Supplement for dh/dp

[lostinparis]

Has anyone got any suggestions for a vitamin/mineral supplement for dh to take while ttc?
As I understand it I need to pump him full of zinc, l-Carmitine, l-arginine - anything else? + can anyone recommend a brand that covers the necessities?

I have been wondering about that too but have decided to go down the natural route for Zinc at least.......Strawberries are packed with Zinc apparently so I have bought shed loads from Sainsburys and have been sneaking them into all kinds of puddings!

Good idea - forgot about going natural! So in addition to my questions below.....any suggestions on foods with a high zinc content?

Been hunting around a bit on that front too, no work done today but what the hell!

Apparently the dark meat of chicken is good, as are peanuts, peanut butter, and legumes. You could always try the good old fashioned Oysters, but personally the peanut butter sounds more appealing!

By the way, low-protein diets and vegetarian diets tend to be low in zinc according to some sites I've found.

MALE
lack of zinc is associated with lower testosterone levels.
taking zinc can have a considerable impact on sperm count and sperm motility and male fertility.
zinc supplements extends life span of ejaculated sperm.
in one recent study...couples who were 5yrs ttc...men took 60mg zinc per day...half of couples pregnant within 7 weeks!
Take at least 22mg per day. you will have better success with a good quality brand such as Solgar, ask in health shop for one which is "CHELATED" as it is much much easier to absorb.

FEMALE
deficiency in zinc is linked with impaired hormone sectetion, abnormal ovarian development, frequent miscarriage, prolonged gestation and still births.

ALSO if you're interested:
Take Solgar Prenatal vitamins while ttc (and during pregnancy and breastfeeding). contrains right amount of everything including 400microgram folic acid. I took this even though i already have a good diet.

a herbal remedy called Agnus Castus(or called chaste berry). It helps with production of hormones in last 2 weeks of menstrual cycle. this is when egg is prepared for fertilisation and womb is prepared for pregnancy. acts on pituitary gland. increases level of progesterone relative to oestrogen. STOP TAKING AS SOON AS SUSPECT PREGNANT.

the best food source of zinc is pumpkin seeds

a good all-round multi vitamin for dh is Solgar VM75 (1 a day) or Solgar VM2000 (even better, but is 2 a day)

Thanks for all the info. While surfing on the net I've come across a supplement called proxeed - does anyone know if you can buy this in any shops or is it only available online?

do you know what the ingredients are.???
..sometimes you can get a similar product with same ingredients but different name. also some companies call the same product by different name in US and UK.

Does anyone have any good ideas for providing the necessary vitamins etc in everyday food? My dh takes som many supplements and pills at the moment I can't face asking him to add another thing to his morning ritual......

Gloworm - it contains l-carmitine and l- anginine (may be spelling these wrong as I now can't read my writing from a few days ago!).

you can buy l-carnitine and l-arginine in any good health shop, may have to buy 2 seperate pills though.
A word of caution...dont use l-arginine if prone to cold sores as it feeds the herpes simplex virus.
i think the vm2000 multi vits i mentioned contains a bit of all the essential amino acids so this might be a good all-rounder to consider.

runtus if one of the many pills your dh is taking is a multi vitamin perhaps he could change to this one.

if you look at www.solgar.co.uk or www.solgar.com you can find a full list of what it contains. you can buy them online or in good health shop (H&B dont do it)