Packed with antioxidants pomegranate is a familiar ingredient in many male enhancement supplements. Find out if it really can improve blood flow and help erectile dysfunction.
What Will I Learn
Can Pomegranate Increase Blood Flow to the Penis?
Pomegranate is a nutrient-rich fruit that can support good health in many different ways.
Although not everyone cares for its taste, most people find pomegranate has an appealing flavor.
Pomegranate juice contains a vast amount of phytochemicals–more than 100 in total.
Phytochemicals are compounds that help the plants that produce them to survive in the wild.
Many of these compounds are being researched for the various ways they may benefit the health.
Pomegranate juice is also very high in antioxidants. People have been using it medicinally for thousands of years. It is included as one of the ingredients in Viasil – the leading OTC supplement to help men who need a safe and efficient way to overcome erectile dysfunction (ED).
Modern-day researchers are often particularly interested in its potential value as a cancer preventative, its effect on the immune system, and its ability to improve fertility.
Pomegranate shows potential in several other areas, some of which include:
- Treating diabetes
- Enhancing endurance during sports
- Improving memory and cognitive function
- Reducing inflammation
- Controlling the symptoms of arthritis
- Encouraging good cardiovascular health
Some of the conditions pomegranate may offer help with, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, are linked to erectile dysfunction in their own right.
4 Ways Pomegranate May Help Treat Erectile Dysfunction
1. Pomegranates Contain Compounds That Boost Nitric Oxide
You can’t get a good erection if the penis does not get enough blood.
The penis needs to get plenty of blood and hold it under pressure to enable it to swell and become hard.
Nitric oxide (NO) is a key player in the erection process. It relaxes the blood vessels to improve circulation.
Many sports supplements contain ingredients that boost NO because improving circulation enables the muscles to work harder and longer before they become tired.
During periods of sexual excitement, NO is released in the areas around the penis to enable it to swell and become big.
Pomegranate is loaded with nitrates that can help the male organ get ready for sex. male health supplement manufacturers such as Male Extra and Viasil use pomegranate as a main ingredient
Needless to say, the presence of extra nitrates in the blood will benefit the body in many other ways.
By easing the flow of blood around the body, pomegranate can also take a lot of strain off the heart.
2. Pomegranates Boost Testosterone
Testosterone is the male sex hormone so it stands to reason low testosterone levels will prevent reduce your ability to become an animal in bed.
Apart from helping the body develop and maintain masculine traits, testosterone is also integral to many biological processes.
One of the things it does is help repair damaged muscle tissue. It also helps with fat burning and serves many other functions as well.
When testosterone levels fall too low, it retards libido making men lose interest in sex.
If the interest is not there, sexual stimulation may not promote the reactions that are necessary to make the penis go hard.
Low testosterone also appears to increase the likelihood of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, both of which can present a risk of erectile dysfunction.
If there’s a take-home message here, it’s low testosterone is bad.
3. Pomegranate Reduces Arterial Plaque
We’ve already looked at pomegranate’s ability to improve circulation by boosting NO. It can further improve circulation by reducing arterial plaque.
Arterial plaque builds up inside the arteries and other blood vessels, lining them inside and reducing the diameter.
When you have plaque in your blood vessels it’s bad for your penis, for your heart and other major organs, and may drastically reduce your life expectancy.
Pomegranate’s ability to clean the blood vessels from the inside appears to be due to the antioxidants and polyphenols it provides.
Its antioxidant potential even exceeds that of red wine and green tea.
4. Pomegranates Lower Estrogen
Research shows pomegranates contain high levels of ellagitannins.
These compounds inhibit the body’s ability to convert androgens into estrogen.
To put it another way, they protect your circulating testosterone levels by preventing the male sex hormone from being converted to estrogen (female sex hormone).
When estrogen levels become overly high in a man, it can cause erectile dysfunction by reducing libido.
It can also impair sexual function in other ways so there’s a lot to be said for knocking your morning glass of orange juice on the head and having a glass of pomegranate juice instead.
Pomegranate and Erectile Dysfunction: A Look at Some Research
A joint venture study conducted by the Male Clinic in Beverly Hills, California and David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California is very supportive of using pomegranate juice to alleviate erectile dysfunction.
Sixty-one men took part, aged 21 to 70 years. All of them were sexually active and in stable monogamous relationships.
They also had mild to moderate erectile dysfunction.
Some of the men were given pomegranate juice each day. Others got a placebo drink.
The researchers performed a “crossover trial.”
Trials of this nature have a switch half-way through.
When the switch happens the members of the placebo group get the compound the researchers are testing.
Similarly, the participants who originally got the compound switch to the placebo.
At the completion of the study, 47 percent of the men reported improvements in erection quality while they were drinking pomegranate juice.
Pomegranate and Erectile Dysfunction, Increased Blood Flow – The Bottom Line
There’s a need for further research but pomegranate appears to have a lot of potential as a natural treatment for erectile dysfunction.
The fruit also contains compounds that can benefit the health in a variety of ways.
Erectile dysfunction can have many causes.
Things that work well for one man may not work at all for another.
However, no man has anything to lose if he decides to start drinking a glass of pomegranate juice each day or snacking on some seeds.
Many male enhancement supplements list pomegranate among the ingredients.
That’s no bad thing. Although its presence may not benefit all men it is likely to offer help to some.
It’s also important to remember such supplements contain complex mixes of natural ingredients so, if one ingredient fails to hit the spot there is every chance one of its companions will.