The estimate of how many men with diabetes will eventually develop erectile dysfunction will range from 35% to as high as 75%. What is definite is that if you have diabetes and you don’t control it, your risks of becoming impotent are very high.

As a disease, diabetes can cause damage to various organs, and your penis and testicles are no exception. To find out how diabetes can make you lose your erectile function, continue reading.

A High Prevalence of Erectile Dysfunction

Among the various chronic diseases, diabetes mellitus is considered one of the most common worldwide, affecting hundreds of millions. And among those millions of diabetic men, more than 50% are likely to become impotent within five to ten years of being diagnosed as diabetic.

Although it is estimated that about 20%-40% of men aged 60-69 will develop erectile dysfunction, experts say the risks double if you’re diabetic. Researchers also note that diabetic men develop erectile dysfunction 10 to 15 years earlier than men of their age who are not diabetic.

Moreover, studies also indicate that when erectile dysfunction is caused by diabetes, the sexual dysfunction is typically less responsive to medication and more severe. Many of the medications that are often prescribed to diabetics such as antihypertensive and psychotropic medicines also contribute to erectile dysfunction.

How Does Diabetes Make You Impotent?

Experts say that diabetes has a multifactorial effect on your erectile function. There are organic causes involved, as well as psychological factors and even relationship problems. In truth, there are many ways by which diabetes can induce impotence.

Vascular Damage

Vasculopathy refers to diseases affecting your blood vessels. Diabetes often causes vascular damage such as endothelial dysfunction, atherosclerotic damage, as well as damage to the small blood vessels.

When you suffer from endothelial dysfunction, it means that your levels of bioavailable nitric oxide are reduced, which then leads to insufficient relaxation of the corpora cavernosa smooth muscles, resulting in erection failure.

The result of diabetic vasculopathy is limited blood flow to your sex organ. Diabetes basically makes your penile arteries dysfunctional in such a way that they are no longer able to deliver sufficient blood to your penis, thus resulting in vascular erectile dysfunction.

Nerve Damage

The diabetes-induced damage to your small blood vessels leads to impaired blood flow to your nerves. This then causes neuropathy or nerve damage to your autonomic and peripheral nerves.

Diabetic neuropathy interferes with the transmission of sensory impulses from your penis to your brain, as well as reduced parasympathetic nerve activities which, in turn, are necessary for the relaxation of your corpora cavernosa smooth muscles.

What this means is that the nerve damage caused by diabetes makes it hard for your penis and your brain to communicate and prevents your nerves from triggering your penile smooth muscles to relax.

Insulin Resistance

When coupled with visceral adiposity or being fatty in your belly area, insulin resistance induces a proinflammatory state. This means that if you’re both insulin resistant and heavy around the middle, a lot of inflammation happens in your body.

This then reduces the availability of nitric oxide, as well as causes nitric oxide activities to decrease. And when you don’t have enough nitric oxide, your penis won’t be able to stand erect. This is just another reason why diabetic men who are overweight or obese tend to develop erectile dysfunction.

Hypogonadism

As many as one in four diabetic men have subnormal testosterone levels accompanied by low levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH).

You need testosterone to regulate various components of your erectile function such as your corpora cavernosa endothelial cells and your pelvic ganglions. Diabetes, however, causes low testosterone levels and even induces hypogonadism. This then contributes to impaired erectile function in diabetic men.

Boosting Your Erection

For men with diabetes, preserving your erectile function is as important as managing your blood sugar levels. If you leave your diabetes uncontrolled, you stand to lose your erectile function, and that can lead to further problems such as depression and relationship issues.

Fortunately, there are several ways by which you can boost your erection through natural means. For instance, there’s fenugreek which is extremely beneficial for diabetic men. Not only is this herb good for controlling your diabetes, but it can also help improve your levels of testosterone, as well as help you lose weight.

Fenugreek is considered as having anti-diabetic properties because it can help improve your sensitivity to insulin, which then helps your cells absorb glucose from your blood more efficiently.

By inhibiting aromatase activities, fenugreek is able to help you maintain high free testosterone levels. The increase in your testosterone levels will then benefit not only your sex drive, but also your erectile function. On top of that, fenugreek also helps increase your fat metabolism, thus helping you manage your weight.

Fenugreek, however, isn’t the only herb to have both anti-diabetic and pro-sexual properties. Early studies on the effects of Tongkat Ali on blood glucose levels indicate that the herb may also have anti-diabetic effects.

Animal studies show that Tongkat Ali extracts helped reduce the blood glucose levels of hyperglycemic rats by as much as 38%. Another study showed that Tongkat Ali can help increase your glucose uptake by as much as 200%, as well as suppress the accumulation of lipids.

The anti-diabetic effects of Tongkat Ali, however, are not as popularly known as the testosterone-boosting and erection-enhancing effects of the herb. Tongkat Ali is actually widely used as an aphrodisiac and libido enhancer, as well as a supplement for increasing testosterone levels.

Aside from improving erectile function by preventing penile smooth muscle contraction, Tongkat Ali can also help improve your fertility. The herb is also known to enhance testicular function by increasing sperm production, as well as improving sperm quality.

On top of that, Tongkat Ali can also help reduce your symptoms of stress and anxiety. If you are diabetic and chronically stressed, it can actually increase your risks of becoming impotent.

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