Chapter XI
How to Treat Infertility With Minerals
1. Calcium
Calcium besides is vital in maintaining strong bone density , it also helps to increase the function of heart in blood circulation, resulting in increasing blood flow to the reproductive organ, thus promoting natural fertility.
2.Copper
Coper is important in neuro transmitting information between grain cells and regulating the hormone production of the glands. Deficiency or high level of copper disrupts these processes, leading to hormone imbalance and nervous tension, thus lessening the chance of fertility.
3. Zinc
Zinc besides is important in treating enlarged prostate, it also helps to strengthen the testes in sperm production with the assistance of testosterone, resulting in increasing the quality of sperm. Deficiency of zinc causes low levels of testosterone, thus increasing the risk of sexual dysfunction and poor sperm quality.
4. Iron
Iron besides is vital for the absorption of oxygen from the lung, it also helps to increase nutrients to the body and induce ovulation, leading to natural conception. Deficiency of iron may increase the risk of miscarriage and birth defect.
5. Magnesium
Magnesium helps to protect our body against cardiovascular diseases and immune dysfunction, thus increasing blood flow to the reproductive organs and strengthening the immune function in fighting against cell oxidation, thereby preventing infertility caused by blood stagnation and promoting healthy sperm quality and count.
6. Manganese
It is said that deficiency of manganese not only causes the low sperm count and quality, but also increases the risk of testicular degeneration.
7. Selenium
Selenium is important to prevent sperm oxidation, thereby increasing the sperm quality and deceasing the risk of abnormal cells growing into reproductive organs including endometriosis and fibroids.
A. Calcium
I. How calcium effects fertility
1. Neutralizing stomach acid
Calcium is vital to helps the digestive system in maintaining the right levels of stomach acid, thereby reducing the risk of diarrhoea and increasing the system in absorbing vital vitamins and minerals, resulting in lessening the risk of infertility caused by nutrients deficiency.
2. Blood vessel expansion
It also helps to stimulate the blood muscle to expanse, thereby, decreasing the over working heart and lowering the high blood pressure and increasing the blood flow to the body. including the abdominal organs.
3. Insulin
Calcium also plays an important roles in insulin secretion from pancreas, because this secretion cannot occur without the existence of calcium. If calcium in the exterior fluid surrounding insulin secretion cells namely, B (beta) cells in the islet of langerhans, is removed or the calcium channels are blocked, insulin secretion is also blocked as well, leading to insulin imbalance, causing irregular menstrual period in women and lower sperm quality in men.
4. Transmitting information between nervous cells
Calcium also is vital for improving the functions of brain cell in transmitting information between themselves and our body glands. Deficiency of calcium may distort these function, thus increasing the nervous tension and hormone imbalance, leading to over production of certain hormones that decrease the chance of fertility
5. Healthy bone and muscle
Since pregnancy require a lot of energy as welling as strong bone and muscle to carry the baby to full term, thereby, a woman with a healthy bone and muscle is necessary to trigger the brain function in thinking of the readiness of reproductive organs for fertilization.
II. Risks and side effects
1. High levels of calcium in the blood ( hypercalcemia ) may impair kidney function
2. High levels of calcium may reduce the absorption of essential minerals, including iron, zinc, magnesium, and phosphorus
3. It may interact with several types of medication
4. Deficiency of potassium may cause higher urinary calcium excretion from the kidney.
B. Copper
I. How copper effects fertility
1. Immunity
Copper is vital in maintaining the production of antibodies and white blood cells as well as antioxidant enzymes, thereby increasing the immune system in fighting against infection and inflammation and preventing the immune abnormal function of antibody antigen production.
2. Enzyme production
Low levels of copper may alter enzyme systems in regulating the reproductive function in offspring production, leading to decreasing of the chance of fertility caused by sexual libido and low quality sperm production.
3. Nervous symptoms
Since our brain requires certain amount of copper in transmitting information. Deficiency of copper increases the risk of stress, resulting in over production of certain hormones ( adrenaline and serotonin), leading to nervous tension including emotional and physical stress.
4. Anaemia
Although zinc is important for the reproductive health, overdose of zinc may cause copper deficiency, leading to low red blood count and decreasing the blood function in oxygen absorption, thus increasing the risk of blood and nutrients deficiency, causing irregular ovulation in women and lower quality of sperm in men.
