If you’re reading this, then you’re probably somewhat informed about the various techniques that men can use to enhance their sexual function. Aside from manual exercises and stretches, the most common form of male enhancement involves the use of supplements.
An even more wholesome way to boost your sexual function is with changes or additions to your diet. The basic vitamins and minerals that are required for a healthy immune system and metabolism can also affect your sexual health, and oftentimes, problems like erectile dysfunction and loss of libido can be attributed to vitamin deficiency.
Today we’re going to look at pomegranate – the red-skinned fruit that cracks open to reveal hundreds of seeds coated in a bittersweet, fruity flesh – and how it can impact your sexual health.
What does pomegranate do?
There’s a reason that pomegranate has been seen as a symbol of fertility in so many cultures. It’s also been used in ancient Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine to help stave off sexual dysfunction. That’s because pomegranate not only contains a huge variety of vitamins and minerals, but also comes chock-full of various antioxidants and phytonutrients.
It’s possible to get pomegranate supplements, but like most other foods, it’s better for your body to consume the whole fruit. Supplements are never going to be as wholesome and healthy as the original organic food that they came from, for a few reasons.
- Fruit and vegetables often contain nutrients or antioxidants that complement each other. For example, people wonder why diabetics are able to eat fruit, which should cause dangerous blood sugar spikes. While it’s not recommended for them to eat lots of fruit, they can handle it better than they could handle a bag of candy because most sugary fruits contain nutrients that either boost insulin sensitivity or improve the metabolization of carbohydrates so that they are gradually released instead of “spiking.”
- Sometimes, manufacturers recognize the importance of including the whole fruit or vegetable in the supplement. That’s why you see “whole food” supplements that are basically just powdered extracts of x or y. Still, the process of making foods available in this form involves a lot of different extractions and techniques and these can all damage the structure of the compound you’re hoping to supplement. Not only do they damage the compound, but they also damage all the complementary nutrients that should be eaten with it! Lots of antioxidants can have a positive impact on your sexual health.
- Not only are the nutrients not intact when you’re eating a supplement, but you’re missing out on the fiber content that you would get if you chose to ate the whole food. Fiber is essential for the proper processing of nutrients and excreting waste, as well as helping your body operate properly by helping it retrieve energy from the foods that you eat.
What can pomegranate do for sexual health?
Now that you know how important it is to eat the whole food instead of just getting the supplements, we’re going to enlighten you as to why pomegranate is such a fantastic supplement for male enhancement.
There are a few things that the pomegranate does better than a lot of other sexual health supplements.
Erectile dysfunction
Pomegranate has been studied for its efficacy in treating erectile dysfunction. Men with mild to moderate erectile dysfunction showed improvements after drinking pomegranate juice at regular intervals.
Animal studies have suggested that some of the antioxidants present in pomegranate can assist with erectile dysfunction on their own.
Effects on the prostate
Pomegranate has shown significant ability to prevent the growth of cancerous cells in the prostate. Some of the potent antioxidants in pomegranates trigger cancerous cells to commit apoptosis – which is basically suicide for a cell.
Another set of phytonutrients in the fruit help to prevent new blood cells from developing in areas where they would nourish cancer cells in your prostate.
Prevents PSA doubling
PSA – prostate specific antigen – isn’t something that you want running rampant throughout your body. This particular compound tends to increase when people are recovering from cancer with radiation treatments.
Also Read: The importance of healthy sperm
A study done on folk with prostate cancer showed that after drinking pomegranate juice, the rate of PSA doubling greatly decreased. Some started with PSA levels doubling every fifteen months, but towards the end of the study it was taking up to 54 months for these levels to double.
This, combined with induced apoptosis, helps severely reduce the chances of cancer proliferating in the body.
Enhances testosterone production
Pomegranate is well-known for its ability to boost the production of testosterone. This further contributes to protection against erectile dysfunction. It also helps to strengthen your libido and generally improve sexual function.
Testosterone is the primary male sex hormone and is responsible in some way for almost all sexual mechanisms.
Improves fertility
Pomegranate juice has been studied at the First University in Turkey for its effects on sperm quality. This study was done on rats, but the rats displayed similar increases in testosterone to humans.
Humans haven’t been exclusively studied for the resulting sperm quality after taking pomegranate, but since rats and humans display similar results as far as testosterone goes, we can hope that humans would also benefit from the subsequent higher quality sperm.
The rats in this study were fed pomegranate juice daily for several weeks. The pomegranate juice helped them produce natural antioxidants in the sperm as well as the blood. These antioxidants helped to provide an extra layer of defense against oxidation, which can damage and destroy sperm.
How should I use pomegranate for sexual health?
We’ve been touting the efficacy and importance of eating whole foods since the beginning of this article. However, if you’ve ever eaten a pomegranate, you know how hard it can be to get the sweet flesh off all those freakin’ seeds!
Also Read: How to make your partner happy
The next best thing is to drink the juice. You can simply drink pomegranate juice on a daily basis to see the sexual benefits – and, in fact, most of the studies done on pomegranate were done on subjects who were drinking the juice.
Pomegranate juice is quite safe and doesn’t have a side effect profile associated with it. It’s a potent food and it synergizes well with other nutrients – that’s why we use it in Male Extra!
