Vasodilators: Nutrition for a Healthy Heart and Getting-It-Up.
Vasodilators are foods and herbs that causes vasodilation(a widening or opening of blood vessels that results from relaxation of the smooth muscle of the vessels). The opposite of vasodilation is vasoconstriction. As I discussed in the post about cacao, efficient blood flow means more blood to your extremities. More blood to your extremities means harder, healthier and longer-lasting boners! And healthy longer-lasting boners means happier sexual partners and more confident productive men!
In the book How’s It Hanging?, Dr. Neil Baum and Dr Scott Miller compare getting an erection to filling a tire with air. The air compressor, your heart, needs to be turned on and working properly to pump the blood into the blood vessels that supply the penis. Similar to a tire, the tubing has to be open and without obstruction and kinks which could impede blood flow. Meaning, your heart needs to be working properly and your blood vessels need to be open in order to have an erection. In fact every organ in our body relies on our heart and the circulatory system to haul nutrients, water and oxygen to every cell in our body. We also rely on our circulatory system to carry waste products out. If these tubes become blocked or the lanes narrow, traffic can back up or even grind to a halt. If our brain is deprived of proper blood flow it effects our ability to think, stay energized and remember things. When our penis is deprived of proper blood flow, it effects our ability to get-it-up.
Restriction of your blood vessels can occur for many reasons. A poor diet and lack of exercise resulting in high blood pressure and hypertension are often times the underlying causes. If they go untreated they may result in heart disease, heart attack or a stroke. Unfortunately the side effects and after effects of many medications prescribed for these conditions can actual CAUSE erectile dysfunction. If you are reading this post you are most likely striving for the opposite. Below are a few, but not nearly all, of the foods and herbs that have the ability to dilate your blood vessels, without the harmful side effects of prescription medication, and increase blood flow to your Johnson.
Catuaba(Erythroxylum vaccinifolium)
Cayenne Pepper(Capsicum annuum)
Ginger Root(Zingiber officinale)
Ginkgo Biloba(Ginko biloba L.)
Gotu Kola(Centella asiatica)
Parsley(Petroselinum crispum)
Garlic(Allium sativum)
Hawthorne(Crataegus)
Horseradish(Armoracia rusticana)
These different herbs can be found in powder or capsule form at your local health food store or online. Ginger, cayenne, garlic, parsley and horseradish can be found in your grocery store and can be easily incorporated into your diet by adding them to your meals. I consume 1/8 tsp of cayenne powder in 20 oz of water with apple cider vinegar and the juice of half a lemon every morning when I wake up. i liberally use parsley and ginger in my green smoothies. Garlic and horseradish are delicious additions to stir-fries, sauces, dips, spreads and salad dressings. Below is a delicious and energizing smoothie that includes some of my favorite vasodilating foods: and the best part is that it tastes like a bloody mary, but without the health-depleting side effects of alcohol.
ZESTY VASODILATING GREEN SMOOTHIE
Ingredients:
1/2 avocado
1 roma tomato
1 clove of garlic
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger
4-5 sprigs of parsley
1 cup spinach or other leafy green such as chard, kale, dandelion or collard greens
1 scallion
1/2 of a lemon with the peel removed(the juice of half a lemon will work just fine)
1 teaspoon fresh ground horseradish
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
Directions:
Place all of the ingredients a blender and blend until smoothie. Drink and enjoy! This delectable smoothie will keep in the fridge for up to three days.