Male Infertility: Lifestyle and Oriental Remedies

Male reproductive health refers to a man’s ability to procreate, and to bring a living being into existence. Male reproductive health has social and psychological impact on normal life (Smith et al., 2009). A normal male reproductive health is a compound result of normal functioning of male reproductive system. In the last 50 years, a significant decrease in human fertility has been observed. It has also been stated that 15% of couples have fertility problems. Among infertile couples, it is man who is responsible for 50% cases of infertility. The studies indicate that 6% of men aged 15-44 years are infertile or their fertility is significantly compromised (Smith et al., 2009). Reports in recent years have shown that incidence of male infertility has increased as a result of various factors such as environmental pollution, stress and lifestyle (Mendiola et al., 2009). Although there are several lifestyle factors which contribute to male factor infertility, we will focus in this review on only certain factors such as psychological stress, genital heat stress, smoking, and alcohol, and these are responsible for decline in male reproductive health directly or indirectly.