Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
- Lots of common myths about sperm and ejaculation isn't actually true.
- From the amount of ejaculation to sperm quality, there is a lot of information that people get wrong.
- We talked to Dr. Damian Jacob Sendler to answer all our sperm-related questions.
Most people with penises produce between39 million to 929 million sperm per ejaculation, according to the World Health Organization. But how much do you really know about sperm?
INSIDER consulted with Dr. Damian Jacob Sendler, chief of the division of clinical research at Felnett Health Research Foundation to get to the truth behind a few common myths about sperm and semen.
MYTH: You can't get pregnant from pre-ejaculate or "pre-cum."
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
Most of the time, pre-ejaculate – the semen-like fluid that sometimes comes out of a penis before ejaculation – is just a lubricating substance produced by the prostate. However, there is a small chance that it might contain enough viable sperm to result in a pregnancy.
"There is always the chance that there are some sperm present in the pre-ejaculate, especially if someone masturbated briefly before sexual intercourse as part of foreplay. Technically, anything that is being produced as part of ejaculate could include some cells of sperm," Dr. Sendler told INSIDER.
If you're concerned with avoiding pregnancy, using a barrier method like a condom is always a good idea.
MYTH: Semen has a high nutritional content if swallowed.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
Sorry – semen isn't a good replacement for your daily multivitamin.
"It has a lot of fructose, which nourishes sperm. But don't count on getting full of energy after swallowing anyone's load. Our stomach acid will effectively burn up the relatively tiny nutritional value of the ejaculate," said Dr. Sendler.
Though a healthy diethas been shown toimprove semen quality, consuming semen itself won't have much of an impact on your nutrition.
MYTH: Sperm can live for days on items like sheets, towels, and underwear.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
Sperm can't normally live on clothing, skin, and other surfaces for longer than a few moments. When semen dries or is exposed to extreme temperatures, the ability for the sperm in that semen to fertilize an egg diminishes significantly.
"Some people believe that laying in bed where a man ejaculated before could make them pregnant — that's not true at all. The sperm needs to be present inside of the woman, freshly after being ejaculated from the penis to successfully cause pregnancy," Dr. Sendler stated.
However, sperm can live inside the uterusfor up to five days. This is why it's technically possible to get pregnant as a result of unprotected sex during menstruation.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider