Is sperm healthy?

Questions that sometimes cross your mind but for which you don't know the answer: how healthy is sperm? We all probably know that it can have different, unique flavors, but is there really any point in swallowing it? For that argument, I've never heard that it's really nutritious or good for my immune system. But well, as a counterargument, I've also never heard that there are too many calories in it, so that you should spit it out instead.

Time to dive into those sperm cells. Well, I didn't have to do that, the magazine Quest fortunately did that for me. And what turns out: sperm is incredibly low in calories. Per ejaculation, there are between 5 and 25 calories in it, so that's quite negligible. If you want to eat low-calorie, you can definitely swallow this. That's nice.

But what else is in it? Well, the following eight ingredients.

1. Calcium
Due to the presence of calcium, sperm cells can reach the egg cell more easily, but that has little use in your mouth. The amount of calcium in a sperm cell can also indicate how fertile a man actually is.

2. Magnesium
Many people take this in combination with exercise, so this is really good to get – having sex can definitely be a kind of workout.

3. Citric acid
Doesn't sound very tasty, but its presence is important: if a man's citric acid level is very low, it can indicate prostate cancer.

4. Fructose
This is the type of sugar that you also find in fruits, so you would think: that's nice. But unfortunately, there is so little of this in sperm that it doesn't actually affect the taste. What a shame.

5. Glucose
Just like fructose, I had heard of this too, but I never knew it was also an ingredient of sperm. Again, this does not determine the taste of sperm, but it is (just like calcium) an indicator of how fertile a man is.

6. Lactic acid
Lactic acid ensures that the sperm cells stay ‘good’ longer. It can sometimes take a while for the sperm cell to find an egg cell to fertilize, and then it's handy that the sperm cell remains viable for a bit longer.

7. Protein
Look, that's really good for us. Especially again in combination with exercise, or having sex. Good news.

8. Zinc
A low amount of zinc indicates reduced fertility in men. Zinc ensures ‘strong’ sperm, protects the sperm cell from bacteria, and ensures that the chromosomes do not get damaged.

Source: Quest