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While your gums and your penis are pretty much located on opposite ends of the body, you would be surprised to find out how much one can affect the other. So if you’ve found friends are frequently standing upwind to avoid your less than stellar breath, you may find yourself experiencing erectile issues in the very near future.

But what is the correlation between gum issues and a failing erection? Well, the answer is simple: both problems are caused by inflammation. Inflammation is a common medical term, but many aren’t certain as to what it exactly means. In plain terms, inflammation is the body’s immune response in action. So, if you’re having issues with your gums, your body will spring into action and initiate a response, which will lead to your gums becoming inflamed, which makes them appear red and swollen.

Gum disease can lead to tooth decay and bacteria developing in the mouth. These pesky bacteria can then slip into the bloodstream, where it runs rampant on blood vessels. The blood vessels then become damaged, which will affect the flow of blood throughout the body. When gum disease-associated bacteria attack blood vessels, it’s the smallest vessels that are affected first. One of the smallest blood vessels in the body is the vessel that leads to the penis, supplying the penis with blood for erections. When this vessel comes under attack, blood flow is slowed or downright halted, which leads to missed erections.

So there you have it; what’s happening all the way up in your mouth can eventually lead to issues on your penis. Gum disease related erectile dysfunction has been found to be very common, with a recent study of 80 men afflicted with ED finding that 53% of the men also suffered from severe gum disease.

So if you’re looking to save your mouth and your erection, the solution is simple: practice good oral hygiene. Brush twice every day, floss, and visit the dentist regularly. If you keep a close eye on your mouth, your chances of ED will diminish drastically.

If your room sounds like it’s occupied by a backfiring car engine or a jet plane taking off, it’s because you snore and you snore loud. But this isn’t anything to be embarrassed about. Sure, it can definitely be annoying for anyone that has to listen to your snoring all night long, but a whopping 45 percent of the population snores, so you’re not alone. But if left unchecked, snoring can lead to complications elsewhere in the body, including the penis.

Yes, snoring can drastically affect things downstairs. According to the American Sleep Apnea Association, a group dedicated to studying sleep apnea (a.k.a. snoring), untreated snoring can lead to high blood pressure and other cardiovascular diseases. This is important because your penis requires blood, and lots of it, to achieve an erection. If your cardiovascular system struggles to pump blood throughout your body, your penis won’t be able to consistently receive enough blood for an erection, leading to missed opportunities and erectile dysfunction.

Snoring has also been found to play a serious role in sexual health, strange as that may sound. A study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that of the 18 million American men dealing with sleep apnea, 69 percent reported experiencing reduced sexual desire, and 46 percent reported experiencing reduced arousal.

Long story short; if left unchecked, your snoring can lead to erectile dysfunction, no sex drive, and the inability to be aroused.

Thankfully, sleep apnea can be treated. There are a variety of ways to beat snoring, but they all start with talking to your doctor. With the expertise of a medical professional, you can overcome your snoring, thus saving your erection, your sex drive, and the sleep schedule of those around you.

Despite extensive research and testing, we’ve yet to find a miracle food that can help a man to regain his erection. While many would claim that fruits and veggies have restorative properties when it comes to your little guy, the truth is that they can assist you in kicking erectile dysfunction, but they won’t beat back ED singlehandedly.

But it’s never a bad idea to get a helping hand when overcoming a problem like erectile dysfunction. So if you’re looking to introduce some erection-healthy foods into your diet, here are some foods to consider snagging next time you’re at the grocery store:

Leafy greens: Leafy green veggies such as celery and spinach are chock full of nitrates, which helps the body to open up blood vessels and increase blood flow. When your blood flows unimpeded, blood can easily reach your penis and can make it easier to achieve an erection.

Beets: Like leafy greens, beets are rich in nitrates. Researchers have found that regularly consuming beet juice can greatly improve blood flow, thus increasing your chances of achieving an erection.

Pistachios: These little nuts are a good source of arginine, which has been found to relax blood vessels. Not only will they facilitate healthy blood flow, but a recently conducted study found that men who suffered from ED who ate pistachios every day for three weeks experienced improvement in erectile dysfunction and sexual desire.

Watermelon: Sometimes called “Nature’s Viagra,” Watermelon is filled to bursting with an antioxidant known as phytonutrients. These phytonutrients relax the blood vessels and improve blood flow, thus making it easier for your body to achieve an erection.

