Women who take a daily multivitamin tablet and men who take vitamin C supplements can significantly improve their fertility, new research indicates.
Harvard School of Public Health researchers followed 18,000 women over eight years and found that those who took a multivitamin at least six days a week had a 40% lower risk of ovulation problems leading to infertility.
Ovulation problems are the second leading cause of female infertility after blocked fallopian tubes.
"Multivitamins are packed with a large amount of nutrients so we looked at which were crucial, said Jorge Chavarro, the Harvard research fellow who led the study. "As best as we could tell, it looked as if folic acid was the nutrient that played the biggest role."
Mothers lacking in folic acid during pregnancy have an increased chance of giving birth to children with spina bifida, and all women who are pregnant or trying to conceive are advised to take supplements.
For men, too, supplementation can make a difference. Researchers at Dubai Specialized Medical Center and Research Labs studied 13 infertile males who received 1,000 mg of vitamin C each twice daily. The men ranged in age from 25 to 35 years.
Sperm counts, movement and structure each improved significantly after two months of vitamin C intake, the researchers found. They concluded that "vitamin C supplementation might improve sperm count, motility and morphology and might have a place as an additional supplement to improve semen quality towards conception."
Sources: The Independent – London, Oct 25, 2006; J Med Food. 2006 Fall;9(3):440-42