Erectile Dysfunction: Natural Or Not?

Most men living a Western lifestyle will reach a critical decision point - I see it all the time in the emails I get - where they have to decide if they will go natural or go with the more traditional drug regimen prescribed by their physicians.  Here is a typical scenario that occurs with many men:

Step 1.  Man develops the beginnings of arteriosclerosis and high blood pressure, often with accompanying prediabetes.

Step 2.  Man has damaged endothelium with reduced nitric oxide output and vasoreactivity occurring from step 1.

Step 3.  Man begins to experience erectile dysfunction, eventually leading to a crisis event in the bedroom. 

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Step 4:  Man goes to doctor, who implies that Steps 1-3 are a normal part of aging.  Doctor puts patient on an ACE Inhibitor or other high blood pressure medication for high blood pressure and a prescription for Viagra or Cialis.

Step 5.  Man develops even higher blood pressure that is no longer contained by the ACE Inhibitor.  Beta blockers, diuretics and statins are added over the next five years to try to control the ongoing cardiovascular and endothelial issues related to arterial inflammation, hardening and plaque buildup.

We all have friends and family members who have through these steps and it is the current SOP (standard operating procedure) for doctors, at least here in the U.S.  Of course, there are many problems with all of this and, underneath, all men know instinctively that there has got to be a better way.

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The problem, of course, is that the drug route leads to many, many problems.  The primary reason is that drugs do not address the underlying dietary and lifestyle issues that caused the cardiovascular problems in the first place.  Thus, the body not only does not heal itself but just worsens requiring more and more drugs.

Futhermore, the drugs are full of side effects.  In fact, some blood pressure medications, especially beta blockers and diurectics, are reported by many men to cause erectile dysfunction. And the other side effects are certainly not going to help your sex life: 

ACE Inhibitors are known for causing a persistent cough and beta blockers are packed with side effects, such as wheezing, dizziness, fatigue, loss of blood sugar control and on and on the. Furthermore, most heart and/or hypertension patients will end up on multiple medications, which only increases further their risk of erectile dysfunction, side effects and/or drug interactions.

Of course, there is another way, but the other choice takes time, effort and research. The other choice is to let the body health itself as much as possible with a natural lifestyle that is based on 1) ample exercise, 2) a Low Fat (Ornish), DASH or Mediterranean Diet  and 3) maybe a couple of the most safe, well-studied herbs.  (CAUTION:  Always talk to your physician before making any changes.)

Why do I say this? Well, as I document in my link on Erectile Dysfunction and Exercise, getting your bod moving helps your penis in literally every major endothelial category. It can literally build new vessels where there were none before and that's just what you need!

A Low Fat (Ornish) will actually clear out arterial plaque and significantly reduce blood pressure. A DASH Diet will dramatically lower blood pressure. And a Mediterranean Diet is known for improved mortality rates and a pro-testosterone fat makeup. Many men can significantly reduce their medication requirements or even go off of meds by simply "going natural". And, of course, the same thing with erectile dysfunction: my experience is that almost all men can dramatically improve their erections with lifestyle changes alone and sometimes even cure it completely.

The fact that the body can often heal itself was shown recently in a program looking at obese individuals where their inflammation was decreased and endothelial function increased.  Futhermore, many of them noted a significant improvement in their erectile dysfunction as well and as expected. [1]  How did they do this?  Simply by losing weight and exercising!  If they had followed one of the solid plant-based diets above, they would have endoubtedly experienced even more significant changes as well.

NOTE:  Going natural takes time. Men usually usually experience steady improvement that continues for years. 

The bottom line is that the body can heal itself and often entirely. All you have to do is live the way you were born to live and go natural. Remember:  any reasonable whole food, plant-based diet will boost your nitric oxide and drop your blood pressure.  And any reasonable exercise program will increase blood flow and nitric oxide as well. 

REFERENCES:

1)  Medscape, "The Erectile-endotheliam Dysfunction Nexus: Reversal of Endothelial and Erectile Dysfunction:  Reversal of Endothelial and Erectile Dysfunction"