L-Carnitine

So it appears as though this one is a biggy.

There are a lot of studies out there into L-Carnitine and as far as i can see, all of them conclude the same thing, that L-Carnitine not only has antioxidant properties, but also plays a crucial (yet poorly understood) role in the formation of sperm (as far as i can tell, it appears to be primarily related to sperm motility / energy).

One study simply conducted a test into the levels of Carnitine found in the sperm of fertile & non fertile men, and they found a significantly higher amount of Carnitine in the fertile samples;

"The level of free L-carnitine in the seminal plasma of the fertile men was significantly higher than that of the infertile (P < 0.01). The lower the sperm concentration, the weaker the sperm vitality, the more significant the difference"

After searching for 'sources of carnitine', i found that its most commonly found in red meats like Beef and pork, neither of which i consume on a regular basis, so it follows that i might have low levels of Carnitine in my system which could be contributing to my poor sperm morphology.

One study had this result with 1500mg of L-Carnitine mixed with various antioxidants;

"Semen analysis data showed a significant increase in concentration, motility, vitality and morphology parameters"

But its this study which i found particularly interesting, it gave 156 people 1000mg of Carnitine a day for 3 months, and this was the result;

A significant uptick in all parameters, but its greatest impact was on morphology, so this one seems like a no brainer, its definitely something i need to add to the collection.