As I have confessed to my readers on one occasion or another, blogging does not come naturally to me. I have a set schedule of topics on which I choose to blog, and I wait for an event or two to inspire me. In previous blogs about sex, I have discussed the importance of socialization and the avoidance of loneliness (a serious health risk).
In this blog, I will blend my thoughts about the way our eating habits affect our ability to maintain a high level of intimacy with our partner.
There are many factors involved in the activities of intimacy. For one, a partner is generally necessary. Another factor is good health and cardiovascular fitness. So maybe this is why my Viagra rep would tell me to check the cardiovascular health of my patients before I wrote a script for that expensive blue pill? They also told me to advise my patients not to take Viagra with a high-fat meal as the fatty meal would interfere with absorption and, therefore, interfere with the intended effectiveness. I believe this was important advice for my patients who were spending between $20-60 for each pill!
Then came my inspiration!
I started watching the documentary “The Game Changers.” In the film, there was a fascinating segment about how diets high in animal fat have a negative effect on our circulation.
Then I recalled research studies I read more than 20 years ago on the same subject. Research revealed there is an acute effect that can last as much as six hours (the same duration of the effect of Viagra) which reduces the diameter of our blood vessels after a high-animal-fat meal.
Then it hit me, I am not so sure that the meal interfered with the absorption of Viagra but, more likely, that the high fat meal negated the effect that Viagra had to offer. Maybe my patients (and any male who reads this blog) could save a whole lot of money by eating a healthier meal before becoming intimate with his partner.
Furthermore, anyone who seeks to maintain a spontaneous intimate relationship with their partner may consider converting to a healthier eating lifestyle, one lower in fat and particularly lower in animal fat. Research suggests, and I concur, there would be improved intimacy, reduced cardiovascular risk, and better overall health by making healthy lifestyle changes, particularly with regard to the food we eat.
As I conclude this blog, I want to point out that there are five ingredients commingled which translate into remaining youthful and enhancing longevity, what I call the Power of 5. In discussing intimacy, we see how intertwined what we eat (Sweets) and how we retain our intimacy (Sex) are.
Now is a good time to explore these and which other ingredients are intertwined in your life.
To a long and healthy life,
David Bernstein, MD
