When it comes to sex, us Brits have a unique attitude and reputation. We seem obsessed with it, although judging by the number of people who watch Love Island, the obsession is with others having sex, as surveys show we are having it less and less (and even then, we’re not that good at it). . , according to satisfaction level surveys).
Meanwhile, problems like erectile dysfunction are often not taken seriously; The attitude is that if you suffer from impotence, just take Viagra, that will fix it and there is no need to worry.
Impotence is actually very serious: and while its causes are a complex mix of the psychological and the physical, for a significant number of men, the key problem is reduced blood flow to the penis.
Meanwhile, problems like erectile dysfunction are often not taken seriously; The attitude is that if you suffer from impotence, just take Viagra, that will fix it and there is no need to worry.
Many men obtain Viagra without a prescription or online without consulting their doctor.
In fact, risk factors for heart disease and stroke also cause the inability to achieve an erection; that’s high cholesterol, high blood pressure, lack of exercise, obesity, and metabolic syndrome (where insulin levels are perpetually high because you’re eating too many carbs and sugar).
It’s a “canary in the mine” condition – the first sign that there might be blocked arteries elsewhere in the body, especially the heart, which is why it’s so vital to seek medical help as soon as you experience it.
About two-thirds of men who have had a heart attack have had erectile dysfunction in the previous five years. And you’re almost 50 percent more likely to have a heart attack if you have erectile dysfunction.
I have seen many patients who have come to the ER with a heart attack, who when you ask them about any other medical problem, reveal that they have trouble getting erections.
DYNAMIC DUOS: Nutrients that are best consumed together
This week: Iron and vitamin C
Iron deficiency is quite common in children and adolescents during periods of rapid growth, in women of menstrual age and during pregnancy. Symptoms include low energy, being more susceptible to infections and, in severe cases, heart palpitations.
“Red meat and offal are rich sources of heme iron, which is well absorbed by the body,” says dietitian Orli Rhodes. “Fish and poultry also contain useful amounts of this type of iron.”
Red pepper provides vitamin C
Iron from plant sources such as legumes, legumes, nuts, grains and dark green leafy vegetables, known as “non-heme” iron, is less easily absorbed, he explains, which can affect those who follow vegetarian or vegan diets, or those who They eat little. Red meat. But vitamin C (found in citrus, red peppers, berries, or tomatoes) can increase the absorption of nonheme iron.
Try: spinach and lentil stuffed red peppers; breakfast cereal fortified with blueberries; tofu stir fry (with broccoli).
However, many never talked to their doctor about it or simply obtained Viagra without a prescription or online, so the risk factors that led to the heart attack were not controlled.
So if you suffer from erectile dysfunction, it warrants a broader health check, not just buying a prescription online.
Especially since we know that it is also associated with the development of dementia. This was proven beyond a doubt in a 2015 study published in the journal Medicine, which looked at one million men over a seven-year period: those with erectile dysfunction were 68 percent more likely to also develop dementia in that period. time.
So it wasn’t a big surprise to me when a couple of weeks ago I saw the headlines saying that “Viagra can help stop dementia.” And the study, published in the highly respected journal Neurology, actually provides good evidence for this association: Researchers compared two groups of men with erectile dysfunction: those who took Viagra and those who didn’t; in total, more than a quarter of a million men.
At the end of the study, 1,119 of them had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Those who had taken Viagra were 18 percent less likely to suffer from dementia, and the benefits of Viagra were greater the more it was taken, with more than 20 prescriptions leading to a 44 percent reduction in the risk of dementia.
If Viagra is the key (and the dementia benefits aren’t just due to sex), how does it work to reduce dementia? And could women benefit in the same way from taking it?
The drug was originally developed to treat angina, a condition caused by a lack of blood flow to the heart. Viagra helps dilate blood vessels, improving blood flow and reducing angina symptoms, such as chest pain.
The mechanism is complex, but essentially the drug enhances the effect of nitric oxide, a compound that helps relax blood vessels.
An unexpected but welcome side effect was that men who participated in the trials reported that it helped with their erectile dysfunction.
From this we can reasonably conclude that the dilation of blood vessels that Viagra so effectively causes in the penis also occurs in the brain.
