Alcohol and tobacco are taboo, for example, while fitness and healthy diets are big plusses. In a study published in the February issue of the journal Fertility and Sterility, researchers from the University of California at Berkeley and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Western Human Nutrition Research Center link low levels of folic acid with low sperm counts and density. It has been well established that women who take folic acid before and during pregnancy significantly reduce their risk of having a baby with neural tube defects such as spina bifida. Women are advised to get 400 micrograms of folic acid per day, either from dietary sources such as leafy greens, orange juice, legumes, and fortified cereals, or through vitamin supplements. The study in men measured concentrations of folic acid, a type of vitamin B, in the blood and semen of 48 subjects who were 20 to 50 years old.
Folic acid is metabolized into different forms in the body.
Wallock was working at the Western Human Nutrition Research Center at the time of the study. Based on Wallock's findings, men trying to conceive might benefit from the same daily dose of folic acid recommended for women. Folic acid also may be obtained through supplements, but Wallock recommends improving the overall diet for the other important health benefits it imparts. Goldstein says there's no harm in advising men to take a multivitamin, but he says there is no firm evidence that increasing folic acid in the diet will lead to higher sperm counts or higher fertility rates. He also says Wallock's study is limited by its small size and design.