Okay, here’s one for the men.

First of all, did you know that if your waist size is bigger than your hips, you have almost TWICE the risk of developing erectile dysfunction? (1.94 times the risk, to be exact) Does that give you a little bit more motivation to make some changes in your life?

Secondly, did you know that if you do develop ED, you have TWICE the risk of having a heart attack?

The same way that plaque develops in the arteries to your heart, it develops in every other artery in your body. And in the same way that this decreases blood flow to the heart, it decreases blood flow to the penis. No blood flow means no erection. Some simple things you can do to prevent or decrease that plaque formation are, of course, eating more vegetables, exercising and having a great outlet for your stress.

Another reason for ED is hormonal imbalance. Believe it or not, the answer is not always testosterone, and the answer is never testosterone by itself. Men have estrogen and progesterone as well as testosterone and all 3 must be in balance in order for the entire sexual system to function correctly. For example, if a man has a high saliva estrogen level, or a low saliva progesterone level this will inhibit the testosterone from doing its job, no matter how much testosterone a man has. By throwing the balance further off, adding more testosterone can actually make the entire situation worse instead of better.

We commonly treat men who have been taking testosterone, but are still unhappy. It helps for a while, then it stops, so they are prescribed more testosterone. This also helps for a while, then it stops, so they are prescribed more testosterone and on and on. It stops working because the receptors become desensitized to the testosterone. Receptors are like little gate-keepers. Testosterone can not enter a cell without meeting with the gate-keeper, then being escorted into the cell to do its job. When you have ‘normal’ amounts of testosterone, the gate-keepers can easily perform their duties. When you start bombarding those little receptors with more and more and more testosterone, they will actually run and hide. Then it doesn’t matter how much testosterone you have, no one is available to escort it into the cell. Sorry guys, but more is not always better.

You can start by getting your saliva hormone levels checked and balanced. And the bottom line is that if you thought you had to lower your cholesterol, lose weight and manage your stress just to make your doctor happy, think again. You need to lower your cholesterol, lose weight and manage your stress to make you (and your partner) happy.