you're still moving, it's increasing blood flow but really good for stress. And so exercise is actually really important. It increases blood flow, it can reduce stress, but we don't wanna go overboard and we don't wanna go under board with that. Other types of things is are the testes they, you know, they're the scrotum’s outside actually of our core body. And there there's a reason being is because it, it's 2% cooler than the rest of the body. So there is temperature regulation, you know, there's testicular temperature. The sperm doesn't want to be overheated. And so I think a lot of people have heard like, don't wear tidy whitey or saunas or, or hot tubs you want to avoid. And so that's really important. I think people have heard of, you know, people biking too much. Again, that testicular heat when men are overweight, sometimes even that adipose tissue, that body fat can insulate the testes and increase the temperature. And so overall just avoiding if you're trying to get pregnant, avoiding saunas, avoiding hot tubs. I've often told men who are cyclists, you know, to cut down on that. So that's really important just in terms of that testicular health, you know, wearing briefs instead of tighty-whities. Also getting up. I think that's really important and walking around. People will sit at their desk for hours upon hours. Another thing that's I think very huge are laptops. They do emit heat. And so I'd usually tell patients to get those cushions that have a hardened surface to put, you know, your laptop on there or on a desk so it's not directly on your lap. And then other things that are really important that we can control is hydration. And I know it's so simple and I know people say, oh just, you know, hydrate, it's healthy for you. But it's oftentimes like, okay, but what's the why behind it? And I think the why is really important for people to understand a deeper meaning of these things in order to increase health. And so, you know, sperm is in a fluid and so if a man's dehydrated for one, it can affect that fluid. It can thicken the fluid, which is not great for sperm. It can also change the pH of the fluid and make the sperm more acidic, which is not good for fertilization. And so, you know, water's really important. It, it's a detoxifier, it cools the body. It does so many things for enhancing health. So simply hydrating is really important. I'm really big on, I tell my patients this all the time 'cause I'm actually not someone that gets thirsty or really remembers to drink water. So I have a, you know, a glass water bottle with measurements. And that's something that's really important. I always tell my patients that are trying to get paved, both male and female don't drink out of plastic water bottles. Even the hard ones. I'm not fans of get, you know, either metal or glass and never heat up anything in plastics. Plastics do mimic estrogen and so it's not really great for sperm health. Other things that people may not know about that actually was something in Chinese medicine that I learned a while ago and I didn't again really know the why until recently. A man should twice a week and it can be a little bit more but we don't wanna overdo it and we don't wanna underdo it. And there's the reason being, if a man is not, it's like a pipe. If he's not, that sperm gets kind of bunched up and can have an effect on the motility and the morphology. But then again, if a man jaculates too much it can be depleting. And so, you know, this gets a little tricky when people are trying to get pregnant. My patients are always like, okay, when do we, when should we do it? When should you know? It gets almost stressful. And so I always tell people like the week before, a couple times a week when you're leading up to ovulation, I'm okay with you know, man and then in that fertile zone like either every other day or they, then you, you take off a day in that fertile zone a couple times that week. I'm okay with that. But in general, you know, again we don't wanna overdo it and we don't wanna underdo it. We wanna have enough sperm build up in those three months and also release. But again, you don't want a depleted state. So then when you're trying to get pregnant, it's not optimal or fertility. Other things are environmental. I mean obviously we can see in urban areas with higher pollution, if a man is in a, an environment that he is outside, a construction worker is going to have a different type of environment than someone that is in an office. So you know, there's certain things that we can control and certain things we can't. But some people I have wear face masks in certain environments. If you are inside, make sure you know, you know, good air filters are really good or opening windows if there is clean air. Really important. I think we forget that we are inhaling things and that can make a difference in our health and overall health and other things. I mean, so I'm an acupuncturist and this is kind of my field in terms of overall health and fertility health and so there's much that acupuncture in herbs do when it comes down to a male factor fertility, the beauty of it is, is that acupuncture, it's very customized. So you know, when people come to me for fertility or men come to me, you know, it's first of all understanding their whole health. So I'll go into diet and sleep and lifestyle and alcohol intake and stress, libido. Can they sustain an erection? I mean all these different factors 'cause it's kind of like okay, they're giving off clues as to what is going on internally in the body. And then so certain points that are specified in order to really help to build that body back up and increase sperm health, acupuncture reduces cortisol. So it's really nice. It helps to relax someone which is more very important. Increases blood flow, which is very important. Testicular blood flow to improve sperm health. It also reduces inflammation, which is really important for sperm health. So I usually tailor that with herbs. I'm an herbalist, I'm not big on people just going out and getting herbs on the internet. You know, herbs are very specific to the person and individual and pattern that's represented.
