Sexuality: eating nuts would improve erectile function and the quality of orgasms

Not a month goes by without a scientific study praising walnuts. They would improve brain development of unborn children, cardiovascular health of diabetics and the physical abilities of ordinary mortals. And according to work published at the end of June in the journal Nutrientsnuts would also boost the quality of orgasms and erectile function.

Interesting data when you know that millions of men suffer from erectile dysfunction in the world. This disorder is defined as “the constant or recurrent inability to obtain and / or maintain a penile erection sufficient to allow sexual intercourse” and mainly affects seniors. We speak of dysfunction and no longer of simple erectile dysfunction when this incapacity lasts for at least 3 months.

A new diet

For 14 weeks, researchers from the University of Rovira i Virgili in Spain followed 83 healthy men aged 18 to 35 who usually followed a Western diet. The latter, unlike the Mediterranean, is low in fruits and vegetables and rich in animal fat. The scientists divided them into two groups: while the first had to add 60 grams daily (the equivalent of two handfuls) of almonds, hazelnuts and walnuts to his usual diet, the second had nothing to modify. In addition, at the end and beginning of the study, participants completed a standard questionnaire about their erectile and sexual function and gave blood and urine samples.

These allowed the researchers to measure levels of nitric oxide, a compound that helps muscle tissue in the penis produce an erection, and the molecule E-selectin, a “surrogate marker of erectile endothelial function.” In the walls of blood vessels, the endothelium helps maintain a balance between expansion and contraction, the researchers explain.

A link between the Mediterranean diet and improvement of endothelial function

Result of observations at the end of the study: compared to men in the control group, participants who had added nuts to their diet reported a significant increase in the levels of two measures of erectile and sexual function: orgasmic function and sexual desire.

Thus “our study suggests that the observance of a healthy diet supplemented with mixed nuts can help improve erectile and sexual desire”, note the authors. Further research on larger groups needs to take place, however, they admit.

In 2018, a study had already made the link between nuts and sperm quality. Earlier, other studies had also established a link between the Mediterranean diet, rich in nuts, and the improvement of endothelial function. Recently, researchers have also shown that eating pistachios could improve erectile function. Perhaps because these foods, like nuts, contain “several antioxidants and arginine, a precursor to nitric acid, a potent compound that increases vasodilation,” the scientists in the current study explain.

Between 30 and 50% of men aged 40 to 70 affected by erectile dysfunction

Besides diet, smoking, not exercising enough, being overweight, or drinking too much alcohol can impact a man’s erectile function due to their effects on blood vessels and nerves. Men suffering from prostate cancer or hypertension are therefore also more exposed to this type of problem. But in addition to these organic causes, erectile dysfunction can of course have psychological causes such as fatigue, stress or depression.

If you are concerned, do not panic: between 40 and 70 years old, between 30 and 50% of men suffer from erection problems. And these figures are not likely to decrease, since due to the increase in life expectancy, the number of cases of erectile dysfunction in the world expected to increase from 152 million in 1995 to 322 million in 2025.