Introduction
Making a decision to father a child is one of the most important things that you can do, sadly, for many men it is also one of the most difficult. Fertility can be affected by so many factors, and it can lead to some men being unable to impregnate their partner.
Luckily, there are many things that an infertile man can do to increase his sperm count and improve his sperm quality. Simple things like improving your sleeping habits, exercising more regularly, losing weight, and changing your diet can make a huge difference. As can taking certain male fertility supplements.
In this article we are going to be taking a look at one such supplement. Orthomol Fertil plus. We will investigate the ingredients list, assess the claims made, and give you our verdict as to whether Orthomol Fertil plus is a supplement that is worth your money.
What Is Orthomol Fertil Plus?
Orthomol Fertil plus is a male fertility supplement made by Orthomol, a German supplement company that has been in operation since 1991. Orthomol Fertil plus is a 90-day supplement pack which contains 90 servings.
Orthomol Fertil plus can be purchased on Amazon.com for $123.50 though this price can jump around quite a lot depending on who’s selling it (Amazon marketplace sellers are charging double). It does not appear that you can purchase Orthomol Fertil plus directly from the Orthomol website, if this is possible then the company should definitely make this more obvious! Based on the price of $123.50 for a pack of 90 servings, the price works out at $1.37 per day.
Orthomol Fertil plus is marketed at young and older men who are looking to father a child. The marketing has a lot of rugged looking men in their 30s and early 40s which would suggest that this is the target demographic.
Consumers of Orthomol Fertil plus are told that this supplement is specifically designed to help future fathers, with a range of vitamins, minerals, and trace elements that will help to support healthy sperm production. It also promises to actively support sperm count increases.
Does Orthomol Fertil Plus Work?
The ingredients list of Orthomol Fertil plus was surprisingly hard to find, it was completely absent from the website. In a section that mentioned the ingredients the only text read as follows “If you have any further questions concerning our products, please do not hesitate to contact us”. That’s pretty shocking for a supplement company. Luckily, after a google search we were able to find an ingredients table.
One of the main ingredients contained within Orthomol Fertil plus is zinc. This is a great supplement for men who are infertile due to chronically low testosterone levels. A 1981 study published in the Archives of Andrology looked at a group of infertile men who took zinc supplementation for between one and six months [1]. The study found that taking zinc led to increased testosterone production, increased fertility, and an increase in sperm count.
Vitamin B12 may be effective at reducing homocysteine levels, which is important as elevated homocysteine levels may lead to sperm damage. A 2013 study in the Journal of Nutrition by Hill et al looked at the effect of Vitamin B12 supplementation on plasma homocysteine [2]. The study found that most subjects saw lowered plasma homocysteine levels after 1-6 months of vitamin B12 supplementation. Reducing homocysteine may help men who are infertile, a 2017 study by Liu et al found that elevated homocysteine levels may be an important factor of “severe spermatogenic dysfunction” [3].
Several other ingredients (copper, selenium, vitamin C, vitamin E, and zinc) are able to protect cells from oxidative stress. This is very important as oxidative stress can lead to infertility. A 2017 study by Bisht et al found that reducing oxidative stress can reduce the risk of infertility and complex diseases [4].
Omega-3 (which is also present within Orthomol Fertil plus) is also able to reduce homocysteine, a 2005 study published in the European Journal of Clinical Investigation found that taking omega-3 polyunsaturated fats led to a reduction in homocysteine in healthy subjects [5]. Other than that though, there doesn’t appear to be any other reason to include omega-3.
The final ingredient that we want to spotlight is L-Carnitine, there are 440mg of l-carnitine contained in each serving of Orthomol Fertil plus. L-Carnitine has been shown to increase sperm quality. A 2003 study by Lenzi et al found that taking l-carnitine “was effective in increasing semen quality, especially in groups with lower baseline levels” [6]. In other words, the more infertile you are, the better the results of taking l-carnitine.
A 2004 study looked at the effectiveness of a combination of l-carnitine and l-acetyl-l-carnitine, and found that they were effective at increasing sperm motility [7].
Bottom Line: This product seems to have a good mix of ingredients. Zinc definitely seems to help men with low testosterone levels to increase their fertility. There are several ingredients that can lower homocysteine levels (high levels have been associated with infertility), while several other ingredients can prevent oxidative stress from affecting fertility. Finally, you have l-carnitine, which appears to improve semen quality and motility.
So, you have ingredients that can protect fertility and ingredients that can increase fertility. A fantastic mix of the two. Yes, Orthomol Fertil plus should work for many users (though due to the myriad causes of infertility, no product is going to have a 100% success rate).
The Pros & Cons Of Orthomol Fertil Plus
Here is a list of everything we like, and everything that we don’t like about Orthomol Fertil plus.
The Pros
- Zinc can help increase testosterone and therefore fertility
- Vitamin B12 and Omega-3 can reduce homocysteine levels
- Many ingredients can reduce oxidative stress
- L-Carnitine can increase sperm quality and motility
The Cons
- While ingredients are effective, the combination is not uncommon
- Quite expensive for what it is
- Difficult to find ingredient information without research
What Are The Orthomol Fertil Plus Ingredients?
120mg Vitamin E, 250mg Vitamin C, 3.5mg Vitamin B6, 9ug Vitamin B12, 800ug Folic Acid, 40mg Zinc, 80ug Selenium, 1000ug Copper, 440mg l-carnitine, 80mg N-acetylcysteine, 15mg Coenzyme Q10, 3mg mixed carotenoids, 170mg Omega-3 Fatty Acids, 90mg EPA, 65mg DHA.
Is Orthomol Fertil Plus Safe?
Orthomol Fertil plus is basically a vitamin and mineral supplement with a few added trace elements and omega-3 fatty acids. This is incredibly safe to consume as all of these ingredients can (and should) be found naturally in your diet.
Is Orthomol Fertil Plus Suitable For Everybody?
This is a remarkably safe supplement, but it is specifically aimed at helping infertile men. As such, women – particularly pregnant women, should avoid using it. The ingredients themselves don’t really have any safety concerns. Zinc is associated with an increased chance of nausea [8], but this is pretty rare.
High dosages of vitamin E taken daily may lead to increased risk of all-cause mortality (death) [9] but 1) this is contested, and 2) you’re only supposed to take Orthomol Fertil plus for 90 days, not forever.
Are There Any Orthomol Fertil Plus Reviews From Customers?
There have been several reviews on Amazon.com of Orthomol Fertil plus. Sadly, none of them are particularly enlightening. We’ll give you three examples, and yes, they really are this brief!
“It worked for me!”
“I liked the product, but I did not like the price”
“This supplement is really awesome and gave me perfect results”
The average review on Amazon.com contains less than seven words, compare this to the 300+ word reviews on women’s fertility supplements and it’s difficult not to look at this as a stereotypical male response (just kidding!). Out of 19 reviews, 74% were five-star reviews. Which says more than the actual comments ever could.
Our Final Verdict On Orthomol Fertil Plus
At first this product seemed quite uninteresting; it did not contain any exotic ingredients. In truth it looked like a regular multivitamin. But delve deep into the ingredients list and you find a decent supplement that does exactly what it says it does. If you have poor sperm quality or poor motility this could very well be the supplement for you.