From pills and pumps to surgery and shockwaves, there’s no shortage of creative, costly and confounding treatments for erectile dysfunction. And with patients desperate for solutions and doctors quick to dole out medication, symptom-focused quick fixes with high profit margins overtake any discussion of prevention, cause or lasting cure.
But the most disturbing omission of all in the booming business that’s arisen from the battle against impotence, is the fact that erectile dysfunction is not only a top concern for men, but also their top killer. [tweet this]
Hi it’s Emily from Bite Size Vegan and welcome to another vegan nugget. Erectile dysfunction isn’t exactly a topic for dinner conversation. The inability to sexually perform carries with it a profound amount of societal and cultural baggage.
With the astronomical cost of impotence treatments, it’s easy to write off ED as a frivolous use of money better spent on life-threatening disorders and diseases than what’s often seen as men’s egos.
And this is partially true. In this second installment of the Men’s Health Series with Dr. Michael Greger of Nutritionfacts.org, we’ll hear the disturbing truth about the life-threatening nature of erectile dysfunction, its cause, and the incredibly simple dietary cure. [tweet this]
On the real dangers of erectile dysfunction beyond the concerns of loss of virility
“Erectile dysfunction—defined as the inability to have a satisfactory intercourse is present in 100 million men worldwide, 30 million men in the US. You say wait a second, the US only has 8% of the world’s population, yet 30% of the impotence: we’re #1. Yes indeed. But who cares cause we’ve got red, white and blue pills like Viagra.
The problem is that these pills don’t treat the underlying cause which is clogged, inflamed, dysfunctional arteries. So erectile dysfunction and coronary artery disease are actually two manifestations of exactly the same disease. Forty percent of men over 40—40 over 40 have erectile dysfunction placing them in nearly 50 times the risk of dying from a heart attack cardiac event like sudden death. That’s a 5,000% increase in risk and even for younger men.
We use to think erectile dysfunction in younger men in 20s-30s, it was all psychogenetic in origin. Meaning it’s all in their head. But it turns out we are realizing it’s more likely the early signs of vascular disease. So men in with erectile dysfunction, even if they don’t have any cardiac symptoms, like chest pain, should be considered a cardiac patient until proven otherwise.
So that’s why even young men should care about their cholesterol levels because hardening of the arteries can lead to soften the penis decades down the road. Your cholesterol now can predict sexual functioning decades later in life in these longitudinal studies.
And you say ‘wait a second, but now we have pills right? Can’t I still just continue to eat crap all my life and then just pop some pills.?’ But you know all the Viagra in the WORLD won’t help your sex life after a stroke. The bottom line is ‘ED’ stands for ‘Early Death.’ It’s the survival of the firmest.”
On why men informed about the life-threatening nature of erectile dysfunction, given it is a manifestation of our #1 killer
“Well, they’re obviously not subscribers to nutritionfacts.org! Well, it’s like ‘wait a second, why don’t people know that heart disease can be reversed with a healthy enough diet?’
Our #1 killer: the cure for the #1 killer of men and women, we have known that since July 1990 with the Ornish’s publication of Lifestyle Heart Trial decades ago. Yet 100s of 1000s of people continue to dies of this preventable, treatable, reversible condition.
But wait a second, we do we even know that? And it’s because doctors aren’t told about it – doesn’t make people money – I can go through all the list of the forces at work, primarily economic forces, that just don’t allow this information to get out there.
The reason you don’t see ads on TV for broccoli is the same reason you don’t hear about this research. It’s just not a profit motive. No one sends out a press release when a study gets done about how wonderful sweet potatoes are for you because there’s no sweet potato lobby out there. There’s no way they can get this message out there. If only had some kind of resource that could bring this science directly to you without the commercialism bias. Well, that’s why I do the work that I do.”
I hope you enjoyed hearing from Dr. Greger on the true risk and simple solution to erectile dysfunction. You can find links to relevant studies and Dr. Greger’s site at the base of this post.
Though it’s an uncomfortable subject, the truth about erectile dysfunction can literally save lives. Please share this video to help men take hold of their health. [tweet this]
To support free education like this, please see the support page.
Now go live vegan, rise to the challenge of truth, and I’ll see you soon.
— Emily Moran Barwick
MORE IN THIS SERIES:
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