It's no secret that physical activity and a good diet can make a person much healthier, including sexually. Now, new research indicates that the Mediterranean Diet can help combat erectile dysfunction starting in middle age.

To arrive at this relationship, researchers studied adult men, with an average age of 56 years. With these volunteers, treadmill tests were done to evaluate their physical conditioning, in addition to dosage of testosterone in the blood before 9 a.m.

Moreover, all the candidates presented some level of erectile dysfunction, that is, difficulty to have or to keep erections. This level was classified according to the severity, and the authors also evaluated the adherence to the Mediterranean Diet in each one of the cases.

Still, the research took into consideration the ease of blood circulation in each of the patients, as well as the stiffness of the arteries and arterioles. From these data, the researchers were able to relate the diet, physical activity and quality of circulation in each of the patients.

This is important, it should be noted, because an erection depends directly on blood circulation, as tiny arterioles inside the penis fill with blood. No wonder viagra is a vasodilator.

Image: DanaTentis / Pixabay

The Mediterranean Diet was good for the heart... and for sex life

Overall, the research showed a strong relationship between a Mediterranean diet, physical activity and better sexual performance. However, it is worth pointing out that this is only one piece of evidence, since other factors, such as sports, may be the real culprits in reducing dysfunction.

The Mediterranean Diet, in turn, originates, as the name implies, from the countries around the Mediterranean Sea. Typically, populations of the region eat more abundant fresh fruits and vegetables, natural oils - such as olive oil - and whole grains.

Furthermore, this type of diet recommends replacing red meat for fish, restricting fatty meats to one day a week. Dairy products should also be reduced, avoiding fatty products. Skimmed milk, natural yogurt and white cheese, therefore, are the best option here.

This type of diet, therefore, always combined with physical activity, indicated higher levels of blood flow and testosterone in patients. This is because, also, the diet is based on the reduction of fats and sugar, the main responsible for high cholesterol and diabetes.

Finally, patients who adhered more to the Mediterranean Diet had a considerable improvement in the problem of erectile dysfunction. However, only more analytical and functional studies can prove this relationship.

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The survey is available at ESC Congress 2021.