When it gets time to get down to business between the sheets, it can be downright nerve wracking. There’s so much pressure to please your partner and last a while, you can sometimes find your little guy bowing out. This can make your anxiety even worse, which in turn can lead to even more missed erections down the road.

Sexual performance anxiety is a very real thing. But if you consistently find yourself unable to achieve an erection when you’re set to engage yourself in a sexual activity, you may in fact be dealing with erectile dysfunction. Considering that both issues can be caused by your thoughts and emotions, it can be hard to differentiate performance anxiety and erectile dysfunction. So how can you determine which issue you’re dealing with?

The solution is simple: Get to the root of it. Performance anxiety is defined as the inability to perform in a sexual situation due to anxiety, whereas erectile dysfunction is the inability to achieve an erection. If you find your erection failing during sexual encounters, run some tests when you aren’t about to have sex.

The most important question to answer is whether or not you can achieve an erection by yourself. Be it through masturbation or good, old-fashioned sexy thoughts, you need to will your penis to stand at attention. If you can achieve an erection on your own volition, that’s a pretty good indicator that you’re suffering from performance anxiety. Alternatively, if you find yourself unable to get it up on your own, you’re more than likely dealing with erectile dysfunction.

However, that’s not to say that the inability to achieve an erection on your own time is a sure sign of erectile dysfunction. This issue could still be traced back to your anxiety with sex, which is causing you to become anxious even alone.

The best way to determine whether it’s sexual anxiety or erectile dysfunction you’re dealing with is to talk to a doctor. Lay out your problem, discuss possible solutions, and together you can devise a way to overcome the issue, whichever it may be.

Every man has the occasional missed erection. Maybe you’ve had a few too many drinks, or maybe you’re just not in the mood. Sure, a missed erection happens, but what if it keeps happening? You might come up with excuses, but the simple fact is that you’re struggling to achieve an erection time and time again. But how can you tell if you’ve just been striking out recently or if you’re dealing with honest-to-goodness erectile dysfunction?

If you suspect that you may be afflicted with erectile dysfunction, it’s important to make sure. Here’s how to determine if you’ve got ED.

Alone time: If you find your erection struggling during sexual intercourse, conduct some tests. To determine if your ED is related to sexual anxiety, see if you can get it to stand at attention while you’re alone. Be it through masturbation or just by thinking stimulating thoughts, see if you can will your penis into achieving an erection. If you can achieve an erection on your own volition, then your erectile issues might be related to anxiety with sex. If you can’t get it up on your own, you might be dealing with erectile dysfunction.

Stamp it out: If you consistently can’t achieve an erection, it’s important to determine if it’s due to a mental hang-up or a physical issue. This can be figured out by conducting a test while you sleep. Before going to bed, wrap the base of your penis with stamps. Form a complete circle, and make sure the stamps are unbroken. Once the stamps are on, hit the hay. When you wake up in the morning, check the ring. If the ring is broken, this indicates you subconsciously achieved an erection while asleep, which mean that your ED is mental in nature. If the ring of stamps remains unbroken, this means your erectile issues are due to a physical issue.

After conducting these tests, you should have your answer. If you’ve found that you might be afflicted with erectile dysfunction, talk to your doctor about how to overcome this issue.

While most men would be quick to label erectile dysfunction as a medical issue that they won’t have to worry about until they’re well into their golden years, the fact is that erectile dysfunction can strike at any age. It’s certainly true that ED becomes much more prevalent amongst older men, but there are plenty of young and middle-aged men dealing with ED.

While erectile dysfunction is an issue that can be easily overcome with medical help and consultation with a doctor, many men would be hesitant to talk to a doctor about such an embarrassing issue. ED is definitely an intimate, difficult to discuss ailment, refusing to seek medical help due to embarrassment is a sure fire way for your problem to get worse.

Due to many men’s hesitance to speak to a doctor about their erectile dysfunction, many experts believe that reported percentages of men dealing with the issue are skewed, with the reported number more than likely being much lower than the actual number.

But as it stands, research has found the percentage of men who suffer from erectile dysfunction per age group breaks down as such:

18-29: 7%

30-39: 9%

40-49: 11%

50-59 18%

57-64: 31%

65-74: 45%

75-85: 43%

Think about that. These numbers are still pretty high, but most experts think the actual numbers are even higher. The simple truth is that ED is common, no matter your age. If you find yourself struggling with erectile dysfunction, consult a doctor and work towards overcoming the problem.

