Also known as: ascorbic acid
A powerful antioxidant, vitamin C may protect sperm from damage. Supplementation for two months was associated with significant benefits for fertility: sperm count doubled, motility increased by 90%, and normal morphology increased by 50%.
Reactive oxygen species (ROS), or “free radicals,” are byproducts of normal metabolism, produced constantly within the body. While in healthy individuals, ROS levels are naturally kept low, unhealthy lifestyle choices, diseases, pollutants, and other stressors can lead to high levels of ROS. When ROS levels get too high, the body is placed in a state called oxidative stress, which can promote inflammation, injury, higher risk of chronic disease, and damage to sperm.
Vitamin C’s antioxidant effect can counteract the impact of ROS on the body, potentially improving sperm health. To that point, one study found that lower levels of vitamin C in semen correlate with poorer sperm morphology. That same research also found that infertile men were more likely than fertile men to have low levels of vitamin C in their semen.
One study found that taking 1,000mg supplements twice a day for two months was associated with doubled sperm counts, as well as motility increased by over 90%; sperm with normal morphology increased by 50%. Another study found that men with infertility who were assigned 250mg of vitamin C twice daily for three months as a male fertility vitamin had significantly better normal motility and morphology values than the control group.
Treatment with antioxidants such as vitamins C and E has also been associated with reduced sperm DNA fragmentation (genetic damage to sperm) and improved outcomes from fertility treatment.
For example, in one small study, men who had already undergone one failed ICSI cycle were prescribed 2 months of C and E. For 29 of the 37 men, sperm genetic health improved after treatment, and the post-treatment ICSI cycle showed a marked increase in pregnancy rates, indicating vitamin C may protect sperm from damage when used as a male fertility vitamin.