II. Side effects and risks
1. Over dose of copper is toxic and may cause unexplained infertility
2. Intake of copper supplements may increase the levels of gastric acids.
3. Over dose of copper for prolong period of time may cause liver and kidney diseases.
C. Zinc
I. How zinc effects fertility
1. Nervous system
Zinc is vital for braincells in transmitting information between themselves and glands, thereby decreasing the risk of nervous tension and abnormal function glands in production of certain hormone. resulting in lessening nervous symptoms and increasing the chance to conceive.
2. Enlarged prostate
Zinc is proven to help in reducing the size of enlarged prostate in men, resulting in restoring the width of the urinary tract and maintaining proper fluid that help to improve the sperm ejaculation and prevent retrograde ejaculation as well as sperm count.
3. Cell growth
Zinc is vital for female fertility, besides promoting proper cell division, a process critical to the earliest stages of conception and fetal development, it also helps to regulate normal cell growth, resulting in lessening the risk of endometrial adhesion and implants, fibroids, cyst, etc.
which may interfere with egg fertilization.
4. Circulatory system
Study show that zinc is vital trace mineral for a healthy heart, it not only helps to lower the levels of cholesterol, but also increase the blood absorption of oxygen. resulting in increasing blood flow to the entire body, including the reproductive organs, thereby enhancing fertility.
5. Immunity
Zinc also helps to increase immune system infighting against infection and inflammation caused by invasion of bacteria and virus, thereby decreasing the risk of reproductive infection and increasing the chance of fertility.
II. Risks and side effects
Over dose of zinc may cause
1. Copper, iron and magnesium deficiency
2. Risk of immune dysfunction and low levels of good cholesterol (HDL).
D. Iron
I. How mineral- iron effects fertility
1. Increasing blood flow
Iron not only is necessary for the fetus to grow, it also plays a vital role for women who try to conceive because it helps to stimulate the production of red blood cells, thus increasing the oxygen absorption into the blood stream, resulting in lessening the risk of anemia.
2. Energy
It also helps to turn glucose into energy by stimulating the production of hemoglobin which is a essential element in red blood cells for carrying oxygen from the lungs to the cells in the body. In each cell, oxygen is used to release maximum energy from the food that you eat. Deficiency of iron causes low level of hemoglobin, leading fatigue, dizziness and nervous tension.
3. DNA synthesis
Iron is required by ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) and other enzymes involved in cell division. RNR plays a critical role in regulating the total rate of DNA synthesis so that DNA to cell mass is maintained at a constant ratio during cell division and DNA repair. Deficiency of iron distorts the ratio, leading to DNA being damaged, causing birth defects and miscarriage.
4. Menstruation
For women with heavy menstruation (blood loss more than certain amounts) may cause blood deficiency and iron loss. If the blood and iron loss can not be replaced, it may cause lower red blood cell resulting in anaemia that can disturb the function of reproductive function in fertilization.
5. Myelin
Myelin is essential for the proper functioning of the nervous system. Since iron help in myelin formation and maintenance, deficiency of iron causes disrupting signals between the brain and other parts of the body, leading to double vision, memory loss, difficulty in controlling bowel movements or urination, fatigue, etc, thereby lessening the reproductive system to maintain it's normal function, resulting in low quality sperm count and infertility.
II. Risks and side effects
1. Prolong period with high levels of iron may damage the liver
2. If Overdose, it
a ) Is toxic to the body
b) May weaken heart beat
c) Causes buildup of fluids in the lungs
d) Causes Gastrointestinal system disorder e) causes Heart and Blood problems
f) Nervous disorder g) Skin problems
E. Magnesium
I. How magnesium effects fertility
1. Healthy heart
Magnesium is necessary for a healthy heart. Besides helping to regulate the heartbeat or heart rhythm symptoms including palpitations, it also prevents the formation of blood clots in the blood vessels of the heart and stabilizes the blood pressure level, leading to a health heart in regulating the blood flow to the body, including the reproductive organs.
2. Diabetes
Since magnesium plays an important role in carbohydrate metabolism, it helps to regulate the production of insulin by pancreas, leading to normal levels of blood sugar in the bloodstream, resulting in decreasing the risk of infertility symptoms caused by fluctuation of blood glucose.
3. Working with calcium
While magnesium helps to relax muscle, calcium woks in the opposite direction by tightening them. Since they work together to control the movement of our body's muscles, imbalance of magnesium and calcium causes muscle tension, leading to muscle spam, muscle fatigue and muscle soreness including the reproductive muscle, thereby decreasing the chance of fertility.
