# The calorie content of sperm. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [September 4, 2003, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-calorie-content-of-sperm/199506 "2003-09-04T12:43:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jennyrosity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@Jennyrosity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennyrosity)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-calorie-content-of-sperm/199506/1 "2003-09-04T12:43:06Z")
Hey Cecil, in your column on the calorie content of male ejaculation you say it has a high energy content. Does that mean it’d be possibe to survive on it, should it be necessary? I realise it would involve a phenomenal amount of bjs, I’m just wondering if it’s theoretically possible. Any thoughts people? ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-calorie-content-of-sperm/199506/2 "2003-09-04T12:47:06Z")
Link to the article: [How many calories are in the average male ejaculation?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_054.html) ---
**Author:** ![Shrinking\_Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Shrinking\_Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shrinking_Violet)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-calorie-content-of-sperm/199506/3 "2003-09-04T14:24:06Z")
My guess is that you’d expend a _lot_ more energy in acquiring the calories, than you’d gain. 😃 Julie ---
**Author:** ![Jennyrosity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@Jennyrosity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennyrosity)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-calorie-content-of-sperm/199506/4 "2003-09-04T14:26:30Z")
Ha! Good point! They don’t call it a “job” for nothing - do you guys have any idea how much hard work they are!? ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2003, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-calorie-content-of-sperm/199506/5 "2003-09-04T19:59:31Z")
Just a passing thought: in theory, if even energy expended was worked out and accounted for in the calorie intake … what would the “other party” survive on? I don’t think you can survive solely on this. The human body isn’t exactly a closed system. ---
**Author:** ![jojothecannibal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/48db29/32.png) [@jojothecannibal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jojothecannibal)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2003, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-calorie-content-of-sperm/199506/6 "2003-09-06T23:08:58Z")
What I noticed about that column is that Cecil never explained WHY it was a logical assumption that semen would be similar to egg whites in caloric contents. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-calorie-content-of-sperm/199506/7 "2003-09-07T03:40:35Z")
Interesting question, **jojothecannibal**. Cecil said: > [@](#): > > Although it is true that the nutritional elements in semen and egg white (protein, carbohydrates, lipids, etc.) do not correspond down the line, both substances are about 90 percent water, and in both the remaining 10 percent is composed of relatively high energy (calorie) yielding nutrients. Calculation will show that the substances are about equal in caloric content. (Actually, egg white is a little higher.) > > Granted, my answer was less than rigorous. However, the problem defies rigor. The amount of nutritive substance in semen varies as much as 100 percent from sample to sample; the amount of fructose (one of the main sugars found in honey) in semen varies over a range of 400 percent. Finally, the volume of ejaculate itself varies from 3 to 5 cubic centimeters–not exactly a precise measurement. According to [this site,](http://www.it63.com/senz/facts/anatomy/semen.html) average ejaculate has about 15 calories, and contains > [@](#): > > aboutonia, ascorbic acid, blood-group antigens, calcium, chlorine, cholesterol, choline, citric acid, creatine, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), fructose, glutathione, hyaluronidase, inositol, lactic acid, magnesium, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, purine, pyrimidine, pyruvic acid, sodium, sorbitol, spermidine, spermine, urea, uric acid, vitamin B12, and zinc. [This page](http://www.ams.usda.gov/howtobuy/eggs.htm) [lots of pop-ups on that page, sorry] claims that egg whites have … 15 calories. So, Cecil would appear to be correct. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2003, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-calorie-content-of-sperm/199506/8 "2003-09-08T05:18:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jennyrosity \* > \*\*Ha! Good point! They don’t call it a “job” for nothing - do you guys have any idea how much hard work they are!? \*\* So useful for losing weight, then? I have an idea for a diet book. ---
**Author:** ![Jennyrosity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@Jennyrosity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennyrosity)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2003, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-calorie-content-of-sperm/199506/9 "2003-09-08T12:35:02Z")
Can’t be any worse than the Atkins Diet… ---
**Author:** ![Recess\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bc79bd/32.png) [@Recess\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Recess_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2003, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-calorie-content-of-sperm/199506/10 "2003-09-10T14:15:12Z")
Apparently, this experiment has been tried, with the results recorded for posterity. It’s available on DVD. **Warning! This link is not work-safe!** [http://www.jlist.com/SEARCH/R/SDDM010/1/](http://www.jlist.com/SEARCH/R/SDDM010/1/)