I treat adults of all ages at my wellness clinic and, at some point during our consultations, we usually talk about the ‘S’ word.
The advice in today’s letter is for men – but if you’re a woman, just imagine you’re listening in so you can share it with the man in your life.
First of all, from a wellness point of view, I tell my patients:
“You should have sex as often as you can, for as long as you live.”
Three to four times a week would be ideal.
Age should not be an issue. It’s the most natural thing in the world to have sex well into your 70s and 80s.1
In fact, sex has so many health benefits, I wish I could write prescriptions for it.
And a lot of scientific research backs me up…
Two analyses of older men’s lifestyles, including 70-somethings, indicate that regular sex can help you live a longer and more active life.2,3
In other studies, men who had sex at least twice a week were 50 percent less likely to develop heart disease than those who had sex once a month.4
And according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, men who had sex at least four times a week were 30 percent less likely to develop prostate cancer than men who had sex twice a week or less.5
Regular sex can also relieve migraine headaches, and stave off stress, depression and other mental illnesses.6,7,8,9
Yes, there is no question that sex is good for you.
And your sex drive is fueled by your testosterone. As the primary masculine hormone, it’s what drives you to hunt, explore, conquer and mate. It makes you stronger, smarter and more aggressive.
And it pushes you to woo a woman with whom you can have sex.
But one of the most common issues my patients talk to me about is that too often
they just don’t feel up to having sex. And that causes them great concern.
Sex, after all, is part of life. Without it, you wouldn’t have life – literally.
Most mainstream doctors will prescribe “the little blue pill” or some other sex drug. But you should be aware that the side effects can include blindness, nausea, migraines, nosebleeds, bloody urine and abdominal pains.
Big Pharma has made billions off these drugs – mostly because modern civilization has robbed men of their masculinity. Your manhood is under attack from all sides.
As men age, their testosterone levels decline, but not enough to preclude a healthy sex life. Modern man has become feminized by the flood of estrogen in his bloodstream, triggered by chemicals in our food, water and almost everything else we consume.
This has caused an alarming decline in sperm counts, not to mention expanding waistlines and ballooning prostates.
As a species, we evolved out of a harsh environment. But we have never had our manhood threatened in this way before.
Middle-age manly dysfunction is an accepted norm – but it doesn’t have to be.
That’s why I always recommend natural ways to enhance your performance – remedies that have worked for millennia without side effects.
And my patients are always pleased to hear this can be achieved through diet or supplements.
- L-arginine and L-citrulline: I recommend patients adopt a diet rich in these biochemical cousins. They are amino acids, which team up to create nitric oxide, which boosts blood flow to give your lovemaking a real lift.10,11
Great food sources include peanuts, almonds, sunflower seeds and walnuts, tuna, chicken, salmon, shrimp, eggs and watermelon.
If you’re not getting enough of these nutrients from your diet, supplement capsules are available online and from most health food stores. I recommend daily doses of 1,000 mg. of L-citrulline and 6,000 mg. of L-arginine.
- Beet juice: Romans drank beet juice two hours before engaging in sex. It also heightens your bedroom performance by raising nitric oxide levels. The beet’s ability to improve circulation has been documented in numerous studies.12
Beet juice also contains boron, a mineral that stimulates men’s bodies to produce testosterone.13 Drink it straight or mix a teaspoon of beet powder into fruit juice. You can also get beet capsules online or from health food stores. I recommend 1,000 mg. a day.
- Fenugreek: This Mediterranean herb has been used to treat manly dysfunction by healers for centuries. Recent scientific studies confirm that fenugreek helps the body increase testosterone levels.14
You can buy fenugreek from Indian specialty grocers. Or you can take supplements, which come as seeds, powders or capsules. I recommend 500 mg. a day.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD, CNS
1. Lee, D.M., et al. “Sexual health and well-being among older men and women in England: Findings from the English longitudinal study of ageing.” Archives of Sexual Behavior. January 27, 2015. DOI: 10.1007/s10508-014-0465-1. Print ISSN: 1573-2800.
2. Smith, G.E., et al. “Sex and death: Are they related? Findings from the Caerphilly Cohort Study.” British Medical Journal. December 20-27, 1997. 315, 1641-4.
3. Persson, G.”Five-year mortality in a 70-year-old urban population in relation to psychiatric diagnosis, personality, sexuality and early parental death.”Acta Psychiatrica.1981 Sep;64 (3):244-53.
4. Lee, D.M., et al.
5. Leitzmann, M. F., et al. “Ejaculation frequency and subsequent risk of prostate cancer.” JAMA. 291(13), 1978-86.
6. Nicolosi, Alfredo, et al. “A population study of the association between sexual function, sexual satisfaction, and depressive symptoms in men.” Journal of Affective Disorders. 82, 235-43.
7. Evans, R.W. and Couch, J.R. “Orgasm and migraine.” Headache. 41, 512-4.
8. Nicolosi, Alfredo, et al. “A population study of the association between sexual function, sexual satisfaction, and depressive symptoms in men.” Journal of Affective Disorders. 82, 235-43.
9. Stiefelhagen, S. “The social-erotic services.” Presentation in the Symposium on Sexuality, Relationships and Psychiatry. Eindhoven, Rutgers Foundation. As cited in Gianotten, et al., 2007.
10. Boger, R.H., et al.”Restoring vascular nitric oxide formation by L-arginine improves the symptoms of intermittent claudication in patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease.” J Am Coll Cardiol. 1998 Nov;32(5):1336-44.
11. Cormio L et al. “Oral L-citrulline supplementation improves erection hardness in men with mild erectile dysfunction.” Urology, 2011 Jan; 77(1): 119-22
12. Hobbs, D.A., et al.”Acute ingestion of beetroot bread increases endothelium-independent vasodilation and lowers diastolic blood pressure in healthy men: A randomized controlled trial.” J Nutr. 2013 Sep;143(9):1399-405. doi: 10.3945/jn.113.175778. Epub 2013 Jul 24.
13. Naghii, M.R., and Samman, S. “The role of boron in nuitrition and metabolism.” Prog Food Nutr Sci. 1993 Oct-Dec; 17 (4): 331-49.
14. Steels, E. et al. “Physiological Aspects of Male Libido Enhanced by Standardized Trigonella foenum-graecum Extract and Mineral Formulation. Phototherapy Research. Vol 25, issue 9 pages 1294-1300, Sep 2011.