Lifestyle changes + Second test booked in!

It's now been about 3 months since the results of my first Semen analysis and the start of my new 'morphology improving' lifestyle, so I've booked myself in for the second test, I'll post the results on here once i have them in a few weeks time.

In summary, when it comes to improving sperm morphology, the key findings appear to be;

1. More antioxidants
2. Less heat

My current regimen follows these findings and is based entirely on reputable scientific studies proven to improve sperm morphology in some way;

The Current Regimen;

Supplements;
CoQ10 (300mg x2 a day)
Folic Acid (40mg x2 a day)
Vitamin C (500mg x3 a day)
Acetyl L-Carnitine (1000mg x2 a day)
Omega 3 (1000mg x3 a day)
N-Acetyl-Cysteine 700mg
Semenax - for various supplements inc;
- Zinc 30mg,
- L-Carnitine 500mg,
- Maca 400g,
- Pine Bark Extract 300mg (Pycnogenol),
- L-Arginine 250mg

Diet changes;
1 tin of Tomato soup per day (13mg Lycopene)
3/4 Brazil nuts a day (200ug Selenium, 1mg Vitamin E)
2 Cups Green Tea
Lots of Popcorn (Very high in antioxidants!) No more crisps

Lots of Dark chocolate (80%+ cocoa) No more mars bars

Lots of Goji Berries (extremely high in antioxidants!)
1 bowl of Porridge a day. No more donuts
1 bottle Tomato Juice a day, no more Coca-Cola / sugar drinks

No more takeaways / Pizza / fast food / junk food, all replaced with healthy alternative (salads, soups, loads of vegetables)

Lifestyle changes;
Alcohol intake reduced 80% (no more binge drinking every weekend)
No more strong black coffee
3x 5km run a week
'ice the ball's' 1hr every day (sit on a bag of ice)
Shorts / boxers whenever possible (stay cool) 

I just wanted to share a few extra things I've noticed since starting this regimen;

• Without putting any effort into it, I've lost a stone in weight (about 6.5kg),
• It wasn't an objective of mine to lose weight (I'm 6'2" so I've always thought i could weigh a little more if anything) but I've actually dropped from 13st to 12st in the space of 3 months.
• If anything I've actually been eating a lot more food, so i can only put the weight loss down to eating more healthily and my 5km runs (which i tried to do 3x a week but actually only managed about 2x on average). 
• I've cut out things like crisps, mars bars, donuts, pizza takeaways, McDonalds etc, and replaced them all with their high antioxidant / healthy equivalent, but i certainly haven't been eating any less in terms of volume. 

• I'm sleeping a lot better
• I used to be a very light sleeper and would wake up multiple times in the night, since starting this regimen I've found that i sleep a lot more soundly.
• I put this entirely down to cutting back on Coffee and Alcohol, because nowadays whenever i go for even a few beers or have a single strong coffee, i sometimes don't sleep right for 2/3 days afterwards. It totally sends my system out of whack.

• My Memory and Focus has improved 
• This is an interesting one, I've found that I'm a little sharper at work, and a little more focused on the task at hand. I still get distracted, but not as easily as i used to.
• I think this one might be down to the Acetyl L-Carnitine, which i remember reading helps with cognitive function.

• My Sex Drive has improved 
• After nearly 2 years of trying to conceive, a part of me was thinking sex had almost become a stressful chore, and i think this was starting to impact my libido, but after 3 months of this regimen, my sex drive has gone through the roof! I no longer see sex as a stressful chore, i just want it all the time! 😁💪

I take all of these improvements as a sign that my body is now in a happier place. Hopefully we'll see this reflected in the results of the next test!

Acupuncture

Ok so the last addition to the 'sperm morphology improvement regime' relates to acupuncture.

Acupuncture is something I've always been curious about, I've had it in the past for a hip injury and it definitely 100% helped (the injury cleared up a few days after the acupuncture, coincidence? perhaps, perhaps not).

I've done some reading up on it and there does seem to be some evidence that it can also improve semen parameters.

In Chinese medicine there is a lot of talk of meridian lines & energy flows which can become blocked through things like poor lifestyle or diet. These blockages can cause health problems which can in theory lead to things like poor sperm morphology. Acupuncture combined with Chinese herbal medicine can in help to improve these energy flows, and return the body to its natural state.

In western terms, Acupuncture basically works by having loads of needles stuck into your body at key points, depending on the positioning of these needles, they basically 'sends a biomechanical signal' to the body, which causes a 'biochemical response' in the body.

There are studies here, here and a writeup here which are definitely worth reading. The general consensus appears to be that it can help improve overall sperm health.

Unfortunately a lot of the studies out there have patients receiving 2 sessions a week, acupuncture is a pricey experience, and i simply cannot afford it that frequently! However i wanted to give it a go anyway, so i booked myself in for a session.

The acupuncturist asked me a lot of questions about my health and lifestyle, took a look at my tongue and my semen analysis results, and then stuck a load of needles along my arms and legs and around my belly. She said she'd seen my kind of result before, and believed it to be primarily related to excessive heat in the body.

She theorised that a lack of 'nourishment' in my body (i.e. vitamins) probably wasn't an issue due to my high sperm count, she suspected that my lifestyle was fine, however excessive heat in the testicles was simply destroying the production process.

She suggested i go to a urologist and get checked for a Varicocele, (big vein in the testies that generate a lot or heat). Although my testies look fine to me, there could be a large problematic vein i cant see which could be causing trouble.

She also suggested i wear shorts, boxers, 'ice the balls' regularly, and don't sit down for lengthy periods of time, as this should all help cool things down and hopefully, improve the sperm morphology.