Natural Health and Herbal Remedies Blog – information on herbal medicine

Выработка мужского полового гормона — тестостерона начинается у мальчиков в И—12 лет, но особенно быстро половое созревание начинается в 14-летнем возрасте. В 15—16 лет появляются вторичные половые признаки: меняются голос, характер, поведение, появляется интерес, влечение к женскому полу. Во сне появляются поллюции (самопроизвольное изверже­ние семени). Это наблюдается у мальчиков при наступлении половой зрелости, а у взрослых — при воздержании от половой жизни. Поллюции — вполне нормальное, физиологическое явле­ние. Никакого вреда для здоровья они не причиняют и способству­ют разрядке полового напряжения. У женщин иногда также
могут иметь место аналогичные явления, когда сновидения сексуального содержания сопровождаются чувством полового удовлетворения (ночной оргазм).
Первые поллюции у мальчиков и особенно первые менструа­ции у девочек переживаются как значительные волнующие события, вызывающие иногда большое беспокойство и даже страх. Они стыдятся их, становятся замкнутыми, а у некоторых даже развиваются невротические расстройства. Поэтому весьма важно, чтобы родители своевременно подготовили детей (отец — сына, мать — дочь), спокойно пояснив им естественный физиологический характер этих явлений. Обычно поллюции бывают 2—3 раза в месяц. Если они бывают чаще, каждую ночь или 2—3 раза в неделю, то это свидетельствует о повышенной возбудимости нервной системы. В этих случаях необходимо упорядочить режим дня. На частоту поллюций несомненно влияет образ жизни юноши. Занятия физкультурой, утренней зарядкой, закаливание организма, ограничение приема жидкости на ночь благотворно скажутся на укреплении нервной системы.
В норме половая способность мужчины подвержена значи­тельным индивидуальным колебаниям и зависит от многих факторов: физического и нервно-психического состояния, темпе­рамента, возраста, образа жизни. Поэтому частота половых сношений у разных лиц бывает разной.
Наибольшее значение для сексуальной активности имеет возраст человека. Ежедневные, а тем более повторные половые сноше­ния, практикуемые молодыми людьми в течение длительного времени, являются большой нагрузкой для организма, становят­ся нефизиологичными и могут отрицательно отражаться на по­тенции.
Самое полезное в частоте половых сношений — соблюдать меру, т. е. всегда несколько меньше, чем это диктуется влечением, потребностью. Легкий сексуальный «голод» повышает привлека­тельность партнера, позволяет сохранять между супругами остроту чувств и способствует достижению максимальной половой удовлетворенности.
Сознательная тенденция к рационализации половой жизни дает человеку возможность не только ощущать максимум полового удовлетворения, но и обеспечивает хорошее самочув­ствие и создает условия для нормальной активности вне сексуальной сферы — профессиональной, спортивной и пр.
Наблюдения показывают, что к 50 годам происходит снижение потенции, и в дальнейшем отмечается более быстрое ее падение, а в возрасте 60—65 лет она обычно угасает.
Однако могут наблюдаться значительные индивидуальные колебания указанных средних цифр в ту или другую сторону. Угасание половой функции часто происходит у супругов не в одно и то же время, и это может порождать трудности в их взаимоот­ношениях. Существует среди населения представление, что для пожилых людей половая жизнь вредна или опасна. Это неверно. Половую жизнь мужчин в пожилом возрасте следует считать нормальным и здоровым явлением, если в ней испытывается естественная потребность. И это должно находить у их жен соответствующее понимание.
У женщин в климактерическом периоде может долго сохраняться половая активность и половая жизнь, и это также является нормальным явлением. Между тем, как показывает врачебный опыт, на этой почве у пожилых супругов возникают конфликтные ситуации и даже поводы к разводу.
Как отражается на общем состоянии половое воздержание? Повседневные врачебные наблюдения, специальное научное изуче­ние этого вопроса показывают, что половое воздержание у подавляющего большинства людей до 20—22 лет не сопряжено с какими-либо болезненными расстройствами. Наоборот, в этом возрасте оно способствует сохранению, укреплению физических и духовных сил организма. Избыток семени, накапливающийся в половых органах (семенных пузырьках), выводится при чрезмер­ном его образовании наружу путем поллюций. Таким есте­ственным, физиологическим путем происходит снижение полово­го влечения, регулировка деятельности организма.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Специальные   исследования   показывают,   что   добрачная беспорядочная половая жизнь оказывает отрицательное влияние и на  жизнь  будущей семьи.  При случайных половых  связях   происходит постепенная утрата способности любить, наступает     ” оскудение человеческих чувств, необходимых для существования семьи. Нормальной может быть только половая жизнь в браке, т. е. в союзе мужчины и женщины, союзе, который преследует две цели: человеческое счастье и воспитание детей.
