Diet plays a vital role in physical, mental, and sexual health. A balanced diet is very important to keep your health in check in all aspects. It is known, how diet can affect your physical health but it also affects your sexual health in many ways.
How imbalanced diet affects sexual health?
A generally imbalanced diet has an excess amount of complex carbohydrates, fat, and sugar in your meals. This can lead to diseases like excess weight gain, obesity, diabetes, a metabolic syndrome which are some of the main causes of sexual problems like Erectile Dysfunction, loss of libido, etc. The following are causes of some sexual issues
- Obesity- When you have unhealthy eating habits, it leads you to excess weight gain and further obesity. Men with obesity issues tend to have low levels of testosterone. Testosterone is a male hormone. A low level of testosterone can lead to a decrease in sex drive. Even with proper testosterone levels, studies show that obese males have a greater risk of erectile dysfunction.
- Diabetes- Unhealthy diet is one of the causes of diabetes. People with type 2 diabetes can face common sexual health issues like erectile dysfunction, decrease in libido, etc.
- High blood pressure- Having excess salt in your diet can cause blood pressure problems. Blood pressure problems reduce the blood flow in the body which leads to low blood flow to vagina in females and penis in males. This can cause sexual health issues like erectile dysfunction or loss of libido.
Improve your diet choices and have a balanced diet to reduce the problems which are affecting your sexual health. Include fruits, vegetables in your diet instead of processed food items. It will improve your physical as well as sexual health.
Diet for good sexual health
A balanced diet is a key to good health. You should include the proper amount of protein, fiber, carbohydrates, and minerals in your diet. To improve or maintain sexual health you should include following your diet.
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Flavonoids
Flavonoids include food like berries, cherries, grapes, apples, pears, and citrus food. These are not only anti-oxidants, anti-inflammatory, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition also states that they can improve erectile function.
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Vitamin E rich food
Vitamin e rich food such as almonds, nuts, oil, seeds are directly linked to sexual function. Many experts believe that people have vitamin E deficiency have difficulties in performing sexual activities. But including Vitamin E-rich food in your diet is an easy fix for this issue.
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Walnuts
Walnuts tend to improve the quality of sperms. It improves the shape and motility of the sperm and including it in the diet can improve fertility.
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Strawberries, Raspberries, and Saffron
Strawberries Raspberries and Saffron are high in Zinc, which is essential for sex for both men and women. High levels of zinc in women helps them prepare for sex more easily and men having high levels of zinc have good testosterone level which is important for producing sperms.
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Avocados
Avocados have folic acid and vitamin B6. Folic acid increases the energy level and Vitamin B6 stabilizes hormones in your body. These both are necessary for a good sex drive. Hence eating avocados can improve your libido.
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Watermelon and Eggs
Watermelon and Eggs both contain citrulline which releases amino acid and arginine which is responsible for vascular health. Including watermelon in your diet improves erection and increases libido.
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Coffee
As coffee is a stimulant, it increases sex drive. It can stimulate the brain to increase arousal.
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Avoid Excess Alcohol
Consuming an excess amount of alcohol can cause erectile dysfunction and can also be a cause of decreased fertility. Hence keep a minimum amount of alcohol in your diet.
Types of diets and their effect on sexual health
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Western Diet
A Western diet generally consists of processed and red meat, processed and artificial sweets, refined grains, dairy products, and excess salt. It has a minimum amount of natural foods like fruits and vegetables, in turn, have less nutritional value. Hence western diet is associated with an increased risk of diseases like obesity, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, etc which can lead to sexual issues such as erectile dysfunction, low sperm count, reduced sex drive, etc.
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Mediterranean and Paleolithic Diets
Mediterranean diets consist of fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains. The paleolithic diet consists of lean meats, fruits, nuts, plant-based food, and restricted consumption of dairy. Both diets have good nutritional value and as a result reduce the risk of diseases like obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, etc which can cause sexual issues such as erectile dysfunction, low sperm count, reduced sex drive, etc.
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Vegetarian and Vegan Diet
A vegetarian diet consists of fruits, vegetables, dairy, whole grains. Whereas a vegan diet includes only plant-based food. These diets are considered very beneficial to improve health issues. These diets have comparatively less risk of diseases like diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome, etc which causes sexual health issues.
A poor diet can lead to many health issues which can negatively affect your sexual health whereas a good diet can improve and maintain your sexual health. As food is an important part of day-to-day life it plays an important role in your sexual health too. Changing your diet may not be a solution for all sexual issues, but it’s a good way to start improving your sexual health.
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