Comedian Russell Kane had little to joke about when he appeared in a recent documentary on male fertility and had to make two vital changes to help reverse the damage
The 47-year-old father-of-one appeared as one of three male celebrities – the others being BBC Radio 1 presenter Melvin Odom and Made in Chelsea’s Ollie Locke – on the Channel 4 show, Celebrity Save Our Sperm.
To his horror, Russell was told that his sperm count was under 11 million, and he was warned to stop having hot saunas after his comedy shows and throw away his skinny jeans.
The national sperm count average is 40 to 60 million per litre, with both his fellow celebrities meeting this statistic.
He said: “I was in it for the laughs, really, to make a bit of telly, but I was surprised.
“The readings came in, which was not what I expected.
“When I got my result, it wasn’t an intellectual feeling – it was emotional – like that sick feeling in the bottom of your stomach.
“What does it matter if I’ve got 11 million sperm per litre and I’ve already for a family unit? It matters because I am interested in how men’s bodies work.
“I think men are more vulnerable to getting depressed and down when our bodies aren’t what they should be. After the result, I felt something that was not rational.
“There is an emotional link to me and my sperm count, and I never hear anyone talk about it. Never.”
Russell not only cut out visiting the spa and stopped wearing his skinny jeans, but he also cut down his coffee consumption and stopped using plastic cups. He also stopped using hair-stimulating oils that could have a detrimental effect on his sperm.
Russell was told he was ‘cooking his balls’. The changes he made had a positive impact on his sperm count.
Dr Anand Patel told the Sun: “Testicles hang long for a reason. A few degrees above body heat can seriously damage your sperm. It breaks the DNA, stops them from swimming and makes them abnormal.
“When trying to conceive, you should avoid hot baths, hot tubs, saunas and steam rooms. Russell was essentially cooking his balls.”
Melvin Odom trebled his sperm by cutting out sugary snacks and drinks, and Ollie was told his sperm count was normal, but the DNA functionality was just a third.
Ollie and his husband Gareth had been trying to get pregnant with a surrogate for two years and announced they were expecting twins this summer. But the miscarriages the couple experienced could have been down to the lack of DNA functionality.
He said: “All our lives, we’ve been told about women’s fertility. It’s like the woman is always to blame when fertility goes wrong. Now we understand this slightly more; this is a two-way street.”
Catch up on Celebrity Sperm Count on All 4.
