"Our experienced medical journalist Daniel DeNoon took your questions about fertility issues to specialists. Here's what he found out. "

Although this question and answer from www.webmd.com doesn't deal directly with exercise addiction, it does deal with extreme exercise and biking. While reading through the answers, I was surprized to learn some new things.

The person writing in was asking if biking and large amounts of exercise can affect male fertility. A couple of doctors submitted their answers and came up with these answers.

The first physician gave answers that had to do with high temperatures that can affect sperm and also the use of recreational drugs and binge drinking. Their advice was to have sperm testing done with a reputable testing site.

The second physician had this to say, which tied in with my exercise addiction post.

The issue is increased temperature to the testes. That is why they are located outside the body. Super exercise and stress, as in women, affect brain hormones and sperm counts. There are two parts to this. One, how stressed is the man by the exercise? If it's real stressful, it affects fertility. And two, did the exercise raise the temperature of the testes? -- Celia E. Dominguez, MD, reproductive endocrinologist, Center for Reproductive Medicine, Emory University. Her team presented data at the ASRM.

When I read the segment about hormones and stress, I was surprized that there was such a similarity between men and women. Often, it seems like especially in fertility, that there isn't any common ground between males and females and I feel quite sexist for always thinking that fertility is a woman's issue. For some reason, I found this information reassuring. I left feeling that in finding out the causes of infertility, in one aspect, we are on the same side.