Несколько по-иному подходят врачи к проблеме воздержания у взрослых людей, регулярно живших половой жизнью. Здесь многое зависит от индивидуальных особенностей личности чело­века. В большинстве случаев половое воздержание и в этом возрасте безвредно. У некоторых лиц с интенсивным половым влечением вынужденный длительный перерыв (командировки и др.) в половой жизни может вызвать временное снижение половой функции, ухудшение эрекции, ослабление полового влечения, которое усиливается затем при возобновлении половой жизни. Это объясняется тем, что при половых актах вместе с семенной жидкостью выбрасывается много секрета предстательной железы и лишь небольшое количество его всасывается в кровь. Уменьше­ние поступления секрета в кровь возбуждает секрецию яичек, гормоны которых и активизируют половое влечение. И наоборот, если очень редко совершаются половые акты, то уменьшается и потребность в них, так как секрет предстательной железы обильно поступает в кровь и тормозит деятельность яичек.
Этим объясняются временные затруднения, которые испыты­вают подчас мужчины после периода воздержания. Обычно с началом регулярной половой жизни они проходят. Но если эти временные нарушения становятся предметом особой тревоги или неправильно оцениваются женами (упреки в неверности, «неспо­собности»), они могут зафиксироваться надолго. В этом случае необходимо лечение. Причина этого — неправильная оценка физиологии половой функции мужчины.
Касаясь вопросов физиологии половой функции, нельзя не заметить, что половая и общая зрелость организма не совпадают по времени. Половое влечение обнаруживается значительно раньше физической зрелости организма. В этом заключается одна из причин онанизма, особенно распространенного у мальчиков. Ощущая приливы полового возбуждения, мальчики, подражая дурному влиянию взрослых, или инстинктивно, находят средство к самоудовлетворению. У девушек онанизм гораздо менее распро­странен, чем у мальчиков. Это, очевидно, находится в связи с тем, что чувственная сторона половой функции у них слабее и развивается гораздо позже.
В прошлые времена с онанизмом связывали развитие тяжелых нервных заболеваний. До сих пор распространены взгляды на онанизм, как на тяжелый порок, будто бы приводящий к губительным для организма последствиям, особенно для половой деятельности и нервной системы. Такое представление не подтверждается врачебной практикой. Онанизм сам по себе не может являться причиной каких-либо нервно-психических и поло­вых заболеваний. В период полового созревания он не приводит ни к каким болезням.
Только в тех случаях, когда это происходит длительное время и чрезмерно часто (по нескольку раз в сутки), мастурбация (онанизм) может временно ослабить нервную систему, действуя угнетающим образом на психику, что с течением времени проходит само по себе.
У некоторых лиц онанизм становится дурной привычкой, с которой, безусловно, необходимо бороться. Однако нередко мы сталкиваемся с большими трудностями и неправильным подходом к этим вопросам. Вся сложность этого заключается в том, что подросток или юноша и сам понимает ненормальность, противое­стественность онанизма, много раз дает себе слово удерживать себя от этого, но проходит день — два, и все начинается снова. Родители или другие воспитатели, желая отучить ребенка от онанизма, начинают пугать его несуществующими страшными последствиями. Толку от такого запугивания, как правило, добиться не удается, а вред наносится несомненный: вселяются вредные чувства тревоги, неполноценности и виновности.
Из-за неправильного полового воспитания и запугивания каждый акт мастурбации, от которой подросток в силу сильного полового влечения часто не может удержаться, превращается в тяжкую психическую травму: подростка или юношу долго мучают угрызения совести, они считают себя извращенными, неполно­ценными людьми. Такая неправильная самооценка, укрепляясь, может иногда послужить причиной неприспособленности человека к семейной и общественной жизни.
В этих случаях прежде всего необходимо просветить родителей и других воспитателей и этим успокоить как их самих, так и подростка. Затем следует позаботиться о том, чтобы молодежь располагала временем, рационально заполненным занятиями и развлечениями, чтобы не оставалось места для скуки. Необходимо окружить подростка старшими товарищами или ровесниками, не привлекая его внимания к поставленным целям.
Проводя беседу на эту тему с мальчиком или девочкой, обяза­тельно наедине, не следует читать мораль или стыдить ребенка. Надо просто объяснить ему, что онанизм неэстетичен, а с биоло­гической точки зрения нецелесообразен. Родители должны стараться так направить воспитание подростка, чтобы пробудить в нем интерес к учебе, работе по дому, спорту, к какому-либо заня­тию и т. п. И, конечно, нельзя пугать ребенка мифическими болезнями. Расстройства, возникшие на почве неправильного представления о половой жизни, излечимы. Своевременное обращение к врачу-специалисту — необходимое условие полного выздоровления. лечение неврозов
С наступлением нормальной половой жизни занятие она­низмом, как правило, само по себе прекращается. Однако известны случаи, когда взрослые люди продолжают заниматься им и тогда он действительно может привести к осложнениям и жизненным конфликтам в семейной жизни, хотя не вызывает и в этих случаях никаких заболеваний.

