Can Alcohol Affect Male Fertility - The Truth Revealed
Health articles > Can Alcohol Affect Male Fertility - The Truth Revealed
Can Alcohol Affect Male Fertility - The Truth Revealed
There is little doubt that alcohol affects male fertility negatively. The more pertinent question is : how much alcohol is too much to threaten fertility and what damage to fertility will too much alcohol cause?
So how much is too much? Studies have shown that drinking more than four ounces of alcohol a day is bad for your reproductive system. As an example, a bottle of beer or a glass of wine contains about half an ounce of alcohol. Alcohol concentration depends largely on the kind of drink that is consumed but taking beer as a guide, 8 bottles of beer a day will give you 4 ounces of alcohol content. This is certainly going to do harm to your fertility.
Here's how alcohol actually affects
male fertility :-
1. Alcoholism (excessive consumption of alcohol) raises the
estrogen level in men. This will in turn interfere with his
hormones and sperm development. Why? Because alcohol is a toxin
that tends to kill sperm generating cells in men. Worse still,
chronic alcoholism can cause atrophy in the testicles,
gynecomastia and the lack of sexual interest.
2. Excessive alcohol consumption causes a disorder in the gonads
resulting in changes in the structure of the testicles and
decline in the T serum level. A drop in the is T serum level can
cause male infertility.
3. The toxicity of excessive alcohol can reduce sperm density or
sperm count. Typically the volume of a single ejaculate is 3
milliliters (sometimes reaching six milliliter per ejaculate)
with 120 million sperm cells per ml. But alcohol can cause a
drastic reduction in these figures. In addition, alcohol can
result in abnormalities in sperm size, shape and the sperm tail.
Sperm motility can also be affected negatively.
4. Excessive alcohol alters the regular oval head and a straight
tail of the healthy sperm cell. This change in sperm shape can
seriously compromise the viability of the spermatozoa. Also,
chronic alcoholism damages the sperm morphology that often has
irreversible effects.
(Note: Drinking too much alcohol can also cause impotence and
liver damage)
If in doubt, do a semen analysis test to determine the state of
your fertility. Sperms normally take about three months to
develop. So if you want to have your sperm analyzed, you must
abstain from sexual activity during this period to get a clearer
and more reliable reading regarding the health and the condition
of the sperm that is produced.
You don't always have to see a Urologist if you want to do semen
analysis. You can save yourself a lot of money by using a
laboratory technician instead. Another option is to use a semen
analysis test kit which can do the job for you in the privacy of
your home. You can get a good, basic information about the
health of your semen and sperm.
Just like in men, alcoholism also can also affect the
reproductive health of mothers too. Some of the causes are :
ovarian dysfunction, amenorrhea, anovulation, luteal phase
defect, hyperprolactinemia etc.
To conclude, if you are serious about getting a baby, then
curbing your drinking habit is an important consideration.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?Can-Alcohol-Affect-Male-Fertility---The-Truth-Revealed&id=688685
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