The health, diet and lifestyle choices that men make while they are trying to conceive very clearly impact sperm quality and fertility. What is even more astounding, though, is that male pre-conception behaviors might have long lasting effects on the health of their children and even grandchildren. You heard me right - scientific experiments have shown that poor nutrition or bad habits like smoking cigarettes might actually affect the health of children conceived at the time of your bad habits (and maybe even their children!)
This truly mind-blowing phenomenon works through something scientists call “epigenetics.” Most people know that chromosomes contain DNA, which provides the genetic code for all of life. But it isn’t that simple. It turns out that many external molecules can attach to DNA and change how much and whether or not a particular part of your DNA gets expressed. These external modifications to DNA are called epigenetic changes, and they can be just as important as the genetic code itself.
Epigenetics are malleable and much more vulnerable to environmental stressors than your actual DNA sequence. Sperm epigenetic changes that result from negative environmental exposures can cause changes in gene expression that may have wide ranging impacts on fertilization, embryo development, and even offspring health.
Scientists have discovered that health and lifestyle factors like obesity, smoking and exercise are associated with measurable changes in human sperm epigenetics. The effects of these changes on reproductive outcomes and offspring health are not yet known, but it certainly makes you think twice about the possible impact of lifestyle choices while you are trying to conceive. Animal studies have actually proven that pre-conception behaviors can impact offspring health. One study in mice showed that young mice conceived by exercising fathers had reduced anxiety and were more resilient to fear-inducing stimuli (not sure how to measure anxiety in mice, but they did it!).
So make smart choices while you and your partner are trying to conceive - your kids and grandkids will thank you for it one day!
