Main causes of ED: Diabetes and ED, Smoking and ED, Cholesterol and ED and Blood Pressure and ED
One of the most common health problems along with diabetes, high blood pressure etc. is Erectile Dysfunction (ED). It is a common issue that is reported but not so successfully treated. Do you know why? One main reason is that people do not work on improving the root cause of Erectile Dysfunction. For working on the root cause, we must know what ED is, how it is caused and how to treat it!
So let’s start with…..
What is Erectile Dysfunction?
Erectile Dysfunction which is also known as impotence or ED is a condition in men in which they are not able to have or maintain an erection of penis satisfactory enough for sexual intercourse.
Types of Erectile Dysfunction
Erectile Dysfunction can be considered as of two types i.e. a short term erectile dysfunction and a long term erectile dysfunction condition.
1. Short Term Erectile Dysfunction:
- Sometimes men can get an erection from time to time but it is not necessary that every time when the couple want to have sexual intercourse, he will have an erection.
- Sometimes men get an erection of the penis but are unable to maintain long enough to have satisfactory sexual intercourse.
- This can be situational which depends on nervousness or performance stress or this can be temporary due to less physical activity, long term stress, smoking, poor diet, overweight and obesity.
2. Long Term Erectile Dysfunction:
- This happens when men are unable to get an erection, any time during the time of their sexual intercourse.
- It may be due to diabetes, spinal cord injuries and other diseases which affect nerves and thus affect penis.
Symptoms of Erectile Dysfunction
- If the men is unable to get an erection
- Inability to maintain an adequate & continuous erection for sexual satisfaction during the intercourse
- Reduced desire in sexual intercourse
Prevalence of Erectile Dysfunction
India is known as the “Impotence capital of the World”, which might be due to the fact that India has the largest population of men in the world. 16–25 percent is the overall prevalence of ED recorded in a general population. Men with age group of 60 or above have 3.6 times higher risk of developing ED than men between the ages of 18–30 years.
Worldwide, the number of ED cases varies by region and mostly increases with age. Most ED cases were seen in developing countries like Africa, Asia and South America.
Most men, in India or worldwide even under the age of 40 are experiencing ED most likely due to improper or unfinished treatment, poor lifestyle, diseases and many other causes as stated below.
In 1995, there were more than 152 million men worldwide who had ED. Current statistics show that in 2025, that is in 30 years time, it will increase to about 322 million men with ED worldwide.
Causes for Erectile Dysfunction
Erectile Dysfunction can be a result of one or more diseases, medicinal cause, physical cause, lifestyle cause and emotional cause or a psychological cause. Examples are as followed:
1. Diseases:
- Diabetes mellitus (high blood sugar levels)
- High levels of cholesterol & blood pressure
- Chronic Kidney Diseases
- Multiple sclerosis (disease affecting brain & spinal cord)
- Low testosterone levels (main male sex hormone)
2. Medicinal cause:
- Drugs for proper functioning of heart & kidneys (like diuretics)
- Some medicines used for treatment of some cancer
- Some drugs to treat depression, anxiety & sleep (antidepressant drugs or sleeping pills)
- Drugs that make you less hungry (appetite suppressants)
3. Physical cause:
- Nerve damage mainly due to diabetes
- Narrowing of the blood vessels reaching the penis
- Injury that can occur to penis
- Injury to scrotum
- Injury to anus
- Injury to the spinal cord which affects nerves and penis
4. Lifestyle cause:
- Smoking
- Alcohol consumption
- Use of tobacco
- Illegal drugs
- Inadequate diet
- Less physical activity
- Poor sleep
- Ageing (more than 50 years old)
- Overweight and obesity
5. Emotional and psychological cause:
- Depression
- Stress
- Anxiety
- Doubt or concern about satisfactory sexual intercourse
- Low confidence
All these causes may also overlap each other and lead to ED. For example if a person is having obesity then the blood flowing to the penis may be affected by his obesity. Hence this blockage can not maintain an adequate erection. This states a reason for the lifestyle cause which leads to low confidence and further impacts erection. Thus proving the reason for the psychological cause of ED.
Hence, here we can see that both lifestyle and psychological causes overlapped each other and so other causes can overlap too.
Risk Factors for Erectile Dysfunction
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure and high cholesterol levels
- Use of alcohol and tobacco
- Excessive weight gain or obesity
- Low levels of testosterone
- Old age
- Stress, anxiety or depression
- Any injuries or surgery of genitals
- Certain medical treatment
How can Diabetes cause Erectile Dysfunction ?
During sexual intercourse a chemical named as nitric oxide is released from blood vessels when men become sexually aroused. This nitric oxide causes the relaxation of the arteries and muscles present in the penis which results in more blood flow to the penis. Thus maintaining an erection.
In a diabetic, the blood glucose levels increase in the body causing stiffening and narrowing of nerves resulting in reduced blood flow and oxygen supply. This further causes less release of the nitric oxide. So less nitric oxide produced in the men does not help in complete relaxation of arteries and muscles of penis. Because of this, the erection of penis is not possible.
Thus due to release of lower amounts of nitric oxide in diabetic men, ED can be developed.
