Can lack of exercise cause erectile dysfunction? Part 2

In Part 1 of this topic we focused attention on the different types of Kegels exercises and continued to discuss the reasons why the different types of  kegel exercises can be very beneficial for the proper functioning of the body especially in generating a strong blood flow throughout the body. In this article we will attempt to explain the reasons why exercising is of general benefit to improving ED.

Your cardiovascular system is strengthened.

During exercise, your heart and lungs are pressured to work double time and deliver blood you the muscles, tissues and organs in your body. The reason for this hard work is because your body tissues, organs and muscles need more oxygen for the exercising effort.

Your bodily cells, tissues, muscles and heart grow in size and number so they can adapt to the new level of exertion and effort. They contract and expand, soft and flexible, handle more bloodflow and sexual performance increases.

New blood vessels are formed into existence throughout your body

With greater exertion and effort, your heart keeps up its pace of pumping more blood through your veins taking air and nutrients to their destinations.

The greater your exertion and resultant need for more blood something marvelous begins to take place. New blood vessels are formed in your body in a process known as angiogenesis forming a network of access ways that deliver oxygen, nutrients, waste and other components.

The ability of the body to produce nitric acid in your blood vessels is enhanced

Special cells called endothelial cells line the surface of your arteries, the lining of these cells are called endothelium. This endothelium works as a filter that regulates gases, fluids and other molecules to enter and leave blood vessels.

Endothelium also produces the gas, nitric oxide. In order to carry more blood, endothelial cells produce nitric acid and cause blood vessels to expand all over the body. So nitric acid is the catalyst that makes blood rush into the penis and fill it with blood producing an erection.

Production of testosterone in your body is increased

Exercise increases your testosterone levels in short and long term time spans. When you consistently exercise your testosterone levels remain high. But if you become slack with exercising testosterone production decreases because there’s no stimulus for producing testosterone.

Obesity also depress testosterone levels due to the enzyme aromatase which changes testosterone to estrogen which can make you lose testosterone, muscle and more fat, more weight and less testosterone which is a bad situation to be in.

Production of dopamine is enhanced

Studies show that most exercise especially moderate to intense aerobic exercises boosts production of dopamine that also increases your testosterone levels. Your baseline level also remains high with consistent exercising because more dopamine receptors are produced.

The production of more dopamine is desirable because it boosts the sexual function and it can also boost your sex drive or libido. This means that with low dopamine production, you may be affected by erectile dysfunction and a lower libido.

Excess glucose in the body is burnt

Food and drink which you consume that enter your stomach are broken down and absorbed by your intestines. You would also ingest plenty of carbohydrates that are turned into glucose, the energy for your body. To work properly glucose needs to insulin to enter your body cells.

When there’s too much glucose in your blood, your pancreas makes insulin which enables cells to absorb the glucose. More carbohydrates eaten means more glucose in your blood called hyperglycemia which may lodge on the side of your blood vessels causing more problems. Exercise gets rid of this excess glucose.

Your cells become more sensitive to the effects of insulin

We now know that body cells can only use glucose as energy when insulin opens cells and let insulin in. Cells quickly absorb the glucose in your blood and when satiated they stop accepting glucose that insulin gives

(insulin resistance).

This means you have high glucose in your blood which is bad as you now have diabetes type II. But exercise can use up the excess glucose. Cells become sensitive to insulin and can absorb more glucose.

Nitric acid already in the body is preserved

Excess glucose in your blood means production of free radicals superoxide by the body. Superoxide has an unpaired electron looking for a mate and finds nitric oxide which is also a free radical. They react to one another and nitric oxide disappears which is not good.

This means that too much glucose is produced in huge quantities which destroys nitric oxide. Exercise rescues the situation by using up excess glucose resulting in less production of superoxide which is good.

Your HDL/LDL cholesterol balance is improved

Cholesterol is fatty and doesn’t mix with water based blood but are transported  by two lipoproteins LDL (bad cholesterol) and HDL (good cholesterol)

LDL is bad because the cholesterol it carries can cling to walls of blood vessels as plaque. HDL is good because it carries the cholesterol to the liver to be destroyed.

Cholesterol also thickens blood making your blood flow sluggishly, promotes higher blood pressure and both can cause ED, but exercise can reduce cholesterol levels which is good for you.

High blood pressure (hypertension) is reduced

When bloodflow pressure increases against the walls of your arteries, pressure builds up causing hypertension of high blood pressure mainly from thick blood too much water in the blood or narrowing of arteries. These force your heart is forced to pump harder to enable blood circulation.

Blood vessels attempt to stop narrowing by resisting but the stress can cause damage to your blood vessels.

Also the blood vessels can only resist to a certain degree and must relent at some point allowing the clogging up of blood vessels. Exercising also helps by ridding the body of excess

Excess triglycerides is reduced

Triglycerrides are all the fatty butter, oils and animal fats we ingest. The point is that the body can make its own fat from excess carbohydrates and protein which it stores as fat.

If you eat more calories than you need the excess is stored as fat and the more weight you have the lower your libido.

But, the good news is that exercise can reduce or eliminate plaque building by burning all triglycerides or fatty substances in your body.

Excess fructose and sucrose is reduced.

Fructose and sucrose are the two other forms of glucose in the body which are important, that contain exactly the same number of calories.

Fructose is found in fruits, root vegetables and honey. Sucrose is a sugar that must be broken downinto glucose and fructose before it can be used as energy.

Excessive consumption of fructose or sucrose is exactly the same as consuming excessive amounts of glucose which thickens blood, increase fat levels,

The good news? Exercising has exactly the same effect on excessive fructose and sucrose as it has on too much glucose in the blood.

Bottom line

It’s a significant achievement to be able to grasp and understand the impacts of an inactive and stationary life style because by doing so, you can now confidently answer the question: Can lack of exercise cause erectile dysfunction? And of course the answer is yes because inactivity causes everything in your body to impede normal body functions and give rise to ED.