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Could coffee boost sperm?Bupa investigative news - 21 October 2003 Male fertility issues were brought to the forefront recently with two papers presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. According to the two teams of researchers, marijuana harms sperm's effectiveness, while coffee aids their swimming abilities. What were the headlines?Reports of these studies appeared in a range of UK newspapers and websites, gaining headlines such as, "How to make a man full of beans", "Coffee perks up fertility levels", "Cannabis can damage fertility, say scientists", "Caffeine perks up sluggish sperm", "Coffee 'boosts male fertility'" and "Cannabis use may impair male fertility". The reports tended to either focus specifically on one of the research papers, or offer an insight into both the coffee and marijuana findings. What is the bigger picture?Both studies were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in San Antonio, Texas. In the first study, researchers at the University of Buffalo in America looked at the effects of smoking marijuana on the swimming behaviour of sperm. They tested the seminal fluid of 22 confirmed marijuana smokers who'd been smoking for an average of 5.1 years and 59 fertile men. The samples were subjected to a variety of tests, including analysis to discover their volume, sperm-count-per-unit of seminal fluid, total sperm count, percentage of sperm that were moving, velocity and sperm shape. The sperm were also assessed for an important function called hyperactivation (HA), a very vigorous type of swimming required in the final stage as the sperm approaches the egg. The team evaluated HA and velocity while the sperm was in the seminal fluid and again after it was washed and incubated, when the dead sperm were eliminated. The findings showed that both the volume of seminal fluid and the total number of sperm from marijuana smokers were significantly less than for the control group of fertile men. They also found significant differences in HA and velocity, both before and after washing. It is believed that an active ingredient in marijuana - tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) - could be causing these changes. "The sperm from marijuana smokers were moving too fast too early," explained lead researcher, Dr. Lani J Burkman. "The timing was all wrong. These sperm will experience burnout before they reach the egg and would not be capable of fertilisation." "We don't know exactly what is happening to change sperm functioning," she said, "but we think it is one of two things: THC may be causing improper timing of sperm function by direct stimulation, or it may be bypassing natural inhibition mechanisms … The bottom line is, the active ingredients in marijuana are doing something to sperm, and the numbers are in the direction towards infertility." Dr. Burkman admitted that many men who do smoke marijuana have fathered children, but said, "The men who are most affected are likely to have naturally occurring borderline fertility potential, and THC from marijuana may push them over the edge into infertility." What isn't known is how long it takes for fertility to improve after people stop smoking the drug. "THC remains stored in fat for a long period, so the process may be quite slow. We can't say that everything will go back to normal. Most men who have borderline fertility are unaware of that fact. It's difficult to know who is at risk," she said. But while marijuana had a detrimental effect on sperm, researchers from Sao Paulo University in Brazil say that drinking coffee could be beneficial. The Brazilian researchers studied 750 men waiting for vasectomies and divided them into four groups depending on how much coffee they consumed. The four groups were:
They tested the motility of the sperm - their strength and endurance while swimming towards the egg during fertilisation - and discovered that the sperm motility was much higher in men who regularly drank coffee (mild, moderate and heavy drinkers), than those who did not. Based on this finding, the researchers think that caffeine compounds might be useful in helping some men with infertility problems.
What does this mean?Dr. Iwan Lewis-Jones, senior lecturer in the University Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Liverpool Women's Hospital, and chair of the British Andrology Society, wasn't surprised by the results of the two studies. "Both those findings have been suspected in the past," he said, adding that "it's good to get some concrete evidence". "Caffeine is thought to stimulate sperm, but whether it improves pregnancy rates has not been proven," he explained. In contrast, "cannabis, nicotine and alcohol all affect sperm quality, because they've been shown to cause DNA damage to the sperm. So, yes, all this environmental factor business certainly does impinge itself on fertility." Roger Cook, from the Coffee Science Information Centre, wasn't surprised either by the news that coffee could produce a stimulating effect. "We were quite interested to see the results," he said, "as there have been other studies in the past which have suggested a similar effect."
What does this mean to me?The knowledge that activities such as smoking marijuana or drinking coffee affect sperm isn't entirely new, and it's already recognised that certain habits can cause harm or positive effects. But these findings could give rise to additional advice for men seeking to improve their fertility. "To improve fertility, men should cut out all the factors that damage sperm," said Dr. Lewis-Jones. "We have a little handout that we give out suggesting, for example, that men avoid hot baths and wear loose underwear." This is because sperm develops best at a lower temperature than the rest of the body, which is why the testes are outside of the body. Men who wear tight underwear or trousers may unwittingly be raising the temperature of the testes and lowering sperm production. Wearing looser underwear, such as boxer shorts, or loose-fitting trousers can help. Other habits that could aid the likelihood of producing healthy sperm include not smoking, drinking moderate amounts of alcohol, eating a balanced diet, relaxing and avoiding too much stress. Dr. Burkman added that, "I definitely would advise anyone trying to conceive not to smoke marijuana, and that would include women as well as men." According to the London Fertility Centre, additional factors that can cause or add to male infertility problems include: injuries to the testes, drugs such as those used for high blood pressure, diabetes, surgery of the reproductive tract, and varicose veins in the scrotum. If men do find that they have fertility problems and need treatment to help a partner conceive, it's important to remember that both partners are affected, a spokesperson for CHILD: The National Infertility Support Network stressed. "At the end of the day, they're a couple, and you have to look at in light of that. Even if it's the man who needs treatment and they have to go through, for example, ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection), the woman will still have to go through the IVF (in vitro fertilisation) process," she said. Because of this communication between partners is key as both of them will need help and support. "From an emotional standpoint, both of them will still have to bear the brunt, quite apart from the fact that they're having difficulty having a child. And men themselves often find it very difficult to talk," the CHILD spokesperson added. SummaryThese two studies add further weight to our knowledge of what might harm and what might help sperm. They may even result in more practical ways for individuals to help themselves. Hopefully the insight gained will add to the overall understanding of male fertility, and offer extra help in the development of new treatments. Links for more information
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