Tests and Diagnosis of Erectile Dysfunction
To detect an Erectile Dysfunction, doctors will ask for certain tests to diagnose ED :
- Measure of Hormone levels released
- Nervous system tests
- Sugar level tests
- Urine tests
- Ultrasonography (USG)
- Physical examination of the genitals
- Sexual health questionnaire to help diagnose ED
- Administration of certain drugs to check normal blood flow to the penis
Treatments of Erectile Dysfunction
The treatment for Erectile Dysfunction is the same, developed either by diabetes or from any other causes.
It is advisable to consult a Doctor before taking any of the following treatments!
- Oral tablets: are the most common treatment for ED. These tablets help in normal blood flow in penis so that they can have proper sexual intercourse and are usually taken 30–60 minutes before having sexual intercourse. There are four most common drugs prescribed by doctors for treatment of ED: Sildenafil (Viagra), Vardenafil (Levitra), Tadalafil (Cialis) and Avanafil (Stendra)
- Hormone therapy: men having low levels of testosterone hormone are advised for Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT).
- Penile injection therapy: men who does not get results with oral tablets take alprostadil injection on the side or base of penis directly before sexual intercourse. This causes erection of penis.
- Vacuum pump therapy: In this therapy, a plastic tube is placed over the penis and the pump draws the air out of the plastic tube by creating a vacuum. This causes the blood to flow in the penis. A ring is also put on penis to maintain the erection during sexual intercourse by holding the blood & preventing it’s return.
- Penile Prosthesis: This treatment is only done when all other treatment methods fail. It is so because this treatment requires surgery in which a device is implanted into the penis to make its erection for intercourse.
- Vascular Surgery: Also known as Vascular Reconstructive Surgery. This surgery involves bypassing blocked arteries which causes ED. The surgeon transfers an artery from the muscle in the belly region into the penis thus creating a path for the proper blood flow. This surgery is technically difficult & costly.
- Lifestyle Changes: Alongside these treatments, it is very important to eat a balanced diet, involve in regular exercises and to maintain health and diseases, if any.
Herbal Treatment for Erectile Dysfunction
- Ashwagandha: It acts as a natural testosterone booster. Along with reducing stress and increasing libido, it also helps in improving blood sugar levels & cholesterol levels.
- Brahmi: It helps in reducing anxiety and relaxes the mind. It must be taken in an adequate amount to prevent gastric issues & other common side effects.
- Shwet Muesli: It is used for improving male sexual health. It increases libido & testosterone levels along with improved blood flow to penis. It also helps in boosting stamina, semen and sperm count.
- Shatavari: It helps in managing blood sugar levels, improving blood circulation and calms the nerves which decreases stress. But one must be careful with it’s usage to prevent skin & breathing issues.
To prevent any interaction between the above treatments and food or medicines, always make sure that you are under the guidance of a specialist.
For proper guidance, you can download Zyla app where healthcare is personalized according to your health and lifestyle.
Exercises for Erectile Dysfunction
- Kegel Exercise: They are simple movements involving muscle holding and relaxation which is very important for strengthening of pelvic floor muscles. Pelvic floor muscles are basically muscles that support the urinary bladder, uterus and bowel. One must perform these exercises under the guidance of a pelvic floor practitioner. When performed on a regular basis, these are known to improve ED.
- Aerobic Exercises: It increases the blood circulation thereby increasing nitric oxide production which further relaxes muscles and arteries of penis. It also helps in reducing body fat and abdominal fat and thus increasing testosterone level.
- Yoga: It calms and relaxes the mind thus reducing stress and anxiety level and easing ED symptoms. Some asanas like pavanamuktasana, ardha matsyendrasana and eagle pose are also known to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles by improving blood flow which slowly improves ED.
Diet for Erectile Dysfunction
- Increase the intake of garlic and vegetables like spinach, cabbage, beetroot, tomato, carrot.
- Focus on eating blueberries, strawberries, lemon, oranges, apple, watermelon, pomegranate, kiwi and pears.
- Food containing good sources of protein such as fish, nuts, low fat milk and curd etc.
- Reduce consumption of alcohol.
- Avoid sweet, fried, outside and packaged food.
Prevention of Erectile Dysfunction
Though it is not always possible to prevent ED. There are certain steps which can be kept in mind to reduce the risk of Erectile Dysfunction:
- Controlling high blood sugar level and high blood pressure
- Good diet
- Exercise regularly
- Stopping the use of alcohol and tobacco
- Reduce stress level
- Maintain healthy weight
Working on the root cause is the most important step in treating Erectile Dysfunction. Simply put, if root cause is left untreated then ED might reoccur and then the cycle of ED treatment starts! For personalized healthcare & proper root cause analysis, download Zyla app.
Connect with us:
- Subscribe to our Youtube channel: https://bit.ly/2o19OzE to watch videos on health and health-related conditions.
- Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zylahealth
- Join our Facebook community, “Defeating Diabetes” and get daily updates: https://bit.ly/2nloObl
- Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zylahealth/
- Visit our website: https://www.zyla.in/
- Talk to us on WhatsApp — https://goo.gl/kjofP
