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Ashwagandha And Male Fertility

There is currently a lot of buzz surrounding the supposed link between ashwagandha and male fertility. This should come as little surprise, as most remedies that are said to improve male fertility or combat infertility have also been linked to side effects. As a result, many people question if there is any point in taking the risk, while ashwagandha is believed to be completely safe to use and side-effect-free.

However, despite this bold claim being proven to be true on numerous occasions, many people are still hesitant when it comes to trying ashwagandha for themselves, as it is a fairly new supplement that most people still don’t fully understand.

That is why we decided to produce the following article examining the link between ashwagandha supplementation and male fertility. We will explain exactly what ashwagandha is and how it benefits male fertility, to ensure that every man has all of the information he needs to help him decide to finally try ashwagandha for himself and experience all of the many health benefits that come with doing so.

Table of Contents

What Is Ashwagandha?

Ashwagandha is a powerful adaptogen made from the roots of an Asian evergreen shrub known by many names, including the winter cherry, withania somnifera, and Indian ginseng. Used in ayurvedic medicine and other forms of traditional medicine in Asia for centuries, it has long been said to offer a variety of health benefits for the human body, and recent clinical trials have proven that most of the claims of its supporters are true.

Scientific evidence shows it can combat anxiety, depression, stress, inflammation, arthritis, diseases, and infections, boost your testosterone and energy production and levels, improve brain and heart health and functions, enhance exercise performance, mood, and your sleep latency, cycle, and quality, regulate blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels, and help prevent or treat various other mental and physical health issues (1).

We studied all of these benefits in two articles we recently published, and they can be found here and here for anyone wanting to study them in greater depth.

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Are Male Fertility Issues Common?

Clinical Studies indicate that around 10 to 15 percent of men will experience some form of fertility issue at some point in their life, while around 7 percent of men register as completely infertile. In many cases, it is not clear exactly what is causing the issue with their fertility, but the most common culprits are hormonal imbalances, low sperm quality, stress, age, blockages in the reproductive system, a poor diet, and a sedentary lifestyle.

Ashwagandha And Male Fertility: How Does Ashwagandha Improve Male Fertility?

Boosts Testosterone Levels

Ashwagandha has been shown to help significantly increase the production and levels of testosterone, which is also known as the male sex hormone. It achieves this by improving the production of luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone, reducing stress, boosting sleep quality and energy levels, enhancing muscle growth and strength, and generally helping you enjoy a better level of overall wellness.

As higher testosterone levels have repeatedly been shown to lead to significantly improved sperm production and motility, as well as overall reproductive health, men with more testosterone in their system are far more likely to enjoy better fertility levels than those who don’t (2).

How Ashwagandha boosts Testosterone

Regulates Your Hormonal Balance

While we already mentioned the effects that ashwagandha supplementation can have on testosterone levels, that is not the only hormone it alters the production of. Ashwagandha may also help in balancing other hormones, such as cortisol, thyroid hormones, estrogen, luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and prolactin, most of which can have a notable impact on a man’s fertility and reproductive health.

By regulating the production of these hormones and keeping them all at optimal levels, ashwagandha may indirectly support improved male fertility by helping you enjoy an optimal hormonal balance (3).

Improves Sperm Count & Quality

Some research suggests that ashwagandha supplementation produces a spermatogenic effect, which means it can simultaneously increase sperm count and improve sperm quality, and may even enhance sperm motility (movement) and sperm morphology (shape), all of which are extremely important for fertility and egg fertilization.

While it is not clear exactly how ashwagandha produces its effect on spermatogenesis, all of the enhancements that it produces in this area are vital for men who are looking to maintain an optimal level of fertility (4).

Combats Oxidative Stress

Ashwagandha is an adaptogen, which means it has potent antioxidant properties that can neutralize free radicals and reduce oxidative stress and inflammation levels in the body. As oxidative stress and inflammation are known to cause damage to the sperm cells and lead to poor sperm quality, reducing the free radicals that cause both means ashwagandha can protect sperm from damage and greatly improve male fertility in the process (5).

Reduces Stress

It isn’t just oxidative stress that ashwagandha can help with either, as countless studies have shown that its adaptogenic properties also reduce the production of cortisol, which is better known as the stress hormone, and produce elevated stress and anxiety levels. Chronic stress can negatively impact fertility by interfering with hormone levels, including those involved in sperm production, and even damage sperm that has already been produced.

By reducing stress, ashwagandha may help a man maintain an optimal hormonal balance and improve his reproductive function and fertility in the process (6).

Check out our article on Ashwagandha and Stress

Improves Semen Volume

Some studies suggest that ashwagandha can increase the volume of semen that is produced during ejaculation, which is due to a combination of factors that we have already looked at, including reducing oxidative stress and improving hormone levels and sperm quality, as well as enhancing the enzyme activity within the semen.

This increase in semen volume can be very beneficial for fertility, as higher semen volume usually correlates to a larger amount of sperm being delivered, which will increase the chances of successful egg fertilization (7).