Dietary therapy, exercise therapy, and massage methods for erectile dysfunction

[Dietary therapy for patients with erectile dysfunction] Patients with erectile dysfunction should eat foods that can enhance libido: ① Vegetables: cabbage, cauliflower.

They are all rich in vitamin E, which helps with hormone secretion and enhances libido. ② Dried fruits: sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, peanuts, leek seeds, peach kernels.

They all contain arginine, an essential substance for sperm formation and development. ③ Meats: dog meat, mutton, beef, venison, etc.

They all contain high-quality protein, which can promote the secretion of sex hormones.

④ Fish: eel, sea cucumber, cuttlefish, octopus, abalone, etc.

They are all rich in arginine.

⑤ Eat more zinc-rich foods. Zinc deficiency can affect development and reduce sexual function.

Oysters are the food with the highest zinc content.

Patients with erectile dysfunction should avoid consuming hot, greasy, or cold foods when taking supplements, depending on their condition.

In the early stages of erectile dysfunction, many people have excessive phlegm and dampness, coupled with a rich diet or excessive drinking of alcohol, which leads to internal accumulation of damp heat and downward flow of damp heat. If one insists on warming and tonifying at this time, one will overeat rich and sweet foods, accumulate dampness and generate heat, and may even have the harmful effect of imbalance, which will aggravate the condition.

For those with erectile dysfunction accompanied by symptoms such as burning and painful urination, dry mouth with a desire to drink, red tongue with a white or yellow greasy coating, slippery or wiry pulse, excessive phlegm, chest tightness and heaviness of the body, they should avoid eating mutton, dog meat, chicken, as well as spicy and warm foods such as chili peppers, onions, leeks, and garlic. If there is a lot of phlegm and dampness, they should avoid eating rich and greasy foods such as chicken, duck, meat, and seafood.

In addition, tobacco, alcohol, coffee, and fried or smoked foods should be avoided.

Erectile dysfunction, especially in patients with a long history of it, is essentially caused by a deficiency of vital energy, resulting in insufficient nourishment of the penis and a lack of warmth for the reproductive organs.

Clinically, symptoms often include lethargy, aversion to cold, cold limbs, lower back and knee weakness, and a deep, thready, and weak pulse. At this time, one should avoid cold foods such as mung beans, winter melon, celery, water chestnuts, and other cold dishes.

It is worth mentioning that some people believe that they should eat high-protein foods, so they eat more tonics such as soft-shelled turtles. These foods are cold in nature and are not easy to digest, which hinders the spleen and stomach's function and aggravates the condition. Therefore, cold foods should generally be avoided.

[Exercise Therapy for Erectile Dysfunction] Erectile dysfunction is a common sexual dysfunction in middle-aged men. Most cases do not involve organic lesions. As long as one maintains a regular lifestyle, moderates sexual activity, and strengthens physical fitness exercises, erectile dysfunction can be eliminated.

The specific method is as follows:

(1) Sit on the bed with your legs stretched out in front of you. Clear your mind of all distractions and completely relax your head, neck and Achilles tendon.

(2) Lower your head slightly and tuck your cheeks in, stretch your waist as much as possible, and then breathe while leaning your upper body forward. Repeat this movement several times.

(3) Sit cross-legged with the soles of your feet facing each other and your thighs as far apart as possible. Place your hands on your hips and bend forward while contracting your anal sphincter muscles. Repeat this several times while breathing slowly.

(4) When urinating, consciously interrupt the urination suddenly, pause for about 5 seconds and then urinate again. Repeat this several times (no more than 5 times). It is more effective to stand on tiptoe and look at the ground while interrupting the urination.

(5) Weakness in the lower back muscles can easily lead to premature ejaculation and erectile dysfunction. To strengthen the lower back muscles, you can do the following exercises: ① Stand with your feet apart, in a half-squat position, and slowly rotate your body while coordinating with your breathing, imagining that your lower back strength is being strengthened.

② Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, bend forward, let your arms hang naturally, and raise your wrists so that your palms are parallel to the ground. Using your waist as the axis, rotate left and right in a circle, coordinating with slow breathing, and imagine that your waist strength is increasing.

[Massage therapy for erectile dysfunction] (1) Massage the groin: Use the pads of your thumbs, index fingers and middle fingers to massage the groin on both sides from the outside to the inside towards the root of the penis. The massage force should be gentle, comfortable and painless. Do this 50 times on each side.

(2) Twisting the spermatic cord: Twisting the base of the penis symmetrically with the thumbs, index fingers and middle fingers of both hands.

