7 tips to protect your erection

“A lot of guys know their lifestyle is harming their health, but it isn’t until it begins to affect their sex life that they start to listen,” says Charles Walker, M.D., assistant professor of urology and co-founder of the Cardiovascular and Sexual Health clinic at Yale University to healthyfoodandsporttips.com.

There are plenty of ways for men to protect their erection. Some of it requires changing your daily habits and opting for healthier and better habits.

• Your diet:

A diet which is bad for your heart is eventually bad for your erection. Researchers claim that food habits that causes heart attack at times also restrict blood flow in your penis. Blood flow is essential to keep your penis moving.

Fatty, fried, and processed foods decreases blood circulation throughout the body. Remember what’s bad for your heart is bad for your penis.

Eat lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, heart-healthy fats including nuts and olive oil, fish, and wine, particularly red.

• Weight:

Maintaining a healthy weight is essential. Being overweight leads to many health issues including type 2 diabetes, which can cause nerve damage throughout the body.

• Avoid high blood pressure and high cholesterol:

High cholesterol and high blood pressure can damage blood vessels. This also leads to erectile dysfunction. Keep a regular check at your cholesterol levels and blood pressure. If it is increased get treated for it immediately.

Blood pressure medicines at times can make it hard to get an erection.

• Moderate alcohol intake:

There is no evidence that mild or even moderate alcohol consumption is bad for erectile function, says Ira Sharlip, MD, a urology professor at the University Of California San Francisco School Of Medicine.

But chronic heavy drinking can lead to liver damage, nerve damage, and other conditions such as interfering with the normal balance of male sex hormone levels that can lead to erectile dysfunction (ED).

• Exercise regularly:

Strong evidence links a sedentary lifestyle to ED. Aerobics, martial art, running, swimming, other forms exercise can help in better erection.

• Keep tabs on testosterone:

Testosterone levels often begin falling sharply around age 50 even if you are healthy. After age 40, a man's testosterone level typically falls about 1.3%.

Symptoms like a low sex drive, lack of stamina, moodiness etc suggest a testosterone deficiency, as do lackluster erections.

• Stop smoking:

Smoking cigarettes can harm blood vessels and reduce blood flow to the penis. Also, nicotine makes blood vessels contract and it automatically hampers the blood flow in your penis