лечение неврозов

The process of hydrogenation converts a liquid vegetable oil into a more solid state. This occurs through forcing hydrogen atoms into a vegetable oil under high pressure and high temperatures (120 to 210 degrees Celsius). A metal catalyst is used; it may be nickel, copper or platinum, and the process takes six to eight hours. Hydrogenation may be complete or partial.

Complete hydrogenation is where this process continues until all the double bonds in the oil are saturated with hydrogen. In effect this creates a fully saturated fat which is now very hard at room temperature. Because there are no more double bonds, there are no trans fatty acids in this type of fat. This means that the fat is not as harmful to health as partially hydrogenated oil; however all essential fatty acids in the oil have been destroyed. Commonly tropical fats such as coconut fat and palm oil undergo this process, to make them more useful to food manufacturers. This is the type of vegetable fat that is often used in chocolate to make sure it melts at mouth temperature.

Partial hydrogenation is where the process is halted before the oil is totally saturated. This means the resulting fat is not as hard; it has a semi solid, spreadable texture. Many trans fatty acids are present in partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. The essential fatty acids in the oil are also damaged. The word “partially hydrogenated vegetable oil” is present on the label of very many processed foods. This type of fat is present in most margarines, vegetable shortening and processed food such as cakes, biscuits, donuts, crisps and hot chips.

Are there any benefits of hydrogenated oils?

These types of fats benefit the food industry greatly, but our health suffers as a consequence. Usually cheap oils are used for this purpose, such as canola, cottonseed, soy or corn oil, which generally do not have health benefits. It is usually too expensive to use olive oil in manufacturing processed food. Hydrogenated fats, being solid give some foods the required consistency; biscuits for instance are usually made from a solid fat like butter or margarine. Butter is more expensive to use than margarine, and it spoils much faster. Basically hydrogenated vegetable oil is used by the food industry because it is cheap, and gives the foods containing it a longer shelf life.

McDonalds replaced beef tallow with partially hydrogenated soybean oil in 1990. In September 2002 McDonalds promised to use healthier oil in its US stores by February 2003. However, nothing has been done so far: there are still six grams îf trans fat in a large serve of fries. In September 2004, McDonalds Australia began using a canola oil blend. This oil is 75 percent lower in saturated fat than their previous oil, but the trans fat content is not mentioned, and there are other potential problems with canola oil. The canola oil blend McDonalds use contains an antifoam agent called dimethyl polysiloxane.

