6 Lifestyle Changes for Erectile Dysfunction: How Can They Help You?

Researchers at the University of Adelaide in South Australia recently completed a study of men with ED. They found that making lifestyle changes for erectile dysfunction could successfully reverse the condition in men.

According to Dr. Sean Martin from the University of Adelaide, erectile dysfunction medications can work better when taken with the right foods for erectile dysfunction, and erectile dysfunction exercises can increase strength and blood flow to the penis and groin.

Let’s examine how to treat erectile dysfunction by including the following six lifestyle changes in your treatment plan.

Eat Foods to Help Erectile Dysfunction

When your diet isn’t healthy, it affects your energy levels. In addition, the long-term effects of unhealthy eating can be clogged arteries, diabetes, and heart disease, which are risk factors for ED.

To help improve blood flow throughout your entire body—including your penis—limit salt, sugars, and fatty foods from your diet. Vegetables and fruits are great-tasting and heart-healthy, and they can help you fight ED.

Eating better can result in weight loss, and a healthy weight can improve ED. So, what foods are the best when you’re fighting ED?

It’s not complicated: eat less processed foods and concentrate on nutrient-filled produce like spinach, tomatoes, avocados, apples, peppers, carrots, and whole grains.

Protein-rich foods containing unprocessed carbs can improve the health of your prostate, and decrease your risks of erectile dysfunction.

Exercises to help Erectile Dysfunction

You don’t have to do any special exercises to decrease your risk of erectile dysfunction (although we do recommend pelvic floor physiotherapy if your pelvic muscles require strengthening).

You can improve your physical and sexual health with a half-hour of exercise five times per week. Exercise can reduce stress, increase energy levels, improve circulation, and keep your heart and arteries in good condition.

According to professors at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, exercise helps to reduce the risk of ED by:

• Strengthening and elasticizing blood vessels to allow greater blood flow to your genital area
• Stimulating your body’s production of nitrogen oxide, allowing blood vessels to expand (Something interesting to note: this is what the drug Viagra claims to do).

Quit Smoking

You hear it all the time: quit smoking. Of course, we know how hard it is to quit—but smoking increases the risk of erectile dysfunction, and when blood vessels are sufficiently damaged, it may be physically impossible for you to get an erection.

It’s the chemicals in cigarettes that are bad for the arteries around your penis. If the blood vessels become unhealthy due to smoking, your penis can’t respond to signals of sexual arousal coming from your brain, and you can’t get an erection.

Research has proven that men who smoke 20+ cigarettes a day are at a 60% higher risk of developing erectile dysfunction than nonsmokers. Only 12% of nonsmoking men experienced symptoms of erectile dysfunction.

Reduce Alcohol Intake

Medical researchers have noted that heavy drinking affects a man’s brain and his penis. At the University of Washington, a study found that sober men got an erection faster than intoxicated men, and some intoxicated men couldn’t even get an erection at all.

Too much alcohol cuts the blood flow to your penis, and it can reduce the intensity of an orgasm. Putting it plainly, too much drinking decreases the pleasurable sensations of sex.

Medical research proves that alcoholic males have an up to 70% chance of experiencing ED and other sexual health problems. So hopefully, you’re not dependent on alcohol, and you can reduce your intake.

Manage Stress

Stress is a normal part of our modern life, and though we often don’t have control over our environmental stressors (work, relationships, finances), we can manage how we RESPOND to stress.  It’s not embarrassing to admit that you’re experiencing mental health issues, and we can explain specific treatments to ease stress and anxiety.

Good mental health helps to reduce erectile dysfunction. That’s because feelings of stress and anxiety can interrupt the signals your brain is trying to send the penis when you are sexually aroused.

Dealing with mental health issues can eliminate sexual health problems, and we recommend these therapies  to deal with anxiety and stress:

• Confidential counseling, sexual therapy, and psychodynamic therapy
• Relaxation techniques like acupuncture, yoga, and meditation
• Chamomile, kava, and black maca are relaxing herbs and supplements for the mind

You deserve the best mental, physical, and sexual health when you seek treatment for erectile dysfunction.

Have Sex

You may be thinking, “isn’t that the point?”

The frustrations you experience when you can’t get or keep an erection can make you want to stop trying altogether—but it’s crucial to stay sexually active.

You can prevent more serious symptoms of erectile dysfunction by maintaining intimacy or self-pleasure to feel sexual arousal. Any erections you get, even when it doesn’t last long or isn’t firm, can stimulate blood flowing into your penis and groin area.

Put it this way: your penis is a muscle. Doctors in urology and sexual health tell us that all muscles need exercise. For a penis, that means trying to get an erection.

Don’t worry if you don’t ejaculate. The “exercise” is in the erection, and it’s natural for men to experience between 3-6 erections a night. A warning sign of ED is when you don’t have spontaneous erections during the night.

You are not Alone!

Many men, especially older males, have problems getting an erection. We want you to know that you don’t have to just live with it.

As we’ve discussed, erectile dysfunction is treatable. Sex is a natural thing, and it’s good for you and your penis!

Our specialists at Oakwood Health Network understand the frustrations of erectile dysfunction, and the experience or causes can be different from man to man.

We treat ED with multiple strategies. Your individualized treatment plan will include more information on lifestyle changes for erectile dysfunction, the right foods for erectile dysfunction, and erectile dysfunction exercises for you.

Let us help you tackle erectile dysfunction. Contact us today to schedule a consultation.