If you enjoy a couple rounds of drinks after work and a couple more before the deed, you’re doing your ejaculate a disservice. That’s because alcohol dehydrates your body, leaving it less like a slip’n’slide and more like a deserted water park. In addition to dehydrating your body, alcohol lowers sperm count and affects the quality of your sperm.

What does this mean, practically speaking? If you enjoy long rides in cars with heated seats, or steamy shifts in the sauna/steam room, or even trips to your very own hot tub time machine, give them a break. They’re not worth sacrificing your little cadets for.

Abstaining from orgasm for one or two days is all it takes, in fact, for the body to replenish its army. Beyond one or two days, your sperm is just sitting and getting old, like tuckered out reserves.

So how much zinc and folic acid should you take every day, you ask? 1 mg of folic acid and 15 mg of zinc sulfate is recommended. Always remember to take zinc in combination with folic acid. Taken alone, neither supplement had a significant bearing on sperm count.

L-Arginine L-Lysine L-Carnitine

Red beans Wild blueberries, cranberries, and blackberries Coconut water Prunes Apples (Red Delicious, Granny Smith, Gala) Artichokes[12] X Research source

Expecting fathers who smoke while trying to get pregnant may have children with higher rates of medical issues. During both conception and after, keeping the mother in a smoke-free environment is the best course of action, hands down. Smoking marijuana is a no-no, too. Marijuana is known to lower both the male hormone testosterone and sperm count. [16] X Research source

Acne and facial blemishes Heart disease such as angina and heart attack Insomnia[17] X Trustworthy Source PubMed Central Journal archive from the U. S. National Institutes of Health Go to source