Did you know that IV therapy is being used as an adjunct support to longevity and wellness in Toronto? This also includes male infertility concerns.  

Studies have shown that antioxidant-rich nutrients could have positive effects on conception. Combined with lifestyle modifications and oral supplementation, our IV treatments may support this notion and promote optimal function. 

Inside our vitamin IV Lounge, therapeutic doses of major antioxidants can help clear out oxidative stress and toxins from the body. When these nutrients are administered as vitamin IV therapy, you get a full absorption of nutrients that nourish your detoxification pathways. Accordingly, removing toxins from the human body could support conception.

Intravenous therapy is designed to correct deficiencies related to nutrition and promote detoxification. IV therapy can neutralize the negative effect of toxins, including pesticides and herbicides that can harm reproductive factors. “Pesticides can affect human health, and short-term acute exposure effects have been well documented,” confirms a study published in Human Reproduction Update. “Small amounts of some of these chemicals cause death; disrupt hormones and reduce the ability to successfully reproduce; and have been associated with specific cancers.”

Here, the Toronto Functional Medicine Centre sheds light on pesticides and herbicides and their link to male infertility. In a previous article, we also talked about the link between heavy metal exposure and male infertility. We also discuss what to expect when you’re seeking intravenous infusion treatment from our IV Lounge. 

5 Facts About Pesticides, Herbicides and their Impact on Male Infertility

1. Pesticides are chemicals spread around gardens, public spaces, and other outdoor areas and they destroy unwanted pests. Herbicides are a type of pesticide used to kill unwanted vegetation, such as weeds. Exposures to these environmental toxins can be common because pesticides/herbicides are in water, air and soil. 
2. Pesticides/herbicides are commonly known as endocrine disruptors, meaning that they interfere with your endocrine system’s hormones. These chemicals can disturb the functioning of your reproductive hormones, which can be the root cause of male infertility. 
3. These chemicals can impact male infertility by encouraging a “… reduction of sperm density and motility, inhibition of spermatogenesis, reduction of testis weights, reduction of sperm counts, motility, viability and density, and inducing sperm DNA damage, and increasing abnormal sperm morphology,” explains a published piece from Toxicology Letters. 
4. Sperm DNA should be kept top-of-mind for male fertility because this is what carries your genetic material. But when sperm DNA is impeded, it can reduce your fertility chances. As reported in the Journal of Toxicology, excessive amounts of ROS (reactive oxygen species) from pesticides could influence male fertility. “DNA bases and phosphodiester backbones are particularly susceptible to oxidative stress induced damage because their plasma membranes contain large quantities of polyunsaturated fatty acids and their cytoplasm contains low concentrations of scavenging enzymes,” explains the journal article.
5. According to a study in The Harvard Gazette, “Men who ate fruits and vegetables with higher levels of pesticide residues — such as strawberries, spinach, and peppers — had lower sperm counts and lower percentages of normal sperm than those who ate produce with lower residue levels.”

At the Toronto Functional Medicine Centre, intravenous drips are tailored for your chief health concerns, including men’s health-related adjunctive  support. IV nutrient therapy is administered in our IV Lounge, and tailored under the principles of integrative functional medicine. Learn how we build health-enhancing IV therapy drips below. 

What to expect in our IV  Lounge

Here’s a snippet of what a new patient would experience in our IV Lounge:

• We want to know EVERYTHING about you: During your initial consultation, expect a hearty chat about yourself. This complete diagnostic session will cover genetics/medical history, environmental and lifestyle factors, and more. Unraveling these aspects can help identify the root of your issue. 

• Undergo functional medicine lab testing: If we speculate that pesticides/herbicides are affecting reproduction, we may recommend lab testing. For instance, we may advise on getting a toxic non-metal chemical profile; this is a urine test that checks for various toxic chemicals. Some of these chemicals include pesticides, phthalates, pyrethroid insecticides, benzene, among others. This test can also measure tiglylglycine (TG) levels, which are indicators for oxidative stress and mitochondrial conditions; high levels are usually triggered by chemical exposures, a nutritional deficiency and/or inflammation. 
• Collaborate on your treatment plan: After lab results have been analyzed, we work with you to customize your treatment plan, including adjunct IV drip support. We inspire patients to become educated about their health and nutritional shortcomings; in turn, this can encourage patients to stick to their health goals. We also dose vitamin infusions and key nutrients according to your unique biology. 

