5 Ways to Maintain a Healthy Penis
A penis that can become erect and hard is an indicator of overall cardiovascular health. As one grows older one’s ability to get an erection can become compromised. Here are five ways that promote hard erections and good overall health.
1. Exercise regularly
Especially for those who earn a living by sitting at a desk and operating a computer it is essential to spend at least 30 minutes a day doing some brisk physical exercise such as walking, running or cycling.
Also at least 3 times per week you should a minimum of 15 minutes doing heart pumping and strength building exercise.
The CDC recommends a minimum of 150 minutes of exercise per week as does the American Heart Association and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.
2. Eat healthy foods & not too much
The role of diet in promoting ongoing health is well established. What is good for your penis is also good for your overall cardiovascular health.
Literally millions of books have been published about the ideal diet and many of them have conflicting approaches. Michael Pollan, a credible science journalist in the book How to Eat, distills food advice down to seven words: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.
The first two words are most important. “Eat food” means to eat real food -vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and, yes, fish and meat – and to avoid what he calls “edible food-like substances.”
He lists 7 rules as follows:
- Don’t eat anything your great grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food. “When you pick up that box of portable yogurt tubes, or eat something with 15 ingredients you can’t pronounce, ask yourself, “What are those things doing there?”
- Don’t eat anything with more than five ingredients, or ingredients you can’t pronounce.
- Stay out of the middle of the supermarket; shop on the perimeter of the store. Real food tends to be on the outer edge of the store near the loading docks, where it can be replaced with fresh foods when it goes bad.
- Don’t eat anything that won’t eventually rot. “There are exceptions – honey – but as a rule, things like Twinkies that never go bad aren’t food.” We’d add that although honey is natural and has been part of human diet for hundreds of thousands of years it is largely comprise of fructose that is detrimental to balanced hormone and sugar levels in the blood.
- It is not just what you eat but how you eat. “Always leave the table a little hungry,” Pollan says. “Many cultures have rules that you stop eating before you are full. In Japan, they say eat until you are four-fifths full. Islamic culture has a similar rule, and in German culture they say, ‘Tie off the sack before it’s full.’”
- Families traditionally ate together, around a table and not a TV, at regular meal times. It’s a good tradition. Enjoy meals with the people you love. Don’t eat much between meals.
- Don’t buy food where you buy your gasoline and don’t snack while you drive.
3. Use these four nutritional supplements
The ideal way to maintain good health is through eating good food – and not too much. However, if you feel your erectile functionality is becoming compromised consider supplementation.
There are four nutrients that have been shown to have a pronounced beneficial effect on cardiovascular – and penile – health. They are Vitamin D, Magnesium, Folic Acid, and Citrulline.
Vitamin D is increasingly viewed as foundational to health. To call it a “vitamin” shortchanges its importance. It is also a hormone that enables the absorption of calcium in the body. The optimal way of having adequate levels in the body is through exposure of sunlight on the bare skin. Fresh air and sun, as long as it does not cause redness and burning, is good for overall health, healthy circulation and hard erections.
Magnesium is a mineral that is inexpensive to take as a supplement and has been shown to increase the functionality of vitamin D.
Folic Acid or Vitamin B9 stabilizes the lining of blood vessels. It has also been shown to increase the bioavailability nitrous oxide (NO) which is necessary for heart health and the nervous pathways for stimulating erections.
L-Citrulline is implicated in the biochemical pathways that turn nutrients into energy. Supplementation can has been shown to increase Erection Hardness Score IIEF from 3 -4 in 50 % of men with mild erectile dysfunction. See this clinical trial 2011 paper here.
4. Stimulate blood flow in the penis every day
When the penis is never erect (flaccid) or fully erect little blood reaches the erectile tissues. That means the tissues are not getting enough oxygen to remain healthy – to use the technical term they are “hypoxic” which over the long term causes the capillaries in the erectile tissues to be absorbed by the body. Blood flow to the erectile tissues is at a maximum when the penis is half erect (tumescent).
To maintain the penis in a healthy state, in addition to the points above, the penis should be tumescent at least once a day. Often when men wake up the penis is naturally tumescent. If necessary manually stimulate the penis for a minute or two in bed or in the shower.
Tell your partner about the benefits of stimulating your penis in the morning and that it should not necessarily be viewed as a prelude to sex. If not in bed spend a minute or two in the shower massaging and stimulating the penis to promote blood flow.
Find out more about increasing blood flow to the penis naturally.
5. Open communications about your sexual needs
Sexuality and active sexual relations contribute to overall good health. Too often we talk to men who do not talk openly about their sexual appetites with their partner which over the long run leads to frustration and even depression.
It is never too late to learn how to have open communications about sexuality. One’s sexual appetites should not be considered to be dirty and private but rather feelings that, when shared in a spirit of trust, will enrich and strengthen relationships.
Bodily closeness is psychologically strengthening that in turn strengthens the body and a healthy erection is a barometer of overall bodily health.