Herbs work on the body through the same channels as drugs. In fact, many drugs are just purified botanicals. Of course, some herbs are stronger than others; eating a ton of basil is unlikely to affect your fertility, but eating a bunch of bella donna or foxglove (where digitalis comes from)is likely to kill you.
However, let’s start with the herb, marijuana. While it’s been known for awhile that smoking doesn’t do sperm any favors, there are some studies out now that suggest marijuana, while it may have other medicinal uses, has a distinctly detrimental effect on sperm motility, those stoned sperm probably not knowing (or caring) where the egg is.
Similarly, there are other herbs, namely,
- Saw palmetto
- Ginkgo biloba
- St. John’s wort
- Echinacea
That have many wonderful therapeutic uses (Saw Palmetto, for example, may lower testosterone, making it useful for prostate cancer–but therefore not good for fertility) but may affect your fertility. If you’re trying to conceive and you’re coming down with a cold, pop a few vitamin C, guys, but skip the echinacea. Your sperm will thank you.
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