Don't Let Sweets Sabotage Your Sex Life
November 29, 2021
Could too much sugar be ruining your sex life? If your performance is not what it used to be, recent studies suggest that excessive consumption of sugar can have more than just a negative effect on your body weight and self-concept. Although diabetes and erectile dysfunction are entirely separate medical conditions, they may go hand-in-hand. When a man’s blood sugar levels get too high, less nitric oxide is produced and there may not be enough blood flow to the penis to get or keep an erection that is suitable for intercourse. This doesn’t mean that just because you’re having problems in the bedroom that you are diabetic, but if you’ve ever needed a reason to stop bingeing on sugary foods and drinks, this is it. Moreover, consistently high blood sugar levels have been linked to nerve damage and a decreased sensitivity that makes it more difficult to maintain a healthy erection.
Cleaner Eating for Better Sex
Researchers from the Brady Urological Institute at John Hopkins suggest that better sex may start in the kitchen and keeping your dietary intake clean and consistent throughout the day can help to maintain your sex drive as well as ensure you have more energy for sex. A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences concluded that diabetic erectile dysfunction, which is a common problem for more than half of men with diabetes, is caused by an interruption in an enzyme that starts the chain of vascular events responsible for the achievement and maintenance of an erection. Erectile dysfunction can also be linked to other common conditions in men with poor long-term blood sugar control, such as high blood pressure and heart disease. So, difficulty in maintaining an erection often precedes any diagnosis of diabetes.
How Poorly Managed Blood Sugar Hurts Your Sex Life
Although most studies focus on erectile dysfunction in men with diabetes, excessive sugar consumption affects women too. The longer that either gender lives with poorly-controlled blood sugar levels, the more likely they will experience sexual dysfunction in some way. Sugar-related health conditions, such as obesity, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, or depression, can take a toll on emotional health, which may lead to a disinterest in sex. Listed are other ways in which too much sugar can affect your sex life. Excessive sugar consumption can:
- Lead to Unwanted Fat Gain – Momentary sweet-tooth satisfaction and the subsequent sugar spikes and crashes can negatively affect your waistline. Your body is programmed to store excess energy as belly fat.
- Trigger Stress and Anxiety – Elevated blood sugar levels cause the body to release cortisol hormone that causes more stress. Feeling stressed out equates to a crapped-out libido and decreased sex drive.
- Lower Energy Levels – Too much sugar can trigger excessive production and release of insulin. Feeling fatigued or a sudden drop in energy level can leave you feeling too exhausted to enjoy sex.
- Cause Leptin Resistance – Leptin is the appetite hormone that tells your body to stop eating. Consuming a diet high on sugar can lead to leptin resistance that affects testosterone production and release.
- Decrease Sexual Sensation – Since nitric oxide is an important neurotransmitter that signals the arteries and muscles in the penis to relax, it is important to keep blood glucose levels stable to support healthy chemical reactions throughout your body.
If you picture your body as a machine, you know you need to keep it fueled to keep it running at peak performance. For the same reasons you shouldn’t fill-up with cheap gasoline, you shouldn’t fill your body with highly processed foods and sugary drinks, including alcohol and sodas. Meals should be balanced with extra veggies and spaced evenly throughout the day to maintain a consistent energy level. Eliminating or reducing your daily sugar intake will restore hormonal balance and increase male sexual performance.
Get the Help You Need to Restore Your Sexual Performance
Living with erectile dysfunction can be a real challenge. Moreover, many men are reluctant to discuss male sexual performance issues. Unfortunately, this can leave you and your partner feeling frustrated and discouraged. At GAINSWave, our men’s health specialists can help you get your sex life back on track. So, whether your problems with erectile dysfunction are linked to indulging in sugary foods or caused by a build-up of plaque in the penile tissues, Dr. Earl Eye and his staff at GAINSWave Jacksonville can get your sex life back on track.
Never underestimate the difference a few changes can make in how well you perform in the bedroom. Fact is difficulty getting or maintaining an erection can easily precede any diagnosis of an adverse medical condition. Minor lifestyle changes like sticking to a well-balanced diet, exercising more often, and identifying better ways to manage stress have been shown to be equally important in treating most of the complaints discussed in this article.
While going soft doesn’t necessarily mean you’re suffering from diabetes, regularly reaching for the cookie jar or excessive consumption of alcohol could be affecting your body’s ability to absorb glucose from the blood. A physical exam to assess nerve reflexes, urinalysis to test for blood sugar levels, and simple patient medical history can help in determining why you are having problems and under what circumstances. To set up an appointment today, call 904-500-5500 and let Dr. Eye help you identify what’s causing your problem and suggest a solution to help restore your sex life safely and effectively.
