Sexual Health and Well Being

“Sexual health and well being” is a phrase we are hearing a lot about these days – what exactly does this mean in terms of men’s health?

You know, there’s more to being alive than eating, working, sleeping and paying taxes! Life is a gift and everyone should work at enjoying it. Sex and lovemaking (I believe there is a difference) is a major part of that gift. It is not an activity limited to young people – if you are healthy enough you can have sex at any age. That of course is the key phrase – healthy enough.  The key to good health is simple enough – eat right and exercise.

The reasons for having bad health are legion and harder to avoid the older you get – especially if you have failed to follow simple measures such as eating the right food and getting the right exercise. As health problems arise, obesity, early onset diabetes, and high blood pressure are examples, you begin a cycle that becomes progressively harder to break.  Obesity, for example, makes it tougher to start an exercise regimen.  Resulting health conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease lead to a need for medications. Medications have their own complications – there are over 200 prescriptions and over the counter drugs that can cause erectile dysfunction (not to mention illegal drugs that have the same effect).

By the time most men are over forty years old they are beginning to deal with the onset of one health problem or another. The problem – and the prescriptions you take to control them – more often than not have erectile dysfunction as one of the side effects. Sometimes the very first indication men have that something is wrong is the inability to achieve an erection.  A penis that doesn’t work is often the first sign that there is a larger health problem.

If I were thirty years old and knew what lay ahead of me if I did not take some minimum care of myself – I’d be eating right and exercising!

Now, take that one step further – sex and lovemaking are among the most enjoyable activities life offers us. Why wouldn’t you – in your 20 and 30s – start doing the things that will ensure a healthy sex-life well into old age? This is what we mean by sexual health and wellbeing.

Drug companies especially would have you believe that there is a magic bullet that will take care of sexual health problems later in life. A pill is not and never will be a magic bullet! This holds true whether it is an herbal concoction to enlarge your penis or a drug that gives you an erection exactly when you need it.  Let me be clear – herbal remedies and prescription drugs can have a role to play in better sex – but never each on their own.

Great sex is the result of a well thought out combination of approaches. If you are starting out as a healthy male, anywhere from 25 to 30 – I’d begin thinking about extending the quality of my future sex life. That would involve an appropriate diet, the right level of exercise for muscle tone and cardiovascular health, the right kind and quantity of supplements, perhaps even the right herbal supplements.  I’d advise a great deal of caution here as both supplements and herbals are totally unregulated.

While there are some really useful herbal and nutrition products out there – hundreds more are simply not worth the Internet electrons it takes to promote them.

Remember also that quality of life is just as important as length of life. While that does mean trying to be healthy – it also means that you do not have to completely abandon every “bad” thing you do in terms of food, drink and couch surfing! It does mean attention to one key word – moderation.

The result is a sexual health and well being program – a combination of knowledge and behaviors that keep you healthy and sexually active. Being sensitive to the quality of your sex life has other long-term benefits; your general health is going to be that much better.  And why not? If you are going to live this life – why not live it well.

Final word? Your not 25, you are 55 and you already have issues with your sex life. This is more often the case as we baby boomers age. It is not too late. There are a host of treatments for dealing with mild to serious ED. Any one treatment might be the right one for you, but do not accept the first option your are offered even by your physician – be an informed patient. Treatments range in cost from $500 to $20,000. It does not follow at all that the most expensive is the best!

Mark M Newell Ph.D.