By Rebecca Jones
Every man is concerned with his ability to get and maintain an erection. Not only are they necessary for a happy sex life but they can help indicate one’s overall health as well. The penis can not function separately from the body so it’s fair to say that if you are not getting proper oxygen and blood circulation your penis won’t either. Conversely erectile dysfunction can predict heart problems sometimes years before other symptoms manifest themselves. The smaller blood vessels in the penis tend to be affected much earlier than the larger vessels in the heart. There are many fantastic medications like Viagra on the market today for a quick fix to ED but taken in conjunction with the following health tips you will be able to satisfy your parter and improve your overall health at the same time.
1. Eat Plenty of Dark fruits
The penis requires the blood dilator nitric oxide in order to achieve an erection but if the body contains too many free radicals this nitric oxide can decrease dramatically. Fruits like blueberries and blackberries are a rich source of antioxidants. These antioxidants along with the anthocyanins in dark fruits can counteract the effect of free radicals in the body allowing nitric oxide to do it’s job and allow blood flow to the penis.
2. Maintain a Healthy BMI
Unfortunately as a man’s body weight increases so do levels of the hormone estrogen while levels of testosterone decrease. With less testosterone present in the body it becomes increasing more difficult to achieve a full erection. The good news? According to an article in Men’s Health obese men who dropped just 10% of their body weight were able to put hormone levels and erections right back on track.
3. Eat Lots of Dark Chocolate
The flavanoids in dark chocolate release dilating chemicals that increase blood flow to the penis. Consuming 1.6oz of dark chocolate every day can increase your blood vessel dialation by 10% just make sure to look for chocolate bars that contain high levels of cocoa and low levels of sugar to get the maximum benefits.
(More on kwikblog.kwikmed.com: Erectile Dysfunction Linked to the Health of Your Heart)
4. Keep Stress Levels Under Control
Sitting in traffic, being late to work, bickering children; it seems like everywhere we turn their is something to be stressed out about but stress releases epinephrine a type of adrenaline that can wreak havoc on a man’s ability to get an erection. Not only that but epinephrine can cause a hardening of the arteries so it can be deadly to your heart as well. The next time your stress levels rise try closing your eyes and taking deep breaths keeping yourself in the present will help reduce the release of epinephrine keeping your arteries and your penis is good working order.
5. Quit Smoking
We all know that smoking is terrible for us it increases are risk of cancer and heart disease not to mention emphysema. Well more bad news, smoking causes arterial damage that doubles a mans risk of ED. There is a silver lining however; just one smoke free day can lead to a 40% improvement in performance. Maybe this was just the motivation you needed to finally quit smoking.
The good news is that between medications like Viagra and lifestyle changes like the ones mentioned above there are many ways to treat ED. Taking your sexual health seriously today can not only lead to a happier sex life but it can prevent bigger health problems down the road and for that your heart will say thank you.