4. Hypertension
Magnesium not only helps to stimulate production of vasodilator prostacyclins and nitric oxide but also alters vascular responses to vasoactive agonists that helps to modulate vascular tone and reactivity. Deficiency of magnesium may cause irregular vascular function in controlling the heart muscle in relaxing and tightening, leading to hypertension.
5. Menstrual cycle
Magnesium is considered as main constituents of nerve fibres. Deficiency causes muscle spam in the abdominal region, leading to menstrual cramp and interferes with the proper function of the nervous system in receiving massage from other nervous cells, leading to nervous tension and over production of certain hormones, resulting in highly active, sleeplessness and fatigue and distorting the normal process of the reproductive organs in production of sperm and egg.
6. Potassium
As we mentioned in previous article, magnesium plays an important role in regulating the levels of of potassium which is vital for the lymphatic function in controlling the body fluid. Deficiency of magnesium causes abnormal levels of potassium, leading to water retention that increases the risk of PMS and reduces the chance of conception in women.
II. Side effects and risks
1. Over dose of magnesium may causes diarrhoea
2. Deficiency of magnesium with high levels of calcium may increase the risk of kidney stone
F. Manganese
I. How manganese effects fertility
1. Energy
Manganese plays an important role in carbohydrate metabolism, thereby increasing the transformation of glucose to energy for our body to use for daily activity. Deficiency causes nervous system including fatigue, tiredness and loss of concentration and dizziness.
2. Synthesis of fatty acids
It is also vital to helps our body in synthesis of essential fatty acids. Deficiency of manganese increases the risk of over production of certain hormone of the prostaglandins family, leading to over active uterus, thus decreasing the chance of fertility.
3. Superoxide dismutase
Acting as an antioxidant. it helps to improve the immune system in fighting against cell oxidation, thereby decreasing the risk of irregular cell growth in the reproductive organs that interfere with the natural process of fertilization.
4. Mineral amino acids chelate
Manganeses also have a function in maintaining the levels of minerals in the body, thereby decreasing the risk of mineral deficiency such as magnesium, iron and calcium, resulting in decreasing the risk of infertility caused by deficiency of iron or other trace metals.
5. Enhancing bio-assimilation
It helps to enhance the bio assimilation in absorbing vital minerals and vitamins or other chemicals from food within the gastrointestinal tract by breaking down chemicals and alternating the chemicals in the bloodstream by the liver or cellular secretions, thus increasing the nutrients to the body, thus enhancing fertility.
II. Risks and side effects
1. It is said that imbalance levels of manganese may cause sperm quality and quantity.
2. Over exposure to industrial manganese increases the risk of Parkinson- like problems such as tremors and impaired movement and damaged nervous cells.
3. Overdose of manganese also increase the risk of a) Migraine-headaches
b) PMS
c) Dizziness and depression d) Mental illness
e) Liver disease f) Etc.
G. Selenium
I. How selenium effects fertility
1. Antioxidant
It is one of antioxidants that helps to strengthen the immune system system, thus guarding our body against the bacteria and virus invasion and preventing the immune system abnormal function in recognizing sperm as foreigner and in producing antibody antigen to attack them.
2. Miscarriage and birth defects
Selenium is proven to prevent chromosome breakage that causes miscarriages.
3. Reproductive enhancer in men
Good levels of selenium are also essential to maximize sperm formation. A study conducted at the University of Padua in Italy shows that selenium helps to prevent oxidation of sperm cell , thus increasing the sperm quality and quantity.
4. working synergistic with vitamin E
Study shows that selenium works together with vitamins E not only can prevent the forming of free radicals but also increase it' s effectiveness in preventing and inhibiting the development of breast cancer.
5. Hypothyroidism
Selenium is essential for maintaining the thyroid glands in secreting thyroid hormone. Deficiency of selenium causes hypothyroidism, leading to abnormal weight gain that increases the risk of insulin fluctuation, leading to poor egg and sperm quality.
6. Intra cranial pressure symptoms
Intra cranial pressure is the pressure in the cranium, selenium helps to maintain the right levels of pressure exerts on the brain's intra cranial blood circulation vessels, thereby decreasing the intra-cranial pressure symptoms such as headaches, nausea, speech disorders, Jacksonian seizures, etc. thus reducing the risk of the nervous system causes of infertility.
II. Side effects and risks
1. It is toxic, if overdose
2. If over dose. it causes
a) Gastrointestinal disorders
b) Hair loss, sloughing of nails, f
c) nervous tension such as fatigue and irritability d) Neurological damage.