Be The Healthy U!
  • Healthy Blog
  • Healthy Recipes
  • Online Cooking Classes
  • I Can Help
  • 28-Day Program
  • Healthy Dog Blog
  • About Terri
  • Resources
  • Ask Dr. Terri
  • Testimonials

Erectile Dysfunction and Plant-Based Foods in the Same Sentence?

8/30/2013

0 Comments

 
Why would I be talking about erectile dysfunction here? Perhaps because erectile dysfunction, or impotence (difficulty maintaining an erection sufficient for sex), can be an early warning sign of heart disease. In fact, according to an article posted in Time Health & Family, an Australian study found that men with severe erectile dysfunction were 60% more likely to go to the hospital for coronary heart disease and twice as likely to die over a two to three year period, compared to men who did not have erection problems. There is a link between impotence and heart attacks.

Atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, is caused by the build-up of plaques in your arteries and increases your risk of aneurysm, stroke, and peripheral artery disease. Smaller arteries get plugged up before larger arteries, so the penis will get blocked before the larger arteries that supply blood to the heart and other organs. When blood flow to the penis is blocked, erection is difficult, and the good news is that it could save your life!

Wouldn’t it make sense that something that can improve heart disease would also improve sexual dysfunction? According to Caldwell Esselstyn Jr. MD, a total whole, plant-based diet can completely stop and even reverse heart disease! Studies have shown that a diet full of antioxidant-rich, anti-inflammatory-rich, cholesterol-lowering whole plant-based foods can both improve sexual function and lower risk of heart disease.

Antioxidant-rich foods have a “Viagra-like” effect of boosting nitric oxide production, which improves blood flow. Pistachio nuts have arginine, an amino acid that boosts nitric oxide production. In a study by Aldemir and colleagues published in the International Journal of Impotence Research in 2011, men who consumed 100 grams of pistachio nuts daily for three weeks experienced lower cholesterol (cholesterol is an important indicator of sexual dysfunction) and improved erectile function with no side effects. The improved blood flow could be explained by increased nitric oxide production from the arginine in the pistachio nuts.

Drugs like Viagra inhibit phosphodiesterase-5, (an enzyme that reduces blood flow to the penis) and artificially boost nitric oxide production to increase blood flow, which only covers up symptoms of the underlying problem of unhealthy arteries. Phosphodiesterase-5 is also found in the retina, and a side effect of Viagra can be loss of vision. Why risk side effects at all when the problem can be completely stopped or even reversed? Eating whole plant-based foods like nuts actually helps attack the root cause of the unhealthy arteries: cholesterol, oxidation, and inflammation. Plus eating whole plant-based foods only has good side effects.

Resources

http://healthland.time.com/2013/01/30/erectile-dysfunction-can-be-a-warning-sign-for-heart-disease/

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/erectile-dysfunction/HB00074

http://nutritionfacts.org/video/pistachio-nuts-for-erectile-dysfunction/
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Terri Quenzer, PhD

    Terri has a passion for good health and for helping others find happiness in themselves through better health! Through her scientific and life experiences, her goal is to help you reach your healthy goals!

    ​Be The Healthy U!: nominated for San Diego's Best Nutrition/Cooking Classes of 2016!

    Picture
    Catch Terri's interview about plant-based nutrition on KCQB 1170 AM - click here.

    How Not to Die: Terri interviews New York Times Bestselling Author Michael Greger, MD. Listen below.
    Terri speaks with Jordan Hoffman of Jordan Hoffman Acupuncture about what to eat and East vs West.
    Picture

    Click Here To Sign Up For Your Free Newsletter

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    September 2017
    May 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012

    Categories

    All