Male infertility is an often-invisible part of the growing conversation around infertility, which impacts 15% of couples in the US, according to the Mayo Clinic.
But many of the common supplements marketed towards those struggling with male fertility issues may not help at all.
Zinc and folic acid have long been marketed as a way to treat male infertility, but a recent study published in the medical journal JAMA found that supplements containing these ingredients do nothing to improve sperm quality or count.
Researchers had a group of men take supplements containing zinc and folic acid for half a year to see if it would improve the quality or count of their sperm.
The six-month trial surveyed 2,380 men who sought infertility treatments after their partners had trouble getting pregnant. Half of the group received the actual supplement, while the other half took a placebo.
While 35% of the men did become fathers throughout the course of the trial, semen analysis showed that there was no significant difference between their sperm before and after the six months.
"This trial's findings do not support the use of folic acid and zinc supplementation in male partners to improve semen quality and couples' infertility treatment outcomes," the study said. "This report addresses the long-standing need for a rigorous large-scale trial to examine the effects of folic acid and zinc supplementation on semen quality."
Many supplements have been called a waste of money by nutritionists and doctors alike
This isn't the first time that doctors have found supplements ineffective in solving the problems they claim to help.
Probiotic supplements are supposed to help with digestion but don't actually do much for people who take them.
In addition to being a nuisance to your wallet, over-the-counter supplements can also be detrimental to health.
A study published in March 2019 found that vitamin D supplements can actually increase the overall risk for cancer and death in people who take them and have no vitamin D deficiencies.
The same study found that taking calcium supplements can lead to an excess of calcium and an increased risk of cancer.
The supplement industry is also almost entirely unregulated, making it difficult to separate legitimate and supplements from ones that do nothing or even harm people who take them.