Herbs come in formulas and so I'll take a specific formula and I'll tweak it. But there's so many different types of herbs that they've been used for thousands of years that really help to kind of promote health of the body and health of the sperm. There's certain ones that are really good and I'm gonna name a few ashwagandha, which is really great. It boosts sperm count and motility studies have shown that it can increase 167% sperm count over a certain amount of time. Also dependent on what kind of quality that the troga is can increase testosterone and it can reduce stress and cortisol, which is really nice. Other types areginseng which boost testosterone and sperm quality and increases nitric acid which helps better flow also reduces oxidative stress. Reek actually helps to also increase sperm count and testosterone enhances a strength and performance and overall sperm health, as I said before, there's so many different herbs. I usually use them in a formula base, pendant on, on, you know the constitution and what's going on with my patient. You know, and as we spoke about, like I look at it this way too when, you know, when we're looking at overall health and making changes, I think it's really important both men and women because when they're trying to get pregnant they can be stressed out. And of course Rena, you go through this every day talking to your patients. I really like to focus on things being optimistic and I want people to enjoy what they're eating. I want people to enjoy their life and going out and getting fresh air and, and looking at, you know, overall health in a really nice light in, in increasing, you know, their sperm health.
Rena: Oh Deb, that was fantastic. I was just kind of sitting and enjoying the ride that was so informative. I think you touched upon so many important things and I mean I hope the general takeaway is everything you've suggested I think is so accessible for people to do and to make, you know, changes whether it's a diet, add in some supplements, do some acupuncture, you know, get a, a desk, like a lap desk for your laptop. Everything you're saying, I think the message is there's hope, right? You know, and, and as you said, sperm generates every 90 days. So these are concrete things you can do to make changes. And I mean I was getting hungry listening to you, there's so many amazing foods you can eat. This is not some horrible, you know, recommendation that you have to live on a diet of carrot sticks for a month.
Deb: You know, one of the things I wanted to get across is really advocating for people trying to get pregnant. And again, it's, I think there's a lot, you know, when you really look at these studies and you're like, wow, sperm has decreased that amount in four decades and why aren't we paying more attention to this? Like this is huge. And really making men aware to of their, like their approach to wanting to have a family and what really great changes that they can make. And it's not just making it, I always tell people it's not just for fertility health, it is overall health. It's preventative health. Like if you can start to, if you are smoking, if you quitting, if you're drinking a lot of alcohol, let's reduce that if you're having this certain diet because you know it's just a matter of time, right? You have these certain factors, it's a matter of time that, you know, cardiovascular issues arise, increase in stroke, increase in heart attack, increase in cancer. I mean because you know you're damaging cells, you're increasing inflammation and no wonder, you know, it reflects in sperm health and as you said, like there's so much optimism knowing that we have so much that we can control and men can control and, and really looking at it in a different light and taking on that that with a different approach and saying what can I do if I wanna have children to not only improve my overall health but my sperm health.
Rena: Sure. And I think, you know, at the beginning of the episode you touched upon that male factor, infertility is a big thing. And so I think statistically speaking, infertility is usually one third female, one third male and one third unexplained. And something I deal with a lot in my practice with people's mental health is sometimes one partner, if it's a partnered couple feeling as though they're the only ones sacrificing and then the other person feeling left out. And so I think it's important to share, you know, regardless if you have a diagnosis that it's male factor or female factor unexplained, these are things, these are changes that both partners can make in a relationship for the larger picture of family building. And so this really is a way for people to work as a team, change your diet, change your lifestyle, and to really do this together. Which I think sometimes really comes up as an issue in couples with how to have both people feel involved.
