In an era where health consciousness for satisfactory self-representation and social well-being has enormously increased, several secondary problems that have not normally been put to light have shown up in increased numbers as a consequence of the side effects. Erectile dysfunction is probably the most renowned among these, which though could have several other causes too. Ranging from psychological stresses to several health issues, and from certain habits to practices, erectile dysfunction has lately been studied as a result of a variety of causatives.
Several surveys have recorded that a whopping 30 million men in the US are suffering from erectile dysfunction, the most effective cause of which is only ageing. Four percent of men, in the US, who are above 50 and fifty out of hundred above 75 experience this inability. Age alone, however, is not the sole cause of erectile dysfunction – even though it is the one affecting the majority. Relationship and psychological stresses have been known to take the toll then, with some researchers concluding that a man could begin to suffer with the dysfunction even when he observes his partner spending more time with his male friends more than himself.
Apart from these, erectile dysfunction could also be a result of high blood pressure, gum disease, and depression. Even bicycling could cause ED because when you sit on a bike, you tend to bear the upper body weight on the nerves and arteries that perform the function of carrying blood to the penis. This results in decreased blood flow to the penis, and thus, an increased risk of erectile dysfunction.
Moreover, to add to the gloomy scenery – with erectile dysfunction comes premature ejaculation. However, it isn’t solely affected by erectile dysfunction, and therefore, has several other reasons for its onset, including anxiety, relationship issues, psychological and biological causes. Apparently, both premature ejaculation and erectile dysfunction share the reasons for their onset, which is why a male with either of these possibly suffers with the other.
Table of Contents
Keeping an Eye Open
As men, we know what’s missing when it comes to creating memories with our partners. From several surveys, it has been concluded that the average length of a sex act is 7.3 minutes, but an astonishing 43 percent of men finish in under two minutes. So, what is it that we need to know when it comes to such conditions? It is when one almost reaches the verge of losing the ability to make it up to his ‘her’. What we need to know is if these problems can be solved, that if there are methods enough.
Well, so to say, there are! However, most of those are more rituals than methods of treatment, that work in psychologically effective ways, practising to delay our ‘point of no return’. Some of the methods that seem to help are:
- Self-stimulation
- Kegel exercises
- Using condoms
- Increasing the amount of lubricants
- Making use of the ‘refractory period’ (How soon can you achieve an erection after ejaculation? How long can you stimulate the second erection before ejaculation?)
- Varying the duration of foreplay a couple engages in
- Using the squeeze technique, and even
- Examining the relationship to deal with the sexual dysfunction.
But there aren’t only as many ways. What’s wonderful about nature is that it has borne remedies for all of the naturally occurring ‘disasters’, even erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation.
Getting Acquainted With the Foods
There is a devastating amount of healthy food around us, only what needs to be watched upon is the nutrition level, and the nutrient variety each provides, and what in our body gets affected most when we digest a certain delicacy.
As for the human body systems malfunctions that we’re discussing here, food that helps improve blood circulation throughout the ‘machine’ – one that is good for the heart, obviously, is prescribed by the medical practitioners.
Foods specifically rich in –
- Nitrates (leafy green vegetables and beets)
- Proteins(as in pistachios)
- Zinc(from oysters and other shellfish)
- Flavonoids (in dark chocolate)
- Antioxidants (present in watermelon), and
- Lycopene(from tomatoes and pink grapefruit).
As it is, there is no ‘magic wand’ thing in case of food and diet to prevent, or cure, erectile dysfunction. But there are options that are certainly known to help a little with it, the most obvious reason being their involvement in improving blood circulation in our body. Because research has provided us with good evidence that erectile dysfunction, and thus, premature ejaculation, is related to a vascular connection, which is why food that improves body fluid circulation is believed to help reasonably.
Why the Foods?
To begin with, nitrates have been known to support blood circulation acutely, because nitrates are vasodilators, which means they open up blood vessels and increase blood flow. Which is why leafy green vegetables like celery and spinach, make it to this list — because of their high concentration of nitrates. Beet juice has been found to be really high in nitrates. The drugs prescribed to people who are known to be suffering from erectile dysfunction today are based on the relaxing effects of nitrates on the blood vessels that supply blood to the penis.
A recent study has concluded that men with erectile dysfunction who ate pistachio nuts every day for three weeks experienced significant improvement in sexual issues, including erectile dysfunction, sexual desire, and overall sexual satisfaction. The benefits of pistachios for erection problems are believed to be due to a protein called arginine, which may help relax blood vessels; which is also another example of how good blood circulation is for our sexual health.