Apply pressure to the spermatic cord above the scrotum until you feel a slight soreness or a comfortable sensation, 50 times on each side.

(3) Rub the testicles: Support the testicle on the same side with the index and middle fingers of both hands, and press it with the thumb. Gently rub both testicles like counting beads. The pressure should be such that the testicles do not hurt or feel slightly sore. Do this 150-200 times on each side.

(4) Pulling the penis and testicles: Hold the penis and scrotum together in the palm of your right or left hand and gently pull downwards 150 to 200 times. The pulling force should be such that the penis and testicles feel slightly sore or the lower abdomen feels slightly pulled.

(5) Massage Yongquan acupoint: Massage the Yongquan acupoint on the right foot with the left hand 100 times, and massage the Yongquan acupoint on the left foot with the right hand 100 times. The therapeutic effect is more ideal if massaged after a hot foot bath every night.

During massage therapy, the skin of the genital area should be kept clean. Those with inflammation or skin diseases in the genital area should be cured before undergoing the treatment.

The patient should perform this exercise when relaxed, once a day, using gentle techniques and avoiding excessive force.

The procedure is usually performed over 2-3 weeks. During the procedure, the penis will usually become erect. If the erection is not firm, pull the penis and scrotum together as described above. If the erection is so firm that the penis cannot be pulled down, then only pull the scrotum.

The patient should perform the massage himself first. After 3 weeks, his wife can take over if necessary, and then gradually transition to sexual intercourse.

This method is effective for functional erectile dysfunction, while organic erectile dysfunction should be used in combination with other therapies.

[Erectile Dysfunction and Kidney Deficiency] The prime of life is when kidney qi is at its peak, so erectile dysfunction patients in this period are not often diagnosed with kidney deficiency.

Erectile dysfunction is not always caused by kidney deficiency.

Modern pharmacological studies have shown that kidney-tonifying drugs mainly work by acting similarly to androgens. However, patients with erectile dysfunction due to decreased androgens are mainly those with underdeveloped testes. In addition to erectile dysfunction, they may also have incomplete development of secondary sexual characteristics, such as lack of facial hair, delicate skin like a woman, or effeminate mannerisms. Indeed, some elderly men experience decreased sexual function due to low testicular function and reduced androgen secretion. However, most elderly men do not have low androgen levels in their blood.

Therefore, erectile dysfunction caused by kidney deficiency is quite rare in clinical practice, while psychogenic erectile dysfunction caused by mental stimuli in life such as worry, anger, resentment, anxiety, and jealousy is more common.

In addition, erectile dysfunction is also frequently caused by factors such as vascular lesions, nerve damage, endocrine disorders, various diseases, surgery, and medications.

In clinical practice, many patients with erectile dysfunction are between 25 and 45 years old. They are physically strong, have loud voices, and do not have symptoms of kidney deficiency such as dizziness, tinnitus, lower back and knee pain, hair loss, and loose teeth.

Numerous clinical observations have shown that erectile dysfunction in young adults is often caused by emotional factors, sometimes accompanied by prostatitis or insufficient blood supply due to hypertension, diabetes, or other conditions. Therefore, it is essential to identify the underlying cause.

[Aphrodisiac Supplements] Due to the influence of traditional customs, men with erectile dysfunction are often considered to have kidney deficiency, leading many patients to abuse "aphrodisiac" drugs.

However, many men with erectile dysfunction not only failed to improve their condition after taking large amounts of aphrodisiacs, but also experienced adverse reactions such as mouth ulcers, bleeding gums, and dry mouth.

Long-term and excessive use of aphrodisiacs can inhibit the excitation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-testicular axis in men. Another danger is that it can cause benign prostatic hyperplasia or induce prostate cancer in men.

However, warm and aphrodisiac drugs such as aconite and deer antler can even cause accidents in patients with erectile dysfunction caused by hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, etc.

There are many other causes of erectile dysfunction, such as liver qi stagnation, blood stasis, and qi and blood deficiency. Kidney yang deficiency is just one of them.

Modern medicine also recognizes that erectile dysfunction can be classified into functional and organic types, and that only a small portion of these cases are due to a decrease in sex hormones, which is equivalent to what traditional Chinese medicine calls kidney yang deficiency.

Treating all types of erectile dysfunction with the same kidney-tonifying and aphrodisiac treatments will obviously not achieve good results.

Therefore, the notion that erectile dysfunction is always caused by "kidney deficiency" must be corrected.