Over the years it has become more and more clear how oxidative stress may be a significant contributor to infertility. Particularly when it comes to Sperm health. Oxidative stress can be significantly impacted from our lifestyle, dietary choices, preexisting health conditions, radiation exposure, exposure to certain heavy metals, weight, and much more. One of the negative impacts of increased oxidative stress on the body is the harmful impact it has on sperm health. Increased oxidative stress can cause damage to the DNA content of sperm cells, particularly because antioxidants (our body’s way to neutralizing oxidative stress) are largely removed from the sperm cells along with cytoplasm to help reduce the size of the sperm head. This leaves sperm cells very vulnerable to damage from oxidative stress. One of the main methods to assess damage to the sperm DNA is the DNA Fragmentation Index (DFI). In most cases, a sperm DNA fragmentation rate above 15% is considered elevated. Read the rest here.