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The detrimental health effects of smoking are well documented, with all manner of cancers and heart issues being tied to the habit. These potential maladies aren’t always enough to scare men away from taking up smoking, but when it comes up that long term smoking can lead to losing the ability to achieve an erections, men tend to think twice about lighting up.

This isn’t jut a scare tactic either; research has found that men smoke regularly are at a higher risk of developing erectile dysfunction. This is because smoking can lead to plaque developing in your arteries. When your arteries are clogged up with plaque, your blood flow tends to pay the price. This translates into blood flow being slowed throughout the body, preventing your heart from steadily supplying blood to parts of the body that require ample blood flow to function properly, such as the penis.

When plaque begins to build up in the body, it tends to affect the smallest arteries first. Some of the smallest arteries in the body are the bundle that leads directly to the penis, which are tasked with supplying the penis with blood. When clogged, these arteries can’t get blood to the penis, which means the penis cannot engorge and achieve an erection. Long story short: No blood, no erection.

So, yes, smoking can lead to your erection ultimately paying the price. If cancer and heart disease can’t stop a man from smoking, inevitable erectile dysfunction should do the trick. Cut out the cigarettes and your erection should be around for many years to come.

When it comes time to pop that little blue pill, you want to make sure that you’re getting the best bang for your buck. You’ve heard that erectile dysfunction medication works best when a man is aroused, so you’ve made arrangement to ensure that your motor is running when it comes time to take the plunge. You’ve heard that alcohol should be avoided when taking an ED pill, so you skipped on the wine with dinner tonight. But you wonder what state your stomach should be in when taking this little pill. Should you eat a heavy meal beforehand? Should you fast for days? How full should you be when taking erectile dysfunction medication?

Well, that entirely depends on when you want it to get to work. As all the major erectile dysfunction drugs are ingested orally, they first end up in your stomach. In your stomach, they hop in line between everything else you’ve eaten to wait their turns to get digested. Depending on the contents of your stomach, your ED pill is either going to work quicker or slower.

If your stomach is full, the pill has to wait to be ingested to get to work. This typically translates into a one to two hour wait for the ED medication to spring into action. If your stomach is empty, your pill can be digested that much quicker and isn’t stuck waiting around. On an empty stomach, ED medication can kick in within 30 minutes to an hour.

So if you’re looking to hop into bed sooner rather than later, avoid heavy meals before taking the medication. But if you’d rather take some time to set the mood, a full stomach is the best way to delay the effects of the medication.

You’ve heard the old song “Them Bones” before, educating children on which bones are connected to what. Much like our skeleton, our insides are all connected in one way or another. Aspects of your body that may seem totally unrelated, such as your gums and your heart, can play vital roles in the health of each other. But when someone told you that exercise is a good way to stave off erectile dysfunction, you weren’t entirely convinced. After all, how could a couple reps every day help your penis?

Believe it or not, regular exercise could make or break your erectile health in your later years. This is because exercise, in addition to toning you up and getting you healthy, encourages healthiness in your insides. Regular exercise can help improve heart strength, blood output, and can generally improve the intricacies of your body.

In fact, researchers have found that regular exercise can make all the difference when it comes to ED. During the 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 692 men between the ages of 50 and 85 were enlisted to wear motion trackers. These motion trackers would take note of every movement the men made, and report the data back to the researchers. While outfitted with the trackers, the men were asked to report their erectile function.

The study found that for every 30 minutes a man exerts himself in a moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, their odds of developing erectile dysfunction that day dropped an astounding 43 percent. Just think; if exercising for a scant 30 minutes a day can help a man’s erectile health that much in just one day, exercising regularly will ensure that you never have to worry about losing your erection. So get up, get active, and save your erection.

Ask any man, and they’ll tell you that erectile dysfunction is just a fact of life as you grow older. The general consensus is that erectile woes come with aging, and that the loss of your erection is an inevitability. If pressed, these men would likely tell you that erectile dysfunction will strike when a man reaches his 70’s, or at least his 80’s. After all, a man’s body will begin to worsen as he ages, so it makes sense that the erection will be among the casualties.

But the truth is that erectile dysfunction is not set in stone. While its true that erection problems are more common amongst older men, that doesn’t mean that all older men will develop erectile dysfunction. In fact, with healthy living, positive choices, and work, a man will have no issues achieving an erection until the day he dies.

Erectile dysfunction tends to develop in older men because the heart struggles to provide blood to the extremities as you age. This can be because of heart issues or due to issues within the arteries, but it means that the penis cannot get enough blood to achieve an erection. These issues develop due to poor health choices, such as eating poorly, relying on tobacco, or not being active. By living poorly, the odds of ED developing as you age will only grow.

But it’s never too late to start fresh. Research has found that men as old as 40 have been able to make positive lifestyle changes and reverse years of living poorly. Cut out overly fast food, cut out cigarettes, don’t drink to excess, get a work out regimen; if you want to save your erection, start living well and your body will do the rest.

So, it’s happened; you went to get down to business with your partner between the sheets, but your little guy won’t stand at attention. It’s the first time you’ve had such an issue, so you’re left wondering if you’ve got a full-blown problem. Maybe you had too much to drink? Maybe it’s just not your night? Surely, there must be a way to determine if you’ve got erectile dysfunction?

