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About Diet & Men's Sexual Health
by Contributing Writer
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Overview
Men who maintain a healthy, balanced diet have healthier sex lives. What you eat can both benefit and detract from your sex life. Heart friendly foods will enhance your sex life by aiding blood circulation, essential to achieving and maintaining an erection. Just as important is keeping your weight down, which reduces stress on your heart.
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Aphrodisiacs Unproven
Over the centuries, certain herbs, foods, and other agents have been touted to enhance and intensify the sex drive. But scientists are skeptical. "There is no data and no scientific evidence" to show that such aphrodisiacs increase sexual desire, says Leonore Tiefer, a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine,
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Importance of Good Circulation
Improving blood circulation will lead to better erectile response. During arousal, the heart increases the flow of blood to the genital areas, enhancing sexual responses. When the arteries are clogged with saturated fats, the heart has trouble pumping blood throughout the body, including to the genitals. Consuming too little fat can also impede erectile function, making a balanced diet essential. "You need fat to produce your hormones. Cholesterol is metabolized in the liver, and you get your testosterone and estrogen, which you need for your sex drive," according to Beverly Whipple, professor emerita at Rutgers University. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, such as found in olive oil, salmon and nuts, are good fats that stimulate sex-related hormones.
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Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids improve circulation in the body. "Omega-3 makes your nervous system function better. Sex is really about circuitry," says Dr. Barbara Bartlik, assistant professor of psychiatry and a sex therapist with the Human Sexuality Program at Weill Cornell Medical Center. Foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids include mackerel, salmon and wild salmon. Also consider multivitamin supplements.
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L-Arginine
Foods rich in L-Arginine may improve erectile response. A 2005 study published by Steven Lamm, M.D., showed that L-Arginine, along with pine bark extract, improved the sexual activities of 81 percent of the 37 men who took part in the study. The study used supplements, but L-Arginine can also be found in foods such as granola, oatmeal, peanuts, cashews, walnuts, dairy, green and root vegetables, garlic, ginseng, soybeans and chickpeas. The Mayo Clinic, however, reports that the verdict is still out on L-Arginine and cites such potential side effects as nausea, cramps and diarrhea if used in high dosages.
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Staying Fit
Besides eating a balanced diet, exercise to stay in shape. "Reducing weight results in an increase of testosterone and thus an increase in sexual function," according to Dr. Ridwan Shabsigh, director of the New York Center for Human Sexuality and associate professor of urology at Columbia University's medical school.
