Chapter 4: Facts about Erectile Dysfunction
Life Choices that Cause Erectile Dysfunction
You might recognize some of the life choices listed below as being problematic because these things cause a host of other problems in your body besides erection problems. The problems they cause are both mental and physical. Here are some life choices that can cause erectile dysfunction.
- Alcohol Abuse:
Abusing alcohol contributes to a few things that cause ED. Once you go over two drinks; you run the risk of affecting your ability to achieve an erection. Alcohol is one of the many things that slow down the blood flow to the penis. It also affects the body’s ability to generate testosterone.
- Drug Abuse:
Excessive use of street drugs can affect or even damage blood vessels and slow down the blood flow to the penis. Hard drugs like cocaine can cause it, but less harmful drugs like Marijuana can affect it as well.
- Smoking Cigarettes:
All of us should know many of the risks of smoking by now and contributing to ED is just one of the many. One of the major conditions caused by excessive smoking is hardening of the arteries. This condition restricts blood flow to the penis as well as to the rest of body. If you stop smoking; you will notice that your erection problems start to alleviate right away.
- Obesity:
When you allow yourself to become overweight; you open yourself up to a number of health problems that contribute to ED. You could develop high blood pressure or even vascular diseases that will greatly impact your ability to achieve an erection.
- Laziness:
Being lazy and not being active can cause numerous health problems as well. Human beings need regular exercise and movement to promote blood flow and proper muscle response. Making an attempt to exercise in some form on a regular basis will decrease your chances of developing ED.
- Anxiety, Stress:
Things like anxiety and stress both cause temporary erection problems and contribute to ED. Having a healthy sex life depends largely on how relaxed you are during intercourse. If you are stressed out about something; your body is not going to be relaxed and your blood isn’t going to flow as well as it should.
- High Cholesterol:
High cholesterol is caused by not eating healthy, especially as you age. If your cholesterol counts become too high, your blood vessels throughout your body become damaged and we know what damaged blood vessels can do for ED. You could also experience hardening of the arteries or they will become blocked altogether. Various things can help keep your cholesterol down like exercise, medications and a proper diet that is low in saturated fat.
- Diabetes (not properly treated):
Blood flow throughout the body is impacted by failing to properly treat diabetes. If you take the proper medications that your doctor prescribes and maintain a healthy lifestyle; you can prevent diabetes from effecting your ED.
Drugs that Cause Erectile Dysfunction
There are various drugs, both illegal and prescription, that cause or can contribute to ED. Take a look at what is in your medications and see if they might be affecting your ED. Even if you are taking drugs that work well for other conditions; their ingredients might be causing problems with your nerves, circulation or chemical balance.
Here is a list of the most often abused drugs that contribute to erectile dysfunction.
- Alcohol
- Marijuana
- Nicotine
- Cocaine
- Opiates
- Amphetamines
- Barbiturates
- Methadone
There are so many side effects to these drugs that people tend to ignore the fact that they cause ED. Even the smallest amount of these drugs can cause temporary erection problems. Prolonged use can cause serious problems throughout the nervous system and your ED could become a permanent condition.