What if just one lifestyle change could help you avoid getting cancer or diabetes or heart disease or high blood pressure? This one change could cut your risk of chronic disease and add years to your life. Well the simple solution to so many of these problems is to eat a healthy diet. In other words, one centered around whole plant Foods, welcome to the nutrition facts podcast. I'm your host. Dr. Michael Greger.
Today, we look at a problem that many men experience from time to time. Erectile dysfunction. And we start by looking at the nuts. I'm talking about walnuts almonds hazelnuts, ears to store.
In 2013. I can't believe it's already been
so long. I posted a video based on this study. They found that three weeks of pistachios resulted in a significant Improvement in erectile function in men. So it's nice to see a whole food, intervention, have clinical effects. And I was curious to revisit the topic to see what's been published since even if you ignore all the lab animal studies on, you know, how much hazelnuts improve the function of rat testicles.
You still never know what you'll find searching the medical literature for nuts and sexual function. Like this case of penile strangulation with a metal hex nut. I guess nuts. Can sometimes make things worse. If you can't remove them, they use the Dundee technique which involves creating 20 puncture holes to relieve the pressure, but that didn't work. So a diamond disc cutter was used a saw through it and they say,
But the few times all's well, that ends. Well, well, I got me curious. Evidently penile. Entrapment is so common. There's the entire grading system that emergency room. Docs can use if a drill is not available. These surgeons advise a hammer and chisel may be used a drill. Oh and dental drill. I like how they brag about the precisely cut edges to preserve the penis from a fate.
Well outcome. That's a strange way to put it. You're all just should be aware of all the available armamentarium. And if you don't know how to operate the saw you can always call in your local blacksmith. Yeah, but how are you going to remove a barbell or steel sledge hammer head a heavy duty air grinder provided by the fire department requiring six hours of cutting with the patient protected from the Sparks with fire codes, whatever it takes hacksaw cement eater or silk.
Binding method. But anyway, back to the task at hand, consumption of at least one serving of vegetables, a day, and more than two serving of nuts. A week was associated with more than a 50% decrease in the probability of
erectile dysfunction and
snapshot in time, cross-sectional study, but such observational studies. Can't prove cause and effect. It's like finding that men who eat more healthfully have better. Swimmers. Maybe men who eat nuts are just Health knots and the Improvement is due to some other
actor like exercise. Oh, what? We need is an Interventional trial. And here we go, the effect of nut consumption on semen quality and functionality a randomized control trial. A standard American diet with or without a handful of walnuts and half. Handful of each almonds and hazelnuts. And the nut group experienced significant improvements in their total sperm count, Vitality, motility, and shape, perhaps because those in the nut group showed a significant reduction in SDF.
DNA fragmentation. The nuts appeared to protect their sperm DNA to bed while they're at it. They didn't measure the guys. Erectile the sexual dysfunction. Oh, but they did the effect of nut consumption on erectile and sexual function from the same study. The researchers report that those in the nut group saw a significant increase in orgasmic function and sexual desire. But what about direct? I'll function. Anytime. You see this kind of selective glass half full.
Reporting, you suspect some kind of industry funding. And indeed, that was the case here. Yes. There was a marginal increase in orgasmic function in sexual desire of questionable clinical significance, but no improvement in erectile function intercourse satisfaction or overall satisfaction. And with so many comparisons, even the so-called significant findings may not even be statistically significant. But why did the pistachios I talked about back in 2013 work while these other nuts?
Didn't. Well, if you remember, the original study was done on men in their 40s and 50s. Who already had chronic erectile dysfunction. Where's the average age? In the new study was 24 years old. So they may have started out with near maximum circulation. Not leaving much room for the nuts.
In our next story will, look at how many Ting pistachio nuts. Experienced a significant Improvement in blood flow through the penis accompanied by significantly firmer.
Actions, here's the story. Erectile dysfunction is considered an important cause of decreased quality of life in Men. In fact, so much. So that one early Theory suggested that this may explain the link between impotence and heart attacks. Depression is a risk factor for coronary heart disease and the thought was that men who couldn't get it up became so depressed that they like die of a broken heart, but now we know that erectile dysfunction and heart disease can be two different manifestations of the
Same root problem, diseas'd arteries, inflamed oxidized cholesterol, clogged blood vessels. So no wonder a diet chock-full of anti-inflammatory antioxidant. Cholesterol-lowering plant Foods would improve sexual functioning in both men and women as well as reduce risk of heart disease, but why go low risk? When you can shoot for no risk, a totally plant-based diet can even stop and reverse our number one killer.
Of all the plant Foods individually, examined. So far knots are among those most tied to longevity. Just two. Handfuls and nuts a week. May extend a woman's life as much as jogging for hours a week. So if nuts reduce the risk of heart disease, might they also help with sexual function. Well men, eating three to four handfuls of pistachios a day for just three weeks experiences. Significant Improvement in blood flow through the penis accompanied by significantly firmer erections.
