Is Your Diet Helping (Or Harming) Your Erections?

Erectile Dysfunction can be devastating to men, and unfortunately, millions of men suffer from the condition.

If you go to the doctor to talk about the issue, you’re likely to get put on one or more of the popular medications used to treat the condition.

While they can be effective (temporarily), these medications come with a raft of side effects, some of which are decidedly unpleasant. Even worse, these medications aren’t really a cure, they’re more like a temporary workaround.

Worst of all, they tend to be really expensive. Month after month, you’re having to pay to work around your condition. That’s what the Big Pharmaceutical companies want.

Why would they want to cure you when they can rope you into buying their overpriced pills month after month? That’s pure profit for them.

They’re no more interested in actually providing a cure for your condition than your dog is. If pills aren’t the answer then, what is?

At the root, Erectile Dysfunction is a circulatory issue. The quality of your erections is directly tied to your circulation.

The more and better your blood flow, the better your erections will be.

Fortunately, there are a number of natural ways you can increase your circulation overall, which has the happy side effect of improving your erections. We’ll cover some of the biggest ones just below:

Fruits & Grains

Not just any grains will do. Specifically, if you want to increase blood flow, then you want to eat more whole grains. Fruits, too.

They’re loaded with natural sugars, vitamins and anti-oxidants, all of which will help you (and not just with your ED). In fact, given the above, one of the best things you can do to improve your overall level of health and help your ED naturally is to adopt the Mediterranean Diet.

Increase Those Nitrates!

Also, any food that is loaded with nitrates is good for your circulation, and by extension, good for your penis, or more specifically, the quality and firmness of your erections.

Here, we’re talking about leafy greens and beets. If you can stomach it, beet juice has an insanely high concentration of nitrates, but to say that it is an acquired taste is an understatement.

Still, if you’re looking for a fast way to get a mega dose of nitrates, hold your nose and drink a glass.

Increasing the amount of nitrates in your body like this is essentially the same strategies that doctors are employing when they put you on those expensive ED pills.

That’s essentially what they do. Increase your nitrates to increase your blood flow.

Dark Chocolate

Are you a chocaholic? If so, you’re in luck! Dark chocolate is filled with flavonoids, and flavonoids, like nitrates, help to improve your circulation.

It's the same basic principle as those leafy greens, but a whole lot better tasting. So buy a bar of dark chocolate and enjoy!

Pistachios

A recent study showed that eating pistachio nuts every day led to a significant increase in sexual performance after just three weeks.

In addition to lessening the effects of ED, it also had the benefit of increasing overall sexual satisfaction.

What causes this almost magical effect? It all comes down to a protein called arginine, which, like the other things we’ve mentioned so far, help to relax blood vessels.

Oysters

For centuries, oysters have had the reputation as being an aphrodisiac. It isn’t, but part of that reputation stems from the fact that oysters are packed with just incredible amounts of zinc.

You may not have realized this, but zinc plays a pivotal role in the production of testosterone in men. That matters because one of the causes of ED is low testosterone. Eating oysters (or shellfish in general) is a great way to help solve your low-T problem, which in turn, will reduce your ED symptoms.

Watermelon

While there are a number of tasty treats that are packed with antioxidants, few pack as big of a punch as watermelon. If you don’t like watermelon, give blueberries a try.

Both are great sources of antioxidants, and both will help mitigate your ED symptoms.

Tomatoes (& Pink Grapefruit)

Both of these foods are loaded with lycopene, which does good things for people who suffer with ED.

Lycopene, when mixed with oily foods such as avocados or olive oil can help in the same way that watermelon and blueberries do – in this case, it’s all about the antioxidants!

In addition to adding certain things to your diet, you’ll do a lot to help yourself by taking certain things OUT of your diet.

Specifically, if you smoke, consider stopping. The nicotine in cigarettes is known to constrict your blood vessels, which reduces blood flow. Those smokes are literally working against your sexual performance.

Alcohol is another thing to seriously consider reducing your intake of. While a little bit of alcohol can increase your sexual desire, it’s essentially a poison, and can actually decrease your sexual performance.

If you’re serious about minimizing the effects of ED, get it out of your diet.

Health & Fitness | Men's Health