Is food related to impotence in males?
What foods to avoid & why?
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| Foods To Avoid For Sexual Health |
Nutritional and dietary choices can significantly contribute to difficulties in achieving and maintaining a health or long-lasting erection. Poor dietary choices, in particular, may lead to vascular disease (the most common cause of erectile dysfunction), which interferes with the erection process by restricting blood flow to the penis. Therefore, if you want to counter male impotence or sexual (erectile dysfunction), it is just as important to avoid the kind of foods that are to your detriment, as it is to eat the right things. Fortunately, studies have consistently shown that erectile dysfunction often readily responds to nutritional changes and natural / herbal diet. This article gives you a brief review of some important foods groups that, if consumed on regular basis, could severely impact the health of your penis and sexual performance.
1- Avoid fried and fatty foods: Fast food or junk food usually comprises of fatty foods and fried foods that are high in saturated fat. This type of food slows down blood flow because of the difficulty the stomach has digesting them. Saturated fat can also be found in dairy products such as whole milk cheese and butter, red meat, the skin of chicken, and nuts. If you want to eat these foods, reduce portion size and limit consumption to once a week. Switch to non-fat milk and replace butter or margarine with heart-healthy oils such as olive, peanut or canola. Red meat also contains high amounts of saturated fat; if you choose to eat red meat, choose extra-lean ground beef to cut down on calories and fat. Avoid eating food items containing trans-fats. Chips, crackers, cookies, fried food and packaged foods have trans-fats in them.
2- Avoid white flour: Many health care experts recommend the use of unprocessed “whole wheat flour”. The reason being processing removes most of the nutrients including ones that are important to your sex life. Obviously, for health, for fitness and for good sex, you want a well-nourished body, not one filled up on empty calories with few nutrients. When whole wheat is processed into white flour, for example, it loses about three-quarters of its zinc, a mineral essential to men's sexuality and reproduction. It should be remembered that one of the highest concentrations of zinc in the body is found in the prostate gland, which produces most of the fluid in semen. Also, too many refined grains (including the white flour) are associated with insulin resistance, a precursor of diabetes, which in turn can accelerate narrowing of the arteries, increasing your risks of heart disease and erectile dysfunction.
3- Avoid sugary foods / soda drinks: Men need nitric oxide to obtain and sustain erections. Fructose, a simple form of sugar (that is in everything sweet, look at the label) is an inhibitor of nitric oxide. Similarly, soda drinks (carbonated drinks) contain a high amount of calories and artificial sugar, all leading to the increased risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease (and hence indirectly to male impotence). However, it does not mean that you should absolutely refrain from anything sweet. Instead, you should prefer natural sweet foods like raw, fresh fruits with fiber and juices. Avoid sugary junk food like donuts, pastries, cakes, muffins and anything that contains “artificial sweeteners”.
4- Avoid alcohol: Alcohol is a well-known CNS depressant and also testosterone levels in men. According to a Duke University Medical Center study, regular moderate male drinkers experienced reduced capacity for penile erection, semen production and sperm counts. Consuming even small amounts of alcohol interferes with a man's ability to control premature ejaculation and can result in fewer or no orgasms and decreased orgasm quality.
5- Avoid smoking (tobacco): Like several other disorders and diseases related with smoking or tobacco consumption, erectile dysfunction and poor sex performance are no exception. Above all, it has been now scientifically proven that habitual; smoking does severely affect the growth and health of sexual organs including penis but also negatively impairs several other aspects of sexual health. An analysis of 27 studies addressing the effect of smoking on sperm concentration, motility, and morphology in fertile and infertile men found a modest reduction in semen quality and altered hormone levels among smokers compared to nonsmokers. Similarly, studies of non-infertile male smokers and nonsmokers reported an average 23 percent decrease in sperm concentration and 13 percent decrease in sperm motility among the smokers. On the other hand, smoking significantly increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease and lung disease which all could lead to male impotency. Hence, to maintain healthy sexual performance and organs, smoking should be actively avoided by all means.
Last but not least, avoiding the above-mentioned foods strictly and regularly and making your food choices wisely can surely help in preventing you against various male sexual disorders (particularly, erectile dysfunction or ED). And as the scientific data suggests, it will also protect your penis from various age-related effects. We have heard the famous saying that "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach." Perhaps, we should also keep in mind that “The way to the penis health may be through a man’s mouth.”