About our vitamin IV therapy and functional medicine 

Are you concerned about toxicities negatively affecting your body over time? Discover how to uplift your health to support cellular detoxification. 

At the Toronto Functional Medicine Centre, you have instant access to many treatment modalities; this way, you have different strategies for managing symptoms, boosting energy levels, athletic recovery, physical performance, tissue repair, cellular function, and more. Our integrative medicine model consists of Western medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine, acupuncture, naturopathy, bio-identical hormone therapy, and others. 

IV therapy is also part of our integrative approach to health care. As a personalized service, we offer doses of key vitamins, such as vitamin C (ascorbic acid), a medley of amino acids, major antioxidants (i.e. glutamic acid) and other vital nutrients. IV vitamin drips can help with improving cellular functioning and blood cell production. Intravenous drips from our clinic are personalized in line with the integrative functional medicine model, which helps us blend your formulas. This is how we customize vitamin IV therapy as adjunctive support for conditions related to infertility, immune function, chronic fatigue syndrome, brain function, mineral deficiencies, cellular damage, acute illness, chronic inflammation, skin elasticity, blood pressure/blood sugar levels, and more. 

IV therapy from Toronto –combined with lifestyle modifications and oral support – can promote optimal health, improve cellular health, support fertility, and prevent the onset of a chronic illness. Call (416) 968-6961 to request your IV Lounge session or send us a message here. 

Disclaimer: The information in this article is designed for educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for informed medical advice or care. This information should not be used to diagnose or treat any health problems or illnesses without consulting a doctor. Consult with a health care practitioner before relying on any information in this article or on this website.

 

References

Alejandro Oliva, Alfred Spira, Luc Multigner, Contribution of environmental factors to the risk of male infertility, Human Reproduction, Volume 16, Issue 8, August 2001, Pages 1768–1776, https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/16.8.1768

Anifandis G, Amiridis G, Dafopoulos K, Daponte A, Dovolou E, Gavriil E, Gorgogietas V, Kachpani E, Mamuris Z, Messini CI, Vassiou K, Psarra A-MG. The In Vitro Impact of the Herbicide Roundup on Human Sperm Motility and Sperm Mitochondria. Toxics. 2018; 6(1):2. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics6010002

Krzastek, Sarah C et al. “Impact of environmental toxin exposure on male fertility potential.” Translational andrology and urology vol. 9,6 (2020): 2797-2813. doi:10.21037/tau-20-685

M. A. Thamali Dhanushka, L. Dinithi. C. Peiris, “Cytotoxic and Genotoxic Effects of Acephate on Human Sperm”, Journal of Toxicology, vol. 2017, Article ID 3874817, 6 pages, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/3874817

Mehrpour O, Karrari P, Zamani N, Tsatsakis AM, Abdollahi M. Occupational exposure to pesticides and consequences on male semen and fertility: a review. Toxicol Lett. 2014 Oct 15;230(2):146-56. doi: 10.1016/j.toxlet.2014.01.029. Epub 2014 Jan 30. PMID: 24487096.

Melissa J. Perry, Effects of environmental and occupational pesticide exposure on human sperm: a systematic review, Human Reproduction Update, Volume 14, Issue 3, May/June 2008, Pages 233–242, https://doi.org/10.1093/humupd/dmm039

Mnif W, Hassine AI, Bouaziz A, Bartegi A, Thomas O, Roig B. Effect of endocrine disruptor pesticides: a review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2011 Jun;8(6):2265-303. doi: 10.3390/ijerph8062265. Epub 2011 Jun 17. PMID: 21776230; PMCID: PMC3138025.

Moreira S, Pereira SC, Seco-Rovira V, Oliveira PF, Alves MG, Pereira ML. Pesticides and Male Fertility: A Dangerous Crosstalk. Metabolites. 2021;11(12):799. Published 2021 Nov 25. doi:10.3390/metabo11120799

“Pesticides result in lower sperm counts” from The Harvard Gazette, by Karen Feldscher, Harvard Chan School Communications, posted March 30, 2015, viewed on March 13, 2023.