Deb: Yes, you're exactly right. I find a lot of women come to my practice and it's sometimes hard to get the male counterpart in there. And I think that, especially if it's coming from a, you know, a woman of like, well you have to change your diet, you know, and sometimes they don't know what to do, but you're exactly right. I think that just kind of normalizing this and I think that having that information out and so men can understand what changes that they can make that really can improve the quality of their life and that they can also work as a team with their partner in in family building
Rena: And just overall quality of life in general. As you said, it's not just about sperm health, but all those, these changes you're suggesting are just how to just live a life and have to do with longevity.
Deb: Exactly. Exactly.
Rena: So thank you so much for coming on and sharing your wisdom. This was fabulous. Any other parting thoughts to leave our listeners with before we wrap?
Deb: Oh gosh, my parting thought is, I've been thinking about this recently. I think sometimes women come in trying to do everything perfectly. Like the checklist, the checklist, the checklist. And I've kind of backed off a little bit and kind of what I told you and really come from a place of when you're looking to get pregnant, let's enjoy this process. Like, let's enjoy cooking with your husband, going on a hike, getting some fresh air, really. And even with men it can get really stressful and finding that love for one another and doing things that you enjoy in life. And I think really taking this on in a different way of really like, okay, let's kind of get healthy together instead of finding like this is another chore that we have to do. So I've been having a lot of those talks lately with patients and even coming to me, it's like checking off a list. It's like let's get, you know, into a place where you're you and this is gonna happen for you guys, you know? So I think my parting thought is if you are struggling with that fertility journey to know, first of all, so many people are struggling, but it doesn't have to be another job. Find you in it. Find what you love in your life. Go on a weekend trip with your husband or wife or partner. If you're alone, go out with friends. Don't forget kind of you in this process. And I think that's really important when it comes down to, 'cause I think our fertility health, it's not just what we eat or this and that. I do think it also comes from a place of, of happiness and I think that's important for our overall body. So those are my parting thoughts.
Rena: I love that. And I would add to that too, something I talk about with patients a lot is the idea that they have to accept who they are right now. And so before you were trying to conceive, maybe you were running marathons and staying up late and indulging a water a little or meeting out, whatever, but now you're in a different place, so maybe you need to do more walking, maybe you need to focus more on anti-inflammatory foods, but this isn't you forever, but this is you right now and it's how to instead of barreling through a process, just thinking you're tacking it onto your already busy life to stop, pause, be mindful and how do I let this flow into my life instead of try to shove it in.
Deb: Yes. I love it. We're saying basically the same thing, right?
Rena: Exactly. Well I'm so grateful to have you on and if you remember from last time, we like to wrap our episodes with a gratitude. So I just said mine that I'm grateful to have you on. Really, it's such a pleasure. You're such a wealth of information and knowledge. So thank you so much. And what about you?
Deb: I am grateful that I met you and I'm so grateful that you invited me on these episodes. I'm really excited and I'm excited to kind of partner together and yeah, the work that you do is so important and I'm, I'm really grateful that I got to meet you and and share my information.
Rena: Likewise, I think we're a power couple if I do so.
Deb: We are!
Rena: Mind and body. Two things that are so important, not just for fertility, but for living a balanced, happy life. So super grateful for amazing practitioners in the field also, but the same mindset.
Deb: Yay. Awesome. Thank you so much Rena, I appreciate it.
Rena: Thanks Deb.
Dara: Thank you so much for listening today and always remember - practice gratitude, give a little love to someone else and yourself, and remember, you are not alone. Find us on Instagram @fertility_forward and if you're looking for more support, visit us at www.rmany.com and tune in next week for more Fertility Forward.