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Infertility is defined in the medical world as the inability to achieve a pregnancy after at least a year of trying. Researchers have been searching for answers on what causes infertility especially in the last twenty-five years. They have narrowed it down to three main reasons: 1) that couples are waiting to get married and parenthood until their most fertile years are gone, 2) the rise in sexually transmitted diseases, 3) and a puzzling drop in the production of male sperm.
When the topic of infertility comes up, most assume it is the women first, but in forty percent of infertile couples studied the man was the one infertile. The role of the diet is not the number one cause of infertility but a healthy diet can improve the ability to conceive a child.
The failure to ovulate is the number one reason for women infertility; the diet, hormone imbalances and stress factors can cause this. For women the weight factor also has some contributions to conceiving a child. Women who are extremely obese or extremely under weight may have difficulties conceiving. For the woman that is extremely obese the body fat is closely related to estrogen levels. For the woman that is extremely under weight, they usually have problems with their menstrual cycle, causing problems in conceiving. It is advised if a woman is considering trying to conceive, to first try to obtain the ideal weight for height and age.
In the male, the main reason for infertility is low sperm count. There are many reasons from use of alcohol and tobacco to low vitamin C and low zinc intake. Alcohol and tobacco decreases the amount of sperm. The male needs vitamin C and zinc to help replenish sperm. There have been studies of men with a low sperm count, they received an adequate amount of vitamin C for three weeks and the problem was gone.
It is recommended if after one year of trying a more nutritious diet and obtaining proper weight that the couples are still having problems conceiving other test should be done.
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