The talk has invariably been about viagra, cialis and hormone therapy for women. But now men with sperm production or infertility problems and women experiencing miscarriages can now use vitamin supplements to rectify their conditions.

Our investigations are also revealing that people infected with HIV and doctors managing them are now increasingly turning to supplements as costs and toxicity of antiretroviral and some drugs for opportunistic remain a cause of concern.

Recent surveys show more men and women are turning to supplements such as vitamin E and C to improve the manufacture of sperm, reduce risks of miscarriages and for HIV/Aids management.

The development is said to make some companies to take a keen interest in the Kenyan market as the demand for the pills take an upward trend.

There is also an exciting debate on whether supplements have the capability of challenging sex enhancing pills and hormonal therapy in the reproductive health field.

Doctors like Paul Ngumbi, a Kenyan gynaecologist, says supplements - both vitamins and micronutrients- are redefining matters to do with reproductive and other health related issues.

Addressing an array of doctors at a recent dinner organised by Mega Products Limited about two weeks ago, Dr Ngumbi noted that infertility in men, cysts in women, aging, heart diseases and cancers can be reversed with intake of vitamin supplements such as vitamin E and C.

Found from natural sources like peanuts, corn, sunflower products and wheat germ oil, vitamin E has further been found to improve the ability of the sperms to fertilize eggs.

This vitamin is known to work by reversing or protecting the body from the effects of the so-called free radicals.

These radicals make the cells of human beings to undergo a degeneration process, leading to permanent changes that result in chronic diseases.

Lifestyles and natural processes are, in some men and women, responsible for the production of free radicals that lead to chemical reactions known as oxidation of the cells.

Smoking, alcohol, drug abuse, ultra violet rays, working in factories manufacturing chemicals and a number of other diseases are some of the factors associated with development of free radicals.

If these processes occur in men, they may degenerate their male sex organs to appoint that they are infertile or unable to function well. Vitamin E is known to reduce this oxidation and existence of free radicals.

For women, studies are showing that over 10 per cent of pregnancies end up in miscarriages. Most of them are due to a genetic problem whereby the body lacks an enzyme known as G6PD.