Live Longer & Enjoy Better Sex With Super-foods

Men’s Health is an extraordinarily important and sometimes underappreciated topic in the field of health and wellness.

Why do I say this?

Well, it’s no secret that men live shorter lives and are more likely to die from chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and certain types of cancer. A lot of this comes down to the fact that men just don’t seem to care enough about the way they eat, and that’s a major problem we hope to help with today.

Here at love2lose.com we always stress that good health is the key to good sexual health, so let’s take a close look at some of the biggest health issues Canadian men face and the foods that can play a role in preventing and overcoming them.

What Are The Biggest Health Concerns Canadian Men Face?

We asked ourselves this question and let Statistics Canada data guide us to the answer.

Here’s what we learned

According to Statistics Canada Data from 2007 to 2011, Canadian men between the ages of 25-79 are most likely to be prescribed medication for the following conditions:

1. High cholesterol
2. High triglycerides
3. High blood pressure

All three also happen to directly increase the risk of both heart disease and sexual dysfunction in males, which means foods that can help to fight these conditions will also directly improve sexual health as well (Esposito et al 2005).

Foods For Better Sex And Longer Life

So, what are the best foods to help fight back against these issues?

1.Cholesterol-lowering – Lentils: I hate to use the word super-food, but when it comes to cholesterol lowering foods, it’s hard to compete with lentils and other legumes.

They are very high in soluble fibre, which is a very important for helping reduce cholesterol levels (Brown et al 1999). Legumes are also high in magnesium, which is a nutrient of great interest in the field of sexual health because scientists believe it plays a role in affecting the male sex hormone testosterone (Maggio et al 2014).

The real secret power of lentils, however, is that they are a protein-rich meat alternative, which allows men to double down on the benefits of increasing soluble fibre while reducing the saturated fat found in many animal proteins that increases cholesterol levels.

Alternatives: Barley, steel cut oats and soluble fibre rich starchy veggies like artichoke, squash and sweet potato.

2.Triglyceride Lowering – Herring: Triglycerides are basically fat molecules floating around in your blood. They serve a purpose, but when their levels become too high, they can cause damage to your blood vessels, which could affect both your sexual and cardiovascular health.

One of the best ways to control your triglyceride levels is to make sure you get plenty of omega-3 fatty acids in your diet (Shearer et al 2011). Everyone is probably sick of hearing about salmon, so I’m going to recommend herring instead. It has omega-3 levels that are comparable, and it also has a ton of vitamin D, which many Canadian men don’t get enough of.

Alternatives: Salmon, trout and plant-based omega-3 sources such as flax seed or walnuts.

3.Blood pressure lowering – Avocado: High blood pressure has become increasingly common as a result of the high salt diets that so many of us consume.

The problem? You may not know you have it until some damage has already been done. Your best defence is to consume potassium rich foods as potassium is well recognized as an important dietary component for blood pressure control.

High blood pressure is damaging to the blood vessels all over your body, but especially your heart and your penis, which relies on quality blood flow to work properly. I chose avocado as it is not only high in potassium, but also heart healthy monounsaturated fats that have a positive impact on your cholesterol levels as well. Alternatives: Two of the previously noted foods, salmon & squash, are also an excellent source of potassium. And bananas of course!

The Sexercise Connection

Healthy eating fuels good sexual performance and makes it easy to enjoy the health benefits of Sexercise that come with regular workouts in and out of the bedroom.

Final Thoughts

In addition to the foods noted in today’s article, it’s important to mention that fruits and vegetables represent the most potent and under consumed foods in the average man’s diet. Along with nuts and seeds, I consider them essential to truly healthy eating in men as they are both linked with longer life and lower risk of disease across the board.

Source

Statistics Canada Data from 2007 to 2009 and 2009 to 2011. Canadian Health Measures. Survey, combined. Accessed online: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/82-003-x/2014006/article/14032/tbl/tbl4-eng.htm

High Proportions of Erectile Dysfunction in Men With the Metabolic Syndrome. Katherine Esposito, Francesco Giugliano, Emilia Martedì, Giovanni Feola, Raffaele Marfella, Massimo D’Armiento, Dario Giugliano. Diabetes Care. May 2005, 28(5)1201-1203; DOI: 10.2337/diacare.28.5.1201

Lisa Brown, Bernard Rosner, Walter W Willett, Frank M Sacks. Cholesterol-lowering effects of dietary fiber: a meta-analysis. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Volume 69, Issue 1, 1 January 1999, Pages 30–42, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/69.1.30

Maggio M, De Vita F, Lauretani F, et al. The Interplay between Magnesium and Testosterone in Modulating Physical Function in Men. International Journal of Endocrinology. 2014; 2014:525249. DOI: v10.1155/2014/525249.

Shearer GC, Savinova OV, Harris WS. Fish oil – how does it reduce plasma triglycerides? Biochimica et biophysica acta. 2012;1821(5):843-851. DOI: 10.1016/j.bbalip.2011.10.011