Listen, every man needs some “alone time” every now and again. It’s a totally healthy, totally natural process, and it’s been found to help relieve stress and anxiety, so it’s kind of good for you, too. But as long as masturbation has existed, there have always been its detractors. Wives tales have sprung up about the act, saying that too much of it can lead to blindness or hairy palms. While we all known this isn’t true, there are some wives tales that sound a little more believable. Namely, can watching too much pornography lead to erectile dysfunction?

The logic is certainly sound. It’s said that an overreliance on porn can lead to your sex drive getting worn out, which translates into missed erections and disappointed partners. If you spend too much time masturbating, your brain will eventually begin to not respond to sexual feelings, which will prevent your erection from springing to life.

Now, at face value, this definitely sounds like something that could happen. But the truth is that no matter how much porn you enjoy or how often you masturbate, your erection will never keel over and die. Your brain can’t get worn out on sexual feelings, so it’s impossible to develop ED by oversaturating your brain with porn.

Masturbation is an incredibly personal habit, and you should never pay rumors about it any mind. No matter how often or rarely you choose to indulge in masturbation or pornography, you’re not affecting your erection in the slightest. So enjoy both at your leisure, gentlemen. It’s not like your erection is going anywhere.

Erectile dysfunction can be caused by numerous factors. Whether it’s stress at the workplace, depression at home, or making the wrong dietary choices, erectile dysfunction can strike at seemingly any moment. But while most men would quickly write off the occasional missed erection as a fluke, it’s not wise to be so cavalier about erectile dysfunction. You might equate ED with a less-than-stellar love life, it might also be an early indicator of internal health issues.

Your erection lives and dies thanks to your cardiovascular system. To achieve an erection, your penis requires a steady supply of blood, which causes the penis to engorge and go to work. If something is slowing blood flow in the body, your penis will struggle to achieve an erection.

While there are many things that can cause your heart to struggle to supply the body with blood, one of the most common causes is atherosclerosis, which is the hardening of the arteries. Atherosclerosis causes the blood vessels to become clogged with plaque. This plaque buildup starts in the smaller arteries, which includes the arteries leading to the penis. This plaque greatly reduces blood flow, and can lead to a litany of health issues within the body, including erectile dysfunction.

You may think that this plaque can be eliminated with healthy living and exercise, but that is not always the case. If left unchecked, this plaque buildup can worsen and can lead to aneurysms, stroke, and peripheral artery disease.

If you struggle with heart disease or have recently found yourself unable to achieve an erection, consult a doctor. Atherosclerosis can be a serious affliction, and could spell an early grave if not treated. While being unable to achieve an erection is embarrassing, it may very well save your life if treated properly.

Erection dysfunction can be caused by seemingly an endless number of issues. Whether it’s due to depression, laziness, or smoking, ED can rear it’s ugly head and strike at any moment. While a vast majority of erectile-related issues can be traced back to psychological issues, your erection isn’t in the clear even if you have an untroubled mind. In fact, it could even be your medication that ends up doing your erection in.

Yes, the medicine you are taking explicitly to help your body could end up causing issues in other parts of your body. While antidepressants and antihistamines have been linked to ED, one of the most common medicinal causes of the problem is blood pressure medication.

This is problematic because many men depend on blood pressure medication to lower their blood pressure to save their erection. For some men, the medicine they are relying on to solve their problem actually just ends up making the problem worse.

That’s not to say all blood pressure medication will worsen your erectile dysfunction. The most common culprits for ED are diuretics (better known as water pills) and beta-blockers. Typically, these would be the first kind of blood pressure medication a doctor would likely prescribe to a man struggling with high blood pressure.

If you’re struggling with high blood pressure and you already have ED, talk to your doctor and avoid diuretics and beta-blockers. It’s been found that men with ED that take these forms of medication typically find their ED worsening, with a recent study finding that a whopping 70 percent of men polled that took these medications while afflicted with ED found their ED getting worse.

If you have high blood pressure, talk to a doctor about the best medication to overcome this issue. But if you’re struggling with erectile dysfunction, explore possible alternatives to diuretics and beta-blockers.