When a person has erectile dysfunction, then their whole life gets upset. When you visit the physician with the issue, they will suggest a few solutions to the issues.
They ask you to start the consumption of PDE types 5 inhibitor medicines like Sildenafil citrate, Tadalafil, Vardenafil, and Avanafil. Along with these medicines, the physician will suggest a person improve their overall habits.
If a person is consuming alcohol or smoking cigarettes, the physician asks them to stop them as soon as possible. You must also have a proper diet and include physical activity in your daily routine.
But even from the diet, a person cannot get a few Vitamins that can help improve erectile dysfunction. When you consume these Vitamins for a few months, you will notice that your symptoms are getting less severe.
In this blog, we will go through the details of those Vitamins and relate how they can cause ED. Also, we will suggest food items through which you can get those Vitamins quickly. So, let’s get started.
Vitamin B9
If Vitamin B9 is efficient in your body, then it alone can be a big cause of erectile dysfunction. Vitamin B9 is also known as Folic acid, which is responsible for the nitric acid metabolism in the body.
Now during the process of erection, nitric acid plays a very important role in softening the smooth muscles of the penis. This is going to relax the blood vessels, which makes them ready to accommodate blood for causing an erection.
Nitric acid is manufactured in the skin layer itself. The endothelial cell layer is responsible for its manufacturing, and folic acid initiates and boosts the process. When our body doesn’t get sufficient amounts of folic acid from our diet, the endothelial layer stops the production of nitric oxide.
This reason alone is sufficient for causing erectile dysfunction in your body. When a person is suffering from erectile dysfunction, their physician also suggests getting the tests done for Vitamin deficiency.
When the levels of folic acid are proper, it will lower the level of an amino acid in the body named homocysteine, which is responsible for inhibiting nitric oxide production.
This way, the nitric oxide levels in the blood increase, and a person can maintain a proper erection. Now if your body has a low Vitamin B9 level, then there are two options for you.
You should take Folic acid supplements in an amount suggested by the physician. The second option that a person has is adding Vitamin B9 food source to their diet. Some of those food items are-
- Asparagus
- Banana
- Broccoli
- Oranges, lemon, lime, etc., citrus fruits
- Special grains that are fortified with Folic acid
- Beans, Peas, Lentils, etc. category of legumes
- Papaya
- Avocado
- Beef liver
- Brussels Sprouts
- Eggs
- Green leafy vegetables like arugula, spinach, and kale
- Nuts and seeds
L-arginine
L-arginine is a very important amino acid in our body because it helps produce protein. It also performs the task of vasodilation in your body because it boosts nitric oxide production. Food items from which you can easily get the L-arginine Vitamin are-
- Seaweed
- Walnuts, pine, raw peanuts, almonds, etc
- Split peas
- Tofu
- Turkey
- Chickpeas
- Pumpkin seeds
- Pork chops
- Chicken
- Steak
Vitamin D
As we have studied above, if the levels of Vitamin B9 are less, it can lead to endothelial dysfunction. The low levels of Vitamin D also carry a risk of increased endothelial dysfunction, affecting the levels of Nitric oxide in the body.
Also, if the Vitamin D is deficient in the body of a person, then it can lead to a very serious autoimmune disease, that is, multiple sclerosis.
In this issue, the immune system starts attacking the covering of the nerves of the body, making them weak. Due to this, the process of action signaling disrupts the body. The whole nervous system starts dysfunctioning due to Vitamin D deficiency.
When the blood vessels and nerves weaken, the chances of proper blood supply to the penis are very low. It happens because the brain cannot convey the signal of erections to the penis, so it can initiate the process of smoothening the muscles.
This way, the deficiency of Vitamin D can alone be a reason behind erectile dysfunction in your body. We have all learned that when direct sunlight falls on our skin, the production of Vitamin D starts.
In tropical regions, this issue doesn’t happen. But in subtropical regions, Vitamin D deficiency starts, especially in winter when the sunlight is less.
That is why a person should start using Vitamin D supplements in such seasons and add food to their diet that is rich in Vitamin D. Examples of a few food items are-
- Liver
- Fortified food that contains Vitamin D. It can be commonly found in breakfast cereals and fat spreads available for sandwiches in the market.