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However strong you are, your treatment will affect your physical well-being. You may lose weight or suffer nausea or increasing lethargy, as well as experiencing side-effects specific to your treatment. You might wake in the morning feeling strong and well and unwittingly overtax yourself within a few hours. The idea of resting for the remainder of the day can be intensely frustrating. You may not want to sit quietly and watch the television or read the newspapers! Enforced physical inaction is a tangible and constant reminder of your cancer but, however irritating, only you can dictate the right pace of life for you.

For example, many courses of chemotherapy are given on a three-weekly cycle. You may discover with experience that there are points in the cycle when you feel the side-effects of the drugs most keenly, are particularly low, have very little energy and little desire for visitors or activity. At another point in the cycle, you may feel much stronger and want to be more active. Your medical team will advise you if you are likely to have low points in your cycle, but the effects of chemotherapy do vary from person to person. In the first cycle, however much information you are given beforehand, you won’t know from personal experience how you will be affected. Thereafter, your personal experience will be valuable in guiding your day-to-day life. For example, if you know you feel low on days 7 to 10 after your chemotherapy, you can plan ahead and take life very gently on those days. Keeping some form of diary may be useful, even if you just make a brief note each day of how you feel: ‘Day 15 – felt strong, went to work today’ or ‘Day 9 – nausea bad, couldn’t eat, slept badly’.

Judging the level of physical exercise or activity that is right for you may be tricky as your physical energy goes through unpredictable periods of improvement and decline. If you are well enough, it is good to exercise in some form if you can, but as gently as necessary – if a very short walk is enough, then don’t push yourself further. You are not trying to prove anything to anyone!

Ask your doctor’s guidance about your physical limitations and try to respect that advice. Your doctor will not be able to tell you exactly what you can and cannot do, but you may have questions about whether you can, for example, go swimming or play a round of golf or go to the gym. Your doctor should be able to advise you about any activities which should be avoided or approached with caution, or indeed, any which would be especially beneficial.

You might be eager to become more physically active again or you might be surprised by psychological hurdles which have to be crossed first. If an operation has caused some physical change or what you perceive to be a disfigurement, however minor, then this can change your attitude about your body and make you feel uncertain either about your physical capabilities or your willingness to have your body ‘on show’. If the prospect of undressing in the open changing room at the gym or swimming pool leaves you feeling very uncomfortable, then don’t force yourself into that particular activity. It is worth reiterating that there is no ‘right’ way to approach this – you must follow your instincts.

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The prospect of dealing with your cancer and treatment can feel like an insurmountable burden, so that you just don’t know how to begin ‘coping’ with this new experience. You might be very withdrawn and wrapped up in your thoughts at the beginning, feeling very isolated and believing that nobody can understand what you are going through. This is a natural reaction, and true of any catastrophe – it is difficult to accept that anyone has ever experienced similar feelings and that you are not completely alone in this situation. It can be made more painful by the fact that up to a point, life around you has to continue as normal. Children need attention, dogs need walking, you still have to (try to) eat and sleep, the world goes on functioning around you. You may have deep fears about the future, yet find it hard to accept that your life has been threatened.

Your mental attitude can help you as you progress through your treatment. Although there is no medical evidence that a positive attitude will make any difference to the success of your treatment, it can help you to feel stronger about coping with your treatment and its side-effects and to take pleasure in those aspects of your everyday life which are still ‘normal’.

For some people, positive thinking comes naturally and they attack their cancer with the same vigour and determination they demonstrate in all areas of their life. For many others though, it is not a natural state of mind – perhaps you feel resigned to your cancer and take a stoical attitude, dealing with each day as it comes without actually making up your mind to fight the disease. For some men, trying not to be negative takes a huge effort, and there may be a danger of slipping into depression. This is a serious condition and it can affect your entire life, but it can be treated successfully with anti-depressant drugs. It is not uncommon among cancer patients, and is certainly not a condition which you should suffer in silence, even if you do feel awkward about approaching the subject.

