What do eating, sunbathing, cycling or tears have to do with male erection problems? More than you imagine, as revealed by the many scientific studies that exist on the subject.
Excess soy
In 2011, a team of researchers from Harvard University (USA) presented in the journal Nutrition the case of a 19-year-old vegetarian who suffered from erectile dysfunction due to excessive consumption of soy. As clinical tests showed, this component of their diet had dramatically lowered testosterone levels in the blood. The good news is that, after stopping consuming soy and its derivatives, the problems subsided, and a year later the patient’s sexual life had completely normalized.
In any case, it must be borne in mind that we are talking about an extreme case and that, for the moment, it cannot be concluded that vegan or vegetarian men experience a decrease in libido.
Too much bike
Cycling for more than three hours a week increases the risk of erectile dysfunction, according to research from Harvard Medical School (USA). Apparently it is because sitting on the saddle of a bicycle creates pressure in the perineum area – between the genitals and the buttocks – which can damage the nerves and temporarily interrupt the flow of blood to the penis. The good news is that you don’t have to choose between sport or sex: just choose the right saddle or wear pants with pads to avoid these undesirable side effects of cycling.
On the other hand, the relationship between cycling and erectile dysfunction is not without controversy . In 2018, a very large study published in The Journal of Urology concluded that this activity has no harmful effects on sexual or urinary health.
Lack of sun
If a man lacks vitamin D, his libido often plummets. This is the conclusion of an Australian study published in the journal Clinical Endocrinology . According to the authors, for the amount of testosterone produced to be adequate, 30 nanograms of vitamin D are needed per milliliter of blood. These levels are usually reached in August, when the increase in the number of hours of sun exposure causes more vitamin D to be synthesized. It must be taken into account, however, that sun exposure should always be done with great precautions, especially in summer. .
Female cry
When we cry of grief or joy, we produce tears that are different from those that our eyes secrete to expel a speck of dust. Among other things, because the so-called “emotional tears” contain hormones such as prolactin or leucine . The most curious thing is that an experiment published in Science revealed that these hormones could have a biological function, since the smell of female tears produces a double effect on the opposite sex: it reduces testosterone and decreases sexual arousal at the brain level .
