Eating Your Way To Better Sex With Diabetes

4 Foods That Can Help You Fight Sexual Dysfunction

Living with diabetes can take a toll on your sex life, but it doesn’t have to.

In today’s article, we will take a close look at some of the foods that can help improve your blood sugar control and enhance your sexual performance.

People living with diabetes tend to have a higher risk of sexual dysfunction across both sexes.

In men, it often appears as erectile dysfunction. Women can experience it in a variety of other ways, including a reduced desire for sex.

One of the critical components of diabetes management is proper control of blood sugar levels. This is a complicated subject with a number of layers, but your diet plays a massive role.

Soluble fibre is known to help control blood sugar levels, which is important for both the prevention and management of diabetes and its associated complications, including sexual dysfunction.

There’s a big issue though, most Canadians don’t get enough fibre in their diet.

When you fuel well physically, you tend perform well sexually too.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at four soluble-fibre rich foods that will help greatly improve your blood sugar control.

1. Legumes (such as lentils): Quite possibly the single most important food to aid in blood sugar control because of their very high soluble fibre content, legumes are the only food specifically named in the nutrition guidelines published by the Canadian Diabetes Association. That says it all really.
2. Oranges: Oranges are a highly affordable and available fruit, rich in both soluble fibre and vitamin C. Vitamin C actually helps your body to better absorb the dietary iron found in legumes, so it makes sense to use it as a “dessert” after a legume-based meal.
3. Sweet Potatoes: Sweet potatoes are double winners. Not only are they high in soluble fibre, but they are loaded with Vitamin A, which some Canadians don’t get enough of. The most important thing you need to keep in mind though is to eat the skin, which contains a great deal of the fibre and nutrients.
4. Barley: Struggling for breakfast ideas? Barley may not have come to mind, but it’s one of the best food choices when it comes to blood sugar control. You can take it to the next level by sprinkling in some ground flaxseed, which also contains a good amount of soluble fibre.

The take home message today is that foods high in soluble fibre, especially the ones discussed today, are incredibly important for good blood sugar control, which is incredibly important in addressing diabetes-related sexual dysfunction.

The added bonus of eating these fibre-rich foods is that they help keep you feeling full, which can help with appetite and weight control in the short and long-term. A healthier weight = a healthier sex life.

Making healthy food choices is another way to enjoy the Sexercise lifestyle.

Source

Canadian Diabetes Association Clinical Practice Guidelines Expert Committee. Canadian Diabetes cCan J Diabetes 2013;37(suppl 1): S1-S212. DOI:  10.1016/j.jcjd.2013.01.009

Lattimer JM, Haub MD. Effects of Dietary Fiber and Its Components on Metabolic Health. Nutrients. 2010;2(12):1266-1289. doi:10.3390/nu2121266

Elyasi F, Kashi Z, Tasfieh B, Bahar A, Khademloo M. Sexual Dysfunction in Women with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Iranian Journal of Medical Sciences. 2015;40(3): 206-213.

Neelima V. Chu, Steven V. Edelman. Diabetes and Erectile Dysfunction. Clinical Diabetes Jan 2001, 19 (1) 45-47; DOI: 10.2337/diaclin.19.1.45