And greater blood flow to the brain means more oxygen to cells and less cell damage.
So could this work in women too? Viagra for sexual dysfunction in women has not shown any benefit, no doubt in part because there are far fewer receptors on which the drug acts in the genital area of women than on the penis, but also because female arousal is much more complex. than blood flow.
But what about preventing dementia in women (or people without erectile dysfunction)? This research hasn’t been done, but it could be that one day more of us, not just men struggling with impotence, could be prescribed Viagra to save their brains.
Personally, I don’t think it’s a good idea because of its side effects (such as headaches, hot flashes, indigestion, and visual problems).
More interesting for anyone who wants to protect their brain is what this unexpected Viagra study reveals about the debate over the real causes of dementia.
Alzheimer’s, the most common cause of dementia, has long been thought to be caused by protein tangles that damage neurons in the brain.
SECRETS OF A LIST BODY: How to get the enviable physiques of the stars
Jennifer Aniston showed off her sculpted arms at the Screen Actor’s Guild Awards on Sunday.
The 55-year-old actor’s workout regime includes ’15-15-15′: 15 minutes each on a spin bike, an elliptical bike and a treadmill. He also travels with 8-pound weights to do arm exercises “while watching TV or talking on the phone.” For the past few years she has been a fan of Pvolve training, described as Pilates with a twist.
Jennifer Aniston and her sculpted arms
What to try: Use light weights to do the Pilates movement “flares.” Hold the dumbbells in front of your thighs, palms facing inward. Draw small circles with the weights, then raise your arms as you continue drawing circles toward the sky. At the top, reverse direction and draw small circles as you go down. This will tone your entire arm and chest. Do three sets of eight repetitions, every other day.
In fact, billions have been invested in drugs to address them for more than 30 years, and even the last year’s “breakthrough” new treatments, such as lecanemab, have many question marks.
And if these proteins were the cause, this could not explain the study results showing that men taking Viagra had a lower risk of dementia.
But if it is the lack of blood flow that causes dementia and the protein tangles are a side effect of cellular damage, then this could explain the impact of Viagra.
And we can easily replicate the way Viagra works by increasing nitric oxide levels in the blood going to the brain.
In so-called “blue zones” (places like Sardinia in Italy and Okinawa in Japan, where life expectancy is incredibly high and dementia levels incredibly low) their diets are rich in foods high in nitrates, which the body converts. in nitric oxide. These are leafy vegetables such as seaweed, spinach, kale, beets, celery and radish.
Eating foods rich in L-arginine, which is converted to nitric oxide, could also help: these include nuts, seeds and beans; as well as foods that contain L-citrulline, which is found in pumpkin, cucumber, cantaloupe and watermelon. L-citrulline is converted in the body to L-arginine and is more easily absorbed.
The possible benefits of L-arginine and L-citrulline supplements are also being investigated. In 2020, in the journal Alzheimer’s and Dementia, L-citrulline was shown to slow cognitive decline in mice; Meanwhile, a 2022 study, published in the journal Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine, involving 72 frail patients with high blood pressure, showed that those given L-arginine for four weeks had improved levels of cognition (not just a slower decline) better than a placebo group.
Antioxidants can also help: these molecules neutralize the harmful effects of free radicals, which are formed after various chemical reactions and damage cells; Antioxidants also increase nitric oxide production. Higher levels of antioxidants mean more nitric oxide.
Foods rich in antioxidants include fruits, vegetables, and dark chocolate. (Be careful, however, when taking antioxidant supplements, as they can reduce your own body’s production of antioxidants and cause harm.)
Striking evidence that antioxidants could help prevent dementia came in a study published in the journal Neurology in 2022, which found that higher levels of antioxidants in the blood were associated with lower levels of the condition.
High blood pressure can affect nitric oxide production by directly damaging the lining of blood vessels that produces it. And finally, regular physical activity is also crucial for stimulating nitric oxide production, as well as naturally increasing antioxidant levels.
So what can we get out of all this? Most importantly, if you have erectile dysfunction, don’t just take a pill – seek medical help to address the underlying problems. And for the rest of us, a healthy, active lifestyle is, as always, the key.