Common Vitamins and Supplements

[1] Lafuente, Rafael, Mireia González-Comadrán, Ivan Solà, Gemma López, Mario Brassesco, Ramón Carreras, and Miguel A Checa. 2013. “Coenzyme Q10 and Male Infertility: A Meta-Analysis.” Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics 30 (9). Springer: 1147–56. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-013-0047-5.

[2] Wiser, A., O. Gonen, Y. Ghetler, T. Shavit, A. Berkovitz, and A. Shulman. 2010. “Addition of Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) for Poor-Responder Patients before and during IVF Treatment Improves the Pregnancy Rate: A Randomized Prospective Study.” Human Reproduction 25 (10). Oxford University Press: 2496–2500. https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/deq220.

[3] Singh, Neeta, Rinchen Zangmo, Sunesh Kumar, K. K. Roy, J. B. Sharma, Neena Malhotra, and Perumal Vanamail. 2013. “A Prospective Study on Role of Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) on Improving the Ovarian Reserve Markers in Infertile Patients with Poor Ovarian Reserve.” Gynecological Endocrinology 29 (11). Taylor & Francis: 989–92. https://doi.org/10.3109/09513590.2013.824957.

[4] Gleicher, Norbert, and David H Barad. 2011. “Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) Supplementation in Diminished Ovarian Reserve (DOR).” Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 9 (1). BioMed Central: 67. https://doi.org/10.1186/1477-7827-9-67.

[5] Clifton, G. Dennis, and JE Ellington. 2009. “Prospective Study of FERTILAID Vitamin In Men With Low Sperm Quality.” Journal of Andrology. https://www.fertilaid.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/fertile-aid-for-men-study.pdf.

[6] Frishman, G N, T P Spurrell, and W W Heber. 2001. “Folic Acid. Preconception Knowledge and Use by Infertile Women.” The Journal of Reproductive Medicine 46 (12): 1025–30. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11789081.

[7] Park, Alice. 2016. “Omega 3 Fats May Help Fertility.” TIME Magazine. 2016. http://time.com/4535182/how-omega-3-fats-may-improve-fertility/.

[8] Safarinejad, Mohammad Reza, and Shiva Safarinejad. 2012. “The Roles of Omega-3 and Omega-6 Fatty Acids in Idiopathic Male Infertility.” Asian Journal of Andrology 14 (4). Wolters Kluwer -- Medknow Publications: 514–15. https://doi.org/10.1038/aja.2012.46.

[9] Abdelhafiz, Ahmed T., and Jehan A. Muhamad. 2008. “Midcycle Pericoital Intravaginal Bee Honey and Royal Jelly for Male Factor Infertility.” International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics 101 (2). Wiley-Blackwell: 146–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijgo.2007.11.012.

[10] Morita, Hiroyuki, Takahide Ikeda, Kazuo Kajita, Kei Fujioka, Ichiro Mori, Hideyuki Okada, Yoshihiro Uno, and Tatsuo Ishizuka. 2012. “Effect of Royal Jelly Ingestion for Six Months on Healthy Volunteers.” Nutrition Journal 11 (1). BioMed Central: 77. https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2891-11-77.

[11] Crha, I, D Hrubá, P Ventruba, J Fiala, J Totusek, and H Visnová. 2003. “Ascorbic Acid and Infertility Treatment.” Central European Journal of Public Health 11 (2): 63–67. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12884545.

[12] “Vitamin D and Fertility.” n.d. USC Fertility. Accessed April 30, 2018. http://uscfertility.org/fertility-treatments/vitamin-d-fertility/.

[13] Cicek, Nedim, Ozlem Gun Eryilmaz, Esma Sarikaya, Cavidan Gulerman, and Yasemin Genc. 2012. “Vitamin E Effect on Controlled Ovarian Stimulation of Unexplained Infertile Women.” Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics 29 (4): 325–28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-012-9714-1.

[14] Zhao, Jiang, Xingyou Dong, Xiaoyan Hu, Zhou Long, Liang Wang, Qian Liu, Bishao Sun, Qingqing Wang, Qingjian Wu, and Longkun Li. 2016. “Zinc Levels in Seminal Plasma and Their Correlation with Male Infertility: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Scientific Reports 6 (March). Nature Publishing Group: 22386. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep22386.

Common Vitamins and Supplements

Co-enzyme Q10 (CoQ10)

This supplement helps support cell energy and growth. Many infertility groups suggest it for bad egg quality as aging causes cells to lose energy, diminishing natural CoQ10 levels. While there hasn’t been evidence of increase in pregnancy rates, it has been shown to help sperm parameters.[1]

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)

DHEA is a steroid hormone. Studies have shown that DHEA can help women with diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) and very low AMH.[2][3][4]

FertilAid / Pregnitude

This supplement is seen in many infertility circles. For both men and women, it is a multi-vitamin that proposes help to infertile couples. A clinical study showed improvement to male sperm through its use.[5]

Folic Acid

A B vitamin, folic acid is important to take as a prenatal to help decrease chance of birth abnormalities. However, one study showed that getting folic acid vis food may be “more effective” than focusing on vitamins.[6]

Omega-3

Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to help fertility by producing better eggs. However, this was only in mice and still needs more testing in humans.[7] Other studies showed Omega-3 may benefit males with sperm issues.[8]

Royal Jelly

Made from the glands of worker honeybees, royal jelly has been touted as helpful for egg quality and pregnancy rates. However, this has yet to be scientifically proven. Studies have shown improvement in men with low sperm count and in overall mental health and gluten intolerance.[9][10]

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is often recommended for women as it can increase the hormone progesterone. Progesterone helps thicken the uterine lining for better implantation. However, one study showed an insignificant rate of pregnancy using Vitamin C.[11]

Vitamin D

Vitamin D helps keep the body healthy by absorbing calcium. Low Vitamin D levels have been looked at as a possible reason for bad egg quality. Supplementing Vitamin D may help combat underdeveloped eggs.[12]

Vitamin E

Vitamin E deficiency in men can lead to testicular damage and an increase may be able to increase sperm quality and motility. For women, it can help the uterine lining to become thicker.[13]

Zinc

Zinc has been shown to increase sperm quality of infertile males by one study.[14] Although more studies are needed, it may help sperm quality.