Thankfully, erectile health experts have devised a relatively easy test that can be performed in the comfort of your own home that can determine if you’ve got erectile dysfunction. And for men worrying that the test will require expensive kits or pricey specialized items, worry not. It only requires a simple roll of stamps.

Pick up a standard issue roll of stamps from your local grocery store, and you’re ready to go. This test is performed while you are asleep, so set aside the stamps until bedtime. When it’s time to hit the hay, grab the stamps and use them to make an unbroken ring around the base of your penis. Sure, it sounds odd, but make sure the ring is well and truly unbroken, and it’s imperative that it is set up at the base of your penis, as setting it too high could lead to the ring breaking and ruining the test.

Once this ring has been set, go to sleep normally. The next morning, it’s time to check the ring. If the ring is broken, this indicates that your body subconsciously achieved an erection while you slept. A man’s body produces at least one erection while sleeping, so if your body can still achieve an erection, this indicates that your erectile woes could be due to a mental hang-up or could be a one-time thing.

But if the ring remains unbroken, that means your body cannot physically achieve an erection, even while unconscious, which is a solid indicator that you have developed erectile dysfunction.

After conducting this test, it would be wise to speak to a medical professional, so you determine the best way to move forward with your issue.

Men afflicted with diabetes already have a laundry list of things they need to watch to ensure their issue doesn’t get the better of them. These men have to watch sugar intake, fat intake, and carb intake, all while keeping a close eye on their blood sugar levels. Life with diabetes can be a handful, but it can be even worse if the diabetes is not handled properly. When a man consistently spikes his blood sugar levels, this can lead to other issues developing within the body, including erectile dysfunction.

While your blood sugar levels and the ability to achieve an erection don’t sound like they would have any relation, the truth is that blood sugar can make it impossible for your body to achieve an erection. When a diabetic man does not regulate his blood sugar levels, this can lead to blood sugar levels rising, which in turn can lead to the nerves and blood vessels that ferry this blood to becoming damaged. When these nerves and vessels are damaged, the body struggles to provide the body with blood. In the body, the smallest vessels and nerves are typically the first affected, and one of the smallest collections of vessels and nerves leads directly to the penis. With this cluster damaged, the penis is cut off from consistent blood flow, which translates into erectile dysfunction.

But that’s not to say that all men with diabetes should resign themselves to the inevitability of erectile dysfunction. By keeping tabs on your blood sugar levels and living a healthy, fulfilling life, you won’t have to worry about your blood sugar rising considerably and doing long term damage. It’s a chore to keep an eye on your blood sugar levels, but the occasional inconvenience of pricking yourself for a sample is much better than losing the ability to achieve an erection.

When a man suddenly finds himself unable to achieve an erection, panic sets in. After all, everything seemed a-okay downstairs yesterday, and yet, out of nowhere, your little guy won’t follow orders and stand at attention. Sure, this is the first time it’s happened, but one time is enough. You’re convinced you have erectile dysfunction, and you’re normally going to be able to achieve an erection normally again.

Okay, take a deep breath and take a step back. While erectile dysfunction can begin with an initial inability to achieve an erection, missing one erection should not be seen as the end of the world. If you’ve had an erectile incident and you’re worried that you may have ED, remember: Erectile dysfunction is defined as the reoccurring inability to achieve an erection.

Thus, one missed erection is not a sure sign that you’re dealing with erectile dysfunction. Though it’s not something you’ll hear your friends discussing in casual conversation, all men will experience an erectile issue at some point in their life. But it’s only when it becomes a repeated problem should there be cause for concern.

So, if you had an off night and found yourself struggling to achieve an erection, you can write it off as a bad night. But if it begins to happen consistently, speak to a doctor and together you can determine what is causing the issue.

Your partner may have noticed that your love making sessions have been ending abruptly as of late, and questions are beginning to develop. You’ve managed to avoid the conversation by saying that work has been stressful or that you’ve got a headache, but you’ll only be able to avoid the conversation for so long. It’s time to face facts: You’re dealing with erectile dysfunction, and your partner deserves to know.

While most men feel as though erectile dysfunction is an issue that really only affects the man afflicted with it, the truth is that ED can take its toll on both partners. When you remove sex from a relationship, feelings of resentment can develop, and if left unaddressed, this could potentially lead to cracks developing in your relationship.

When you finally broach the topic, make sure to reinforce that it is not your partner’s fault. Your partner may feel responsible for your ED, and it’s important to establish that no blame can be assigned for this issue. When dealing with ED, it’s important to have a support system to turn to, so if you play the blame game you could end up losing your biggest supporter.

Make sure to address that your ED is not indicative of your feelings for your partner. Oftentimes, ED can be seen as a sign of waning feelings in a relationship, but the truth is that ED is typically caused by physical issues, not mental ones. Stress that erectile dysfunction can be a scary for a man, and you’ll need your partner to remain strong while you deal with this issue.

While the ED conversation will be awkward, it’s a conversation you need to have. Your partner won’t leave you, your relationship won’t fall apart, and your partner won’t think less of you. Work towards the problem together and your erectile health should eventually return to normal.