Soft Boners and Hard Hearts (and not the cool kind)

 Studies show that physiological erectile dysfunction is a potent (unlike the guys with ED) predictor of atherosclerosis and heart disease. Since achieving an erection is largely a vascular function, you need good blood flow throughout your body to achieve a raging hard-on. Therefore, it is important for us to maintain good heart and vascular health in our pursuit of Ultimate Masculinity.

"Atherosclerosis thickening or hardening of the arteries. It is caused by a buildup of plaque in the inner lining of an artery. Plaque is made up of deposits of fatty substances, cholesterol, cellular waste products, calcium, and fibrin. As it builds up in the arteries, the artery walls become thickened and stiff." [1] Because your erection hardness is largely affected by your blood flow, a hardening of your arteries and heart, means a softening of your boner.

There are more nefarious effects of atherosclerosis than a soft dick, however; as Dr Greger puts it, erectile dysfunction "may just be the flaccid tip of the iceberg in terms of a systemic disorder" [2] The arteries in your penis are much smaller than the arteries of your heart or elsewhere. Therefore, through the same atherosclerotic mechanisms as elsewhere in your body, your penis can suffer the same blood-restrictive effects that cause heart disease or a heart attack well before any other warning signs.

Put more simply, your penis not working correctly "has been reported to independently predict [coronary heart disease] events, thus highlighting its role as a marker of early atherosclerosis". [3] Additionally, erectile dysfunction has also been associated with other diseases, including "stroke, peripheral artery disease, diabetes and chronic kidney disease as well as with several CHD risk factors including hypertension, dyslipidaemia, smoking, obesity, metabolic syndrome, hyperuricaemia, arterial stiffness and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome." [3] To put it bluntly, if you can't get a hard on naturally when you need it, you will likely die before your peers who can. [3]

While there are treatments that can help you achieve an erection independent of your vascular health, like a penis pump or Viagra, they don't treat the underlying cause of atherosclerosis. On the other hand, there are medications for high blood pressure and other symptoms of CHD, but they often cause ED. [4] At worst, treating one causes the other and at best, treating the other ignores the first. However, if we remedy the root cause of the atherosclerosis rather than symptoms, we can ameliorate both the erectile dysfunction, thus achieving Ultimate Masculinity, and reduce the risk of heart disease. A whole food, plant based diet, coupled with exercise, is shown to reduce the causes of atherosclerosis and even help to clear arteries of existing plaques. Next week, we'll look at particular foods that can help increase erectile activity, for a little extra boost! 

As a parting piece of advice: "Listen to your cock! If you can't get rock, you might need brocc."

 

[1] Atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis | Johns Hopkins Medicine. (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2023, from https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/atherosclerosis 

[2] Greger, M., & Stone, G. (2018). Nuts and Seeds. In How not to die: Discover the foods scientifically proven to prevent and reverse disease (pp. 347–348). essay, Pan Books. 

[3] Katsiki N, Wierzbicki AS, Mikhailidis DP. Erectile dysfunction and coronary heart disease. Curr Opin Cardiol. 2015 Jul;30(4):416-21. doi: 10.1097/HCO.0000000000000174. PMID: 26049392.

[4] Sainz I, Amaya J, Garcia M. Erectile dysfunction in heart disease patients. Int J Impot Res. 2004 Oct;16 Suppl 2:S13-7. doi: 10.1038/sj.ijir.3901238. PMID: 15496852.