The Tic Toc of the XY Clock

Why paternal metabolism matters

Men’s metabolism matters! Men, too, have a biologic clock, although it may not tick as loudly as a woman’s and the batteries may last a few years longer. At the time of conception, the father can confer longevity, and unfortunately, can also confer birth defects.

I consider Women of the Incan civilization to be the first to link paternal and child health. Once I was trekking in the Andes, toasting my toes in a hot spring, when an indigenous woman approached me about her ancient village folk tradition. Shocked by her forward story, I had it doubly translated – from Quechua to Spanish to English: “In this village we have healthy children, because we each send our husband to these pools.” The hot water temperature probably lowered sperm counts, thereby functionally removing older and ill men from this “gene pool.”

Western medicine tells the story differently: In 1912 Dr. Weinberg observed that achondroplasia, an inherited skeletal disorder which causes dwarfism, occurs more often in younger siblings. Achondroplasia and schizophrenia are among 20 heritable disorders known to increase with paternal age. At age 40 a father’s risk of having a child who later develops schizophrenia is similar to a 40-year-old mother’s risk of having a child with Down syndrome. Based on this data, some countries have set a 45-year age-limit on sperm-bank donations.

Men make more mistakes than women, genetically speaking. Eggs are time-released over a life-span and divide 24 times, all before birth. Sperm are made fresh every 16 days from puberty onward, so that a man’s sperm-creating cells will have undergone 380 divisions by age 30 and 840 divisions by age 50. Each division introduces the potential for a DNA mistake that can, unfortunately, lead to a birth defect.

NIA-sponsored statistical research discovered that advanced paternal age at conception shortens a daughter’s life expectancy. The explanation is X-chromosome related. Daughters inherit one X from Dad and one X from Mom. Since one of the two X’s lies 80% silent, a genetic mistake on the father’s X may not surface until late in life. Since sons receive a Y and no second X, a genetic error may be incompatible with life. Paternal age is not a factor in sons’ longevity. Maternal age has not been shown to influence the life expectancy of either sons or daughters.

Here’s the good news for edge-pushers. Chronologic age does not equal biologic age! The following evidence-based recommendations improve men’s metabolism, biologic age and the potential for healthy offspring:

• Take a multiple vitamin with biotin, chromium and 400mg of magnesium.

• Take lipoic acid, a powerful antioxidant that protects DNA from damage.

• Avoid exposure to pesticides, benzenes, radiation, household chemicals and mercury

• Avoid the artificial sweetener aspartame.

• Supplement with l-carnitine, which can increase sperm count, thereby promoting “healthy competition”.