Is your Diet killing your sex life.?…..
Have you ever found yourself in an intimate moment and your partner, for the life of him (bless his heart), simply could not… how can I say this delicately… activate the launch sequence? This can be a mortifying experience, and an abrupt dousing of a romantic flame, especially if your partner is still a relatively young man.
I was surprised by a question posed to me by my doctor. “Are you and your husband still having sex?” I was 54 at the time; my husband was 59. I looked at her like she was out of her mind, astonished that this was even a consideration.
Apparently, it is not uncommon for couples our age to just give sex up entirely. Over 30 million men in America suffer from erectile dysfunction and at some point in their lives, it affects 50% of all men. No wonder erectile dysfunction drug sales are skyrocketing and prominent men like former US Senator and Presidential Candidate, Bob Dole can be viewed gaping at Britney Spears’ shapely fanny in a Pepsi advertisement spoofing his own commercial for Viagra.
Is this inability to perform something that happens to most men after they’ve passed their sexual peak? This can really be a concern to young women faced with the prospect of one-day settling for a marriage doomed to the male aging process. Should we women resign ourselves to marriages bereft of the pleasures of the flesh? I once jested that there must be something in the water supply. Now there is a good reason to suggest there may be something in the food supply.
A diet heavy in animal protein clogs the body’s blood vessels and arteries affecting not only the heart but all the intricate functions of the body. Cholesterol collects in our arteries creating a lessening of blood flow to the heart, to the brain, to the lungs, kidneys, liver and, dare I say, to the sexual organs as well. Simply put, adequate blood flow to the penis equals erections.
Our bodies produce a certain amount of cholesterol, in fact, all we need to function properly (according to T. Colin Campbell, The China Study). We ingest the excess in the form of animal protein; beef, poultry, dairy products, eggs, and seafood. We also ingest saturated fats found in animal products, which contribute to the cholesterol burden in our bodies. Plants contain no cholesterol and only a few plants, such coconut and coconut oil, cocoa butter, palm oil and palm kernel oil (which are found in abundance in processed foods) contain dietary saturated fat.
High blood pressure and diabetes are known factors contributing to erectile dysfunction. According to Dr. John McDougall (author of The McDougall Diet andThe Starch Solution), one can expect to eliminate high blood pressure on whole foods plant-based diet in as little as three weeks!
In his book, Dr. Neil Barnard’s Program For Reversing Diabetes, Barnard makes a case for a plant-based diet as a means of reversing diabetes. A host of disease processes can be improved or reversed simply by making the switch to a whole food vegan diet. There are over 30 years of sound research supporting these claims.
While not all erectile dysfunction issues are lifestyle related, it certainly is a reasonable place to begin. Simple changes in diet along with the inclusion of exercise into one’s lifestyle can produce great gains without the potentially harmful side effects of medication and the risks that go hand and hand with surgical interventions.
It is not all about tofu, salads, and wheatgrass. Foods from plants can be as varied and delicious, if not more so, than anything with hoofs, fins, and feathers. It’s also better for the planet and our vulnerable animal friends.
One way begin is to try eating out and ordering vegan Thai, Indian, Middle Eastern or Ethiopian dishes. They are chock full of flavour and high in nutrients. There are scores of vegan meet-up groups across the globe where one can become educated on a plant-based lifestyle and try dozens of vegan entrees and desserts for the cost of a pot-luck contribution. You can google vegan meet-ups to find one in your area.
A healthy, fulfilling sex life can be as close as your dining room table. (Yes, I’m fully aware of the double entendre.) To both, I ask, why not?
By Danielle Bussone
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