And just when we hoped diet, exercise, and meditation might be overrated!
The Between Us Clinic: Sex Therapy Online Programs just revealed this listing of Top Alternative ED (erectile dysfunction) Treatments for 2024. In the rundown of cures for this most common male sexual issues, it was found that alternative approaches might just help as much as pills and medical treatments.
In fact, the article above states that “Some alternative treatments can have a tremendously positive effect.”
Broken down into seven treatment approaches, the survey includes highly scientific Stem Cell Therapy, and Testosterone Replacement Therapy or TRT, down the list to the less-scientific, but certainly more holistic, Mindfulness Meditation, into the most common nuts-and-bolt approach for lifestyle changes and better overall health, Diet and Exercise.
The full range of ED cures in the study are Stem Cell Therapy, Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy, Testosterone Replacement Therapy, Natural Supplements, Pelvic Floor Exercises, Mindfulness Meditation, and Diet and Exercise. What’s especially telling about this report is that while all seven of these treatments are considered effective, they are honestly assessed by what has or has not yet been proven. If there were any, the doctors named in the survey also list the cautions they might have with each treatment.
Science has shown that the injection of stem cells can rejuvenate tissue in some applications. Still, not all urologists are convinced or have yet seen enough evidence to state that Stem Cell Therapy will help with erectile dysfunction. One of the concerns about the effectiveness of this method when used in ED treatment is that the penis (that wacky little bugger) generally supports a very rich blood supply, and injected stem cells all too quickly exit from the body because of this supply.
Also, as noted in the BUC report, Stem Cell Therapy can be expensive.
A word we hear bandied about, whether from proposed health supplements or just what men might be lacking to keep them from producing the hearty, healthy, and happy erections they used to enjoy is, testosterone. Therefore, when it comes to ED, Testosterone Replacement Therapy, or TRT, gets talked about plenty.
Again, there has yet to be seen any conclusive evidence of the overall effectiveness of TRT. Some men with recorded low testosterone experience perfectly fit and fine “Hello, look at the world” erections, while some with a recorded high testosterone level struggle to maintain an erection.
Therefore, increasing testosterone for all ED patients is not a cure-all, and in some cases, can prove harmful as the doctors in this survey do caution.
In what could be considered the far other end of the spectrum of ED cures is the alternative health application of Mindfulness Meditation.
88% of the urologists surveyed in this new report recommend that men integrate some sort of mindfulness meditation into their other ED treatments. Meditation can reduce stress levels, which in turn can lower blood cortisol levels. Cortisol, an essential hormone in allowing the body to tolerate stress, can greatly impact erectile function.
Meditation of this kind can also help an ED suffer put his performance anxiety, and even possible body insecurities, in proper perspective.
What we have here is quite simply… one clear head helping the other.
Lastly, what seems to be smack dab in the middle of scientific treatments born in the lab and holistic approaches is what 97% of the doctors surveyed wholeheartedly recommend will aid in ED… diet and exercise. A study in the Journal of Sexual Medicine showed that exercising alone could be just as effective as taking certain ED medications.
As stated in the BUC survey as well as pretty much any medical journal you read (and any competent MD will tell you), weight loss will help lower blood sugar and insulin levels, decrease high blood pressure (the second most common cause of ED), reduce inflammation, and improve a body's overall function.
All this is surely beneficial to erectile health.
All this is surely beneficial to health in general.
While this report and the continued scientific research on ED proves fascinating, lists cautions and in many cases, reveals what we already knew, looking for one cure-all, when the sources of Erectile Dysfunction could come from many sources, proves a fool’s errand.
While scientists keep searching for the best approach, the best we can all do, ED suffers or even their partners, is try to stay as healthy in mind and body as possible and keep communication flowing in our relationships.