May not be surprising. Remember how antioxidant-rich foods have a Viagra like effect of boosting nitric oxide production. Well, pistachios are certainly Rich sources of antioxidants. I remember how they citrulline and watermelons helped with erection firmness by boosting Arginine, which is what our body makes nitric oxide out of. Well, pistachios have a bunch of arginine which may help explain the Improvement in blood flow and we know that cholesterol is an important predictor of sexual dysfunction.
Function in both men and women and after just 3 weeks on all those pistachios or significant improvements in cholesterol and like other studies that piled on hundreds of calories of nuts a day. There was no weight gain conclusion. Just three weeks of pistachios resulted in a significant Improvement in erectile function with additional Improvement in cholesterol without any side. Effects note, the two important differences between diet and drugs, just taking drugs like Viagra to poison this in.
I'm and artificially boost. Nitric oxide signaling is just covering up the symptoms of the underlying problem. Unhealthy arteries. Whereas eating whole healthy plant foods, like nuts. Actually helps attack the root cause or cholesterol, oxidation and inflammation and only has
good side effects.
This enzyme has that Viagra like drugs. Monk with is primarily found in two places in the body, the erectile tissue of the penis and the retina.
Of the eye. That's why the FDA encourages people to stop taking drugs like Viagra and call a doctor right away. If you experience sudden loss of vision, of course, you can still find your phone though. The harms tend to be self-limited and reversible such as sign Asia in which your vision suddenly becomes tinted blue. Why risk side effects at all? In the problem can be reversed cured in the first place. Improving the quality.
And quantity of Our Lives Improvement of sexual function, in men and women should be added to the growing list of clinical benefits brought about by Healthy Lifestyles in human beings. Did you know that dioxins endocrine-disrupting pollutants? Heavy metal saturated fat and steroids in the meat Supply may be affecting sperm counts, semen, quality and the ability of men to conceive. Infertility affects.
It's ten to fifteen percent of couples attempting to conceive in about half the cases. A problem is found in the man, a recent Harvard study found that increasing saturated fat intake, just 5% was associated with a 38 percent lower sperm count.
But why I've talked about the role of xenoestrogens, endocrine-disrupting industrial pollutants that build up in animal
fat, particularly fish. But
male fertility is not, just about sperm count, the number of sperm, but about how well, the sperms themselves work, a recent study found that successful pregnancy and fertilized egg. Implantation outcomes are decreased in patients, reporting a more frequent intake of me.
This finding is consistent with poor semen. Quality associated with a higher intake of products that may incorporate these chemicals and steroids the use of these compounds in the food industry results, in an increased total level of xenoestrogens and sex steroids and processed foods. Such as meat or milk whose intake contribute significantly to daily
exposures
xenoestrogens are highly lipophilic. Substances that can accumulate and
fat-rich foods such as meat and may be
suspected as partially responsible.
Isabel for the decline in semen quality conclusion couples having trouble conceiving must be advised about the DraStic effect of both the male and female lifestyles on infertility treatment success.
This is consistent with previous findings that frequent intake of fat Laden foods, like meat products, and milk, May negatively affect semen quality in humans. Whereas some fruits or vegetables, may maintain or improve semen quality.
Vegetable consumption was also found protective in the new study which may be because the antioxidant and nutrient content of these plant Foods. The adverse effects of meat could be from other pollutants as well exposure, even as an infant to low levels of dioxin can permanently reduce sperm quality.
The general consensus is that
human sperm quality. Has declined over time in different areas. We're still not sure why but dioxins maybe playing a causal role. The reason why maternal beef consumption May alter a man's testicular development and adversely affect his future reproductive
capacity is thought to be due to the
anabolic steroids implanted into the animals, but
The accompanying editorial points out. The steroids could also be interacting with other xenobiotic. Meaning industrial chemicals present in meat such as pesticides and docs and like, pollutants and even chemicals. That may be present in the plastic wrap.
Heavy metals may also play a role lead and cadmium exposure as measured in the blood stream was associated with a significantly longer time to conceive. Where might exposure be coming from all common types of seafood, right out of fish markets and supermarkets were sample. The highest cadmium levels were found in tuna. Highest lead levels found in scallops and shrimp the greatest risk from different metals.
I did in different fish some which got really high. Thus, the risk information given to the public and mainly about Mercury does not present a complete picture. There are other toxic metals and fish as well, the largest and oldest fish had some of the highest levels and we see that with other animals as well. For example, contamination of beef by cadmium and Lead clearly dependent on the age of the animal.
The only beverage associated with infertility in women was soft drinks, though. This may be from an indirect route with the soda linked to obesity and then obesity then link to reduce fertilization rates though. There has been a study on one really direct route. The effectiveness of Coca-Cola as a spermicidal agent in vaginal douching Diet Coke, apparently had the strong.
The
fact Harvard researchers publishing in the New England Journal of
Medicine.
What about Coke versus Pepsi
taxpayer? Money hard at work for this head-to-head test. And neither of them really worked Coke nor Pepsi though. They explain their methods for preparing the sperm Cola mixtures differed from the Harvard group bottom line. Soda. Probably isn't good for you. Going into any orifice.
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