Zinc is another wonderful party on this list of foods for erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation because zinc has had the reputation of an aphrodisiac for quite a while now. One of the reasons for which may be that it plays an important role in the production of the male hormone testosterone and low levels of testosterone could be one reason for erectile dysfunction. For the very reason, oysters are a particular delicacy, apart from only having the image of exotic seafood.
Yet apart from all these nutrients, encapsulated in oyster-shells and spinach leaves, stand chocolates and wine and more fruits. Watermelons, tomatoes, and pink grapefruit are intensely rich in the beneficial ingredients that are known as phytonutrients, which in a wider sense of view are simply antioxidants, ultimately furnishing our sexual desires. Where on one hand, watermelon is 92 percent water, and the other 8 percent may work wonders for our heart and sexual enjoyment.
On the other hand, lycopene, which is found in deep red fruits like tomatoes and pink grapefruits, has been known to help fight male infertility and prostate cancer. So, you might wish to have some salad prepared for you in mornings that may run to the battlefield again – erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation for you. These ‘recipes’ might sound very wonderful to you, having learnt now that there’s so much you never tried and you’d only get depressed further, but there’s this one thing that never surprises any of us and that is Dark chocolate! The one wonderfully ‘bitter’ thing to taste that is only hardly disliked by anyone on the planet. Some studies have shown that flavonoids in dark chocolate improve circulation, which could be good for erection problems that are mostly only due to poor circulation. Flavonoids are naturally-occurring antioxidants that protect plants from toxins and help repair cell damage. Studies show that flavonoids and other antioxidants have similar effects on people. They may help lower blood pressure and decrease cholesterol, both of which are factors that contribute to erectile dysfunction.
Sadly, however, there could be some foods on our list that many of us avoid – just to say, I quite dislike watermelon. Well, no specific reasons. So, there’s still so much you could go for. Because other foods that are good for your circulation include cranberries (yum!), apples, peanuts, onions, tea (or coffee, obviously!), and red wine. But there’s still a list of things you would, I’m sure, wish to take care of.
What Not to Eat?
After having gobbled up these many dishes, you might also be thinking of going on some dieting. So, right now, you may begin with avoiding these:
- Meat, because animal fat and cholesterol is particularly bad for your heart, and heart is the arena where the whole game happens. And because good circulation is the symbol of a healthy life, ED, which stands for erectile dysfunction, is also an acronym for “early death” in the medical community.
- Protein, though, is good, but you should avoid high-protein diets like the Atkins diet (a high-protein, high-fat diet in which carbohydrates are severely restricted) because it can reduce the amount of testosterone you produce. Proteins should only make up about 25 to 30% of your daily calories, and altered amounts could prove a little unhealthy.
- Keep away from fried foods, because these are also bad for the heart and sexual function. More so, because when the oils are heated to high temperatures for cooking, they become some of the most unhealthy foods for your heart, contributing to heart disease, cancer, and other problems. Weight gain is another famous result of fried food diets, which is also one of the contributors to hormone imbalance and erectile dysfunction, if not only to prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia.
- Stay away from soy, and also tame your drinking habits – because even though alcohol may lower your inhibitions, it may also lower your erection and sexual performance. Soy, on the other hand, and other processed foods high in carbohydrates and excessive unhealthy fats can have an oestrogenic effect, which means that it can have an effeminating effect on perfectly ‘male’ souls.
- There is, however, an exception when it comes to soy. Yes, we’re talking about fermented soy here, which is a much healthier form of soy, commonly used in Asia.
- Finally, eat like a Greek but do not eye any food packed in cans or plastic – plastics harm most efficiently, as you must know. Like a Greek because one of the diets that gives you the best ‘bedspan’ is a Mediterranean diet, which includes eating many fruits and vegetables, whole grains, red wine in moderation, and healthy fats from foods such as fish, olives, and nuts. Men who follow a Mediterranean diet enjoy a healthier sex life than men who do not.
- Greece has also anyway been known for its sex life – the country where couples, on an average, are known to make love more times in a year than in any other country.
Conclusively,
It is important that you prefer what you prefer but makes sure to “break the excesses”. Because even the wax present in noodles tend to harm our vessels. While the protein in pistachios and flavonoids in chocolates are aptly good, an excess of the different kinds of proteins and variety of chemicals can be almost extremely unhealthy.
So, all the way up and down, just listen to your heart.