- Fishes rich in oil content include mackerel, sardines, salmon, herring, etc.
- Egg yolks.
In some cases, we see that Vitamin D is present in the body but in its inactive form. It happens commonly due to a deficiency of Magnesium in the body. It is responsible for converting it into 1,25- dihydroxy vitamin D.
In such cases, you should take a magnesium supplement. They are also required when you are using any supplement of Vitamin D as they are inactive. When you use Magnesium, then it can help and will also help a person in unexpected ways. It is going to relax the blood vessels in the body.
Vitamin B3
Sometimes the reason for erectile dysfunction is the inability of arteries to deliver blood efficiently. It happens because the circumference of the arteries is already less due to plaque build on their side walls. This situation is known as Atherosclerosis.
Due to the deposition of plaque, blood vessels also harden, making blood flow more difficult toward the penis. Now Vitamin B3 can not cause erectile dysfunction alone, but it can be a supporting character that makes the situation worse.
That is why physicians who check your body after erectile dysfunction also see the situation of your blood vessels. If they find symptoms of Atherosclerosis, deposition of lipids, and high cholesterol in vessels, then they check the Vitamin B3 levels in your blood.
To prove that Vitamin B3 is helpful, American society has performed an experiment on 160 people who have erectile dysfunction. They ensured that the levels of ED in their body were almost the same.
These 160 people are divided into two groups of eighty each. The first group was fed Vitamin B3 regularly in their diet, and the other group was provided a normal meal.
After two weeks of continuous research, it was found that Cholesterol and Atherosclerosis levels in people taking Vitamin B3 are lower. Also, they have noticed some improvement in their situation of erectile dysfunction compared to others. Their situation remains the same.
If the levels are less in your body, then you will suggest you take a Vitamin B3/Niacin supplement and add the following food items to your diet-
- Beef liver
- Chicken breast
- Ground beef
- Pork
- Salmon
- Tune
- Bread and fortified cereals have Vitamin B3
- Dry and roasted peanuts
- Potato
- Soymilk
- Turkey
Add a few food items to your diet in proper moderation because you don’t want their levels to increase beyond expected.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C shows no direct impact on erectile dysfunction. It also does not hold the power to cause the issue of erectile dysfunction alone when deficient in the body.
But there are some strong indirect links between Vitamin C and erectile dysfunction. When nitric oxide is manufactured and released in the body, some biochemical pathways help in the process.
Vitamin C performs the tasks of supporting those biochemical pathways in your body. If Vitamin C is not present, then those pathways won’t work, which affects the production of nitric oxide and erections.
Also, Vitamin C plays a very important role in the body by increasing the primary male sex hormone levels in the body, which is testosterone. If the levels of testosterone are lower, almost all sexual activities happening in the body hampers.
That is why it is essential that there is a healthy Vitamin level in the body which can be achieved with the help of the following food items-
- Oranges
- Guava
- Snowpeak
- Broccoli
- Tomatoes
- Red chili and sweet bell peppers
- Guava
- Strawberries
- Brussels sprouts
- Broccoli
- Tomatoes
Final Thoughts
You can use these Vitamins if you are suffering from erectile dysfunction. But you should know one thing before using these supplements.
You should check the levels of these Vitamins in your body and the standard diet you are consuming. If the levels of vitamins are in your body, then you should not use them. If the levels in the body get higher than usual, it is also not a good sign for the body.
Also, you should strategically add food items to your diet so that you get all the Vitamins in the required amount with the least quantity.
Disclaimer:
At Medzpills, it is our mission to provide consumers with the best possible, scientifically-backed, and expert-reviewed information. Parry Stone, an expert in the field has reviewed this article, but we caution you that it should not be treated as a substitute for the advice of a qualified medical professional. It is a source of knowledge, potentially helpful in understanding health conditions, lab tests, medications, side effects, drug interactions, warnings, alerts, and more. To ensure the best experience and outcome, we strongly encourage you to consult with your doctor and discuss any concerns or questions you have about a particular disease or medication. Our services are meant to supplement, not replace, the invaluable relationship between doctor and patient.