Just as healthy foods are the fuel your body needs to function normally, certain foods offer men the added benefit of improving their sexual health and, most importantly, their erectile function.
If your performance in bed has grown a little lackluster and you’re looking for ways to achieve a stronger and longer-lasting erection, here are nine foods that can help you improve your game.
For those of you looking for a theme, here’s a hint. The vast majority of these erection-friendly foods are plant-based and are especially rich in one or more of the following nutrients: arginine, antioxidants, and phytonutrients.
Arginine = Nitric Oxide
Arginine is a naturally occurring amino acid that promotes your body’s production of nitric oxide, one of the key players in erectile function. When your brain becomes preoccupied with thoughts of sexual desire, it triggers a release of nitric oxide that in turn sets in motion the erectile process.
Antioxidants are chemical compounds that fight free radicals, the culprits behind a dizzying array of illnesses as well as the cell-damaging effects of aging. They are believed to help reduce the buildup of plaques that clog the linings of blood vessels and in so doing promote both heart health and erectile function.
Phytonutrients
The third group of nutrients that strengthen erectile function is known collectively as phytonutrients, which simply means they are nutrients found naturally in plant foods. Among the phytonutrients that are particularly helpful in getting and keeping strong erections are anthocyanidins, catechins, flavanones, flavones, and flavonols.
Urologist Harry Fisch, M.D., author of “Size Matters,” says foods rich in anthocyanidins include berries, cherries, grapes, fruit skins, and true fruit juices. For catechins, you’ll need to drink so-called true teas, those that are brewed from fermented or unfermented leaves and stems of the Camellia sinensis plant.
Flavanones, Flavones, and Flavonols
Flavanones are found primarily in citrus fruits, while flavones occur naturally in celery, grains, parsley and other herbs. Flavonol-rich fruits and vegetables include apples, berries, broccoli, endive, grapefruit, leeks, onions, oranges, and tomatoes.
While foods rich in the three above-mentioned nutrients will all help you to get it up and keep it up, the specific foods cited below get the highest marks when it comes to promoting erectile function.
1. Raw Cocoa Products
Topping AnabolicMen.com’s list of erection-boosting foods are raw cocoa products, or raw chocolate. Forget your super-processed milk chocolate candy bars, which have had most of the beneficial nutrients cooked out of them. Go for the purest forms of chocolate or cocoa you can find. While they may seem somewhat bitter, these purer chocolate products are loaded with all the nutrients that help to promote strong erectile function.
Studies have shown that raw powder extracted from the beans of cacao plant can lower systolic blood pressure by 5 to 10 points, all of which strengthens blood flow to the penis, essential for a robust erection.
2. Bananas
Bananas are rich in potassium, and potassium helps to promote healthy blood flow, which is beneficial to both the heart and the penis. Because potassium also helps to keep your body’s sodium levels under control, it lowers the risk of high blood pressure, an obvious enemy of the erectile process. According to an article at 360nobs.com, bananas also have high levels of tryptophan, a mood enhancer, and the minerals magnesium and manganese, which help to keep your prostate gland healthy and functioning at optimal levels.
3. Garlic
Your significant other may stop complaining about your garlicky breath when she sees the benefits that the stinky clove confers upon your penis. Studies have shown that garlic has a strong anti-hypertensive effect and also stimulates your body to produce testosterone, the primary male sex hormone, according to 360nobs.com.
4. Beans and Other Healthy Proteins
To build muscle and promote good muscular function, your body needs protein. Beans are an excellent source of protein that don’t come with all the fat found in most animal protein. While a certain amount of fat is essential to overall good health, too much can cause a buildup of plaque on the linings of your blood vessels, thus compromising circulation to both the penis and the heart. Protein also helps to fuel the metabolic processes that are at work during digestion.
5. Spinach
It seems that Popeye had the right idea when he scarfed down copious amounts of spinach. No wonder Olive Oyl had a smile on her face and was always exclaiming, “Ohhhhh Popeye!” This wonder vegetable is rich in arginine, which promotes your body’s production of the nitric oxide that plays an important role in the erectile process, as we’ve already seen. And, according to AnabolicMen.com, spinach is loaded with “natural steroids,” known scientifically as phytoecdysteroids. Two of the erection-boosting steroids present in spinach are ecdysterone and dehydroepiandrosterone.
6. Oatmeal
Oats are rich in arginine, the amino acid that’s a chemical precursor to nitric oxide. Nitric oxide dilates blood vessels, optimizing the flow of oxygen-rich blood to all the body’s organs, including the heart and penis. Oatmeal also helps promote the production of testosterone, the main male sex hormone and a key factor in regulating sex drive in both men and women.
7. Pomegranates
Pomegranates and pomegranate juice are loaded with healthful nutrients, including antioxidants and arginine, the latter of which triggers the body to produce more nitric oxide. Geo Espinosa, a naturopathic doctor and director of the Integrative Urology Center at New York University Langone Medical Center, told we that he tells his ED patients to drink pomegranate juice. “It could help ED, and even if it doesn’t, it has other health benefits.
As to the benefits of pomegranates for circulatory health, central to the erection process, AnabolicMen.com cites an Israeli study that showed that long-term pomegranate consumption led to a significant drop in blood pressure. Study subjects who regularly drank pomegranate juice over a three-year period reduced the plaque lining blood vessel walls by an average of 30 percent.
8. Chili Peppers
Capsaicin, the active ingredient in chili peppers, accounts for the peppers’ hot and spicy taste, but it also gives your body’s circulatory system a significant boost as well. Eating peppers sends a rush of blood to your face, your heart, your penis, and the rest of your body. Chili peppers are also rich in vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant. On top of that, capsaicin stimulates the production of endorphins, which are the body’s natural painkillers and also promote feelings of wellbeing.
9. Walnuts
While almost all tree nuts, eaten in moderation, are good for sexual health and health in general, walnuts get high marks from AnabolicMen.com for their erection-boosting qualities. To maximize the benefits of walnuts, it’s best to eat raw nuts that are unsalted and unroasted or processed in any way.
Like all nuts, walnuts are rich in arginine, the amino acid that stimulates the production of nitric oxide. Walnuts are also loaded with vitamin E, a potent antioxidant, and potassium. A study by Indian researchers showed that test subjects who ate six to eight walnuts daily were able to reduce their blood pressure by 10 points. Lower blood pressure means more robust circulation and a stronger flow of blood to the penis.
Don Amerman is a freelance author who writes extensively about a wide array of nutrition and health-related topics.
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