A Man’s Private Concerns

If you’re suffering from erectile dysfunction (ED), it isn’t “just” your self-image and sex life that are on the line. ED is intimately connected to public health enemy number one, and is now recognized as a powerful predictor of cardiovascular disease and death — even in men who don’t have the other well-known risk factors such as diabetes, smoking, high blood pressure, and so on. The number-one cause of ED is atherosclerosis; if you’re far enough along that you’ve got ED, then your risk of heart disease is already increased by 58 percent.

I just shake my head when, in their TV ads, the makers of the “ED drugs” Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra suggest that you ask your doctor if you’re healthy enough for sexual activity. When ED first appears, studies show, a man has about three years before his increased risk of cardiovascular disaster comes home to roost. That means you have a choice to make, and fast. You can take a pill and get erections for about three years before health issues become more important than sex. Or you can get healthy to the core now, and have a lifetime of spontaneous, strong sex drive and effortless erections for lasting pleasure, fun and bonding. No pill can give you that kind of enjoyment unless you’re already healthy. And if you’re already healthy, good erections are as natural as breathing – no pills around.

Sex is Good For You

Sex protects both men and women from such diseases as depression, colds, heart disease, and even cancer. A single orgasm can lower blood pressure for at least a week. Ironically, sexual activity also helps prevent ED (just as movement helps relieve joint pain), with your risk dropping by 80 percent if you increase the frequency of sex from less than once a week to twice a week. It’ll even give you up to a 33 percent sharper, more effective immune system. And in middle-aged men, sex is literally a lifesaver: natural, twice-a-week orgasms cut the risk of death by heart attack and other causes in half, compared to the risk in same-age men who have an orgasm less than once a month.

But these benefits don’t apply when you’re using ED drugs to force an erection. These drugs cheat, by manipulating your slowly clogging circulatory system to compensate for atherosclerosis. That kind of nonsense can cause an optic nerve stroke, leaving you permanently blind in one eye. It can gravely affect your hearing. It can even give you a different kind of climax: death, from a heart attack or stroke.

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Consider ED a Gift

If your arteries are getting gummed up, the smaller capillaries are the ones that clog up first. That’s where you’ll see the first signs of trouble. So, ED is a warning that your health is out of balance. As many as half of American men over age 50 are fortunate enough to get ED first, often before there’s any other sign that they’re on the fast track to heart disease. Those enticing little pills can give you a quick fix, but you and your loved ones will be a lot happier with the result if, instead, you take a whole-body approach to the problem. Here are my favorite ways to enhance your overall health, including natural, science-backed, powerful botanicals proven to bring improvement in erectile function in as little as just a few weeks, through a combination of targeted and whole-body benefits.

Eat to live well, at a healthy weight. Studies show that being overweight can increase your risk of ED by 30 to 90 percent compared to men who are neither overweight nor underweight.

Watch your waist. If your true girth (not the part that hides under an overhang) is 42 inches or bigger, you’re at 50 percent greater risk for ED.

Keep moving. Exercise is absolutely essential for good circulation and sexual health. Any amount of exercise in any form is good, more is better, and regular, consistent, moderate exercise is best. By the way, if your activity of choice is riding a bike, even a stationary one at the gym, be sure to get yourself a good pair of padded bike shorts. Injury to your perineal area (just forward of your anus) can cause or worsen ED.

Use stress to get motivated, but then let it go! Stress affects every aspect of your well-being, acclerates health problems, prevents normal healing, and generates excessive free radicals that age your body prematurely and set you up for physiological changes that lead to ED.

Stop smoking. It takes only two cigarettes a day to negatively affect your sexual health. Think about that the next time you light up.

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Consider your botanicals. There are several that have been used traditionally to enhance general health and sexual performance, and that have been proven in modern studies to be safe, effective, and free of dangerous side effects.

• Tribulus terrestris fruit extract, known in Ayurvedic medicine as gokshura. Ancient healers believed that it has age-defying and sexual enhancing effects. Modern studes show that the active phytochemical protodioscin, a precursor of the male hormone DHEA, provides support to kidney, heart, and liver functions, and directly enhances sexual desire and erection. I recommend 400 mg daily, with food.

• Butea superba root. Folklore in Thailand names this native tuber as an enhancer of erectile function and fertility, and recent studies confirm its value. In studies with ED-afflicted volunteers, after three months of taking a daily dose of 250 mg Butea, 82.4 percent of patients enjoyed significant improvement in erectile function and sexual performance. I recommend 250 mg daily.

• Panax ginseng (Korean red ginseng) is well known for its ability to improve erectile function, even among men suffering from severe ED. After eight weeks taking a 500 mg capsule of Korean red ginseng daily, 60 percent of patients had significantly improved erectile function, sexual desire, and intercourse satisfaction, versus only 20 percent of the placebo group. In another study, 67 percent of patients taking Korean red ginseng had improved erections, versus no change in the placebo group. I recommend 200 to 300 mg twice daily.

It’s perfectly reasonable to look for each of these botanicals separately, and the dosages I’ve given here are appropriate if you’re planning to use one on its own. Another option is to look for a combination product, in which the ingredients work together — which means that you need less of each one. 112 Degrees is a proprietary formula that contains all three of the herbals described above — Tribulus terrestris, Butea superba, and Panax ginseng — plus several other outstanding nutrients, including vitamins and minerals, for improved erectile and whole-body health. Its efficacy is greatly improved by the care the company takes with the growing, harvesting, and processing of the plants involved. Because I’m intimately involved in the laboratory testing of the botanicals that go into 112 Degrees, I know potency, safety and results will be consistent and optimal. See 112 Degrees product page for more information.

One positive aspect of the drug ads is that they have men finally talking about the problem. Now it’s time to talk about a real solution.

For additional information :

>>> On male sexual health please click here

>>> On the product “112 Degrees” please click here

>>> Bio and information on Dr. Marcu Laux, ND please click here

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Reprinted with permission from Healthy Directions, LLC.

Please check with your doctor about the use of natural products or medications.