Even if you have a basically positive attitude towards fighting your cancer, there will be times when you feel very low, and wonder whether there is any point in going through unpleasant treatments or putting up any fight at all. Everyone has periods when they feel overwhelmed by their cancer and wonder if they have the energy and will to battle against it any longer. Of course, it is impossible to feel positive all the time and it is very important not to feel guilty when you feel miserable and low. There will be days when you feel that you just don’t care any more, that you can’t be bothered to make any more effort. If your treatment is not progressing as well as you had hoped, you might think, There’s nothing I can do, so what have I got to feel positive about?’ At the same time, you might feel that you should put on a brave face for the benefit of family or friends. While this is bound to occur from time to time, it won’t help you to suppress your real feelings constantly – you do need someone to share your emotions with, to talk to, shout at and cry with.

In fact, as your treatment gets underway, you may feel a sense of relief that something is happening, and that you are no longer in limbo. Unexpectedly for many people, cancer wards and out-patient clinics are not the grim and gloomy places one might expect, so if you have been dreading your visits, especially as an in-patient, you may find this less gruelling than you had anticipated. In spite of that, you are bound to experience fears about how effectively your treatment is working, and look forward with trepidation to each X-ray or blood test which provides information about your progress. Some days you may feel physically good and mentally positive, and other days weak and unwell and miserable. During your journey through treatment, you will experience many emotions, some of which may be new to you or have been suppressed for years. They are all perfectly valid even if you feel foolish for being unusually ‘emotional’.

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It may take some time before you feel sufficiently at ease in a hospital environment to take full advantage of the knowledge and expertise of the medical team treating you. A sense that events are completely beyond your control – and knowledge – is a common reaction, and it is easy to become very passive as a patient. For many men, this is an alien sensation and all the more difficult to deal with as a result. Most of us are accustomed to a regular routine in which we are largely in control of most aspects of our life, be it in a job or home life. It can be particularly disturbing to find that your life has been turned upside down by your cancer diagnosis, and that you have lost the security of your ‘normal’ life, even if it had its own problems and sources of stress.

Developing the desire and the confidence to talk to doctors will take time, especially if, like many people, you feel slightly in awe of them or not sufficiently comfortable to talk naturally to them. First you have to want to talk and to ask questions. Then you have to get used to having conversations which do not necessarily tell you what you want to hear. If there is one doctor who you find more sympathetic and easier to talk to than the others involved in your treatment, you might start by talking to him or her. You may also need to work out (or ask!) which staff are most involved with your treatment and care and are therefore likely to be best informed about your particular situation.

As in any other aspect of life or work, some medical practitioners are easier to talk to than others. Do not be put off if a doctor does not appear particularly forthcoming and communicative: it may be that they are trying to judge just how much information you would like to be given or are able to absorb rather than simply bombarding you with medical jargon. The medical terms they use are likely to be unfamiliar at first, and it may be some time before you are fully conversant with them. Don’t be afraid to ask for more explanation, or for information to be repeated if you have not fully understood the first time. A glossary of some of the terms you may encounter is included at the end of the book.

Inevitably, you will think of important questions between consultations or hospital visits and it is very easy to forget them when you are face to face with your doctor. You will, of course, remember them as soon as your meeting is over! To avoid this problem, you may find it helpful to make a written note of your questions, and also of any problems which you experience between hospital visits or treatments. For example, if you are experiencing new or different pain, then your doctors may be able to prescribe alternative medication to combat this. (Obviously, if you are suffering serious pain then you should contact your doctor or hospital straight away.) Similarly, if you are having difficulty maintaining a reasonable diet or eating sufficient in quantity, it is important to let your doctor know as hospital dieticians may be able to offer you advice about boosting your diet. Some people find that a small notebook is easier than scraps of paper (which can easily get lost) for writing down short notes to use as an aide-memoire.

After my initial diagnosis, we never attended another consultation or meeting without a notebook and a list of questions. Helen, my partner, carried this notebook with her everywhere and Volume One soon filled with the details of test results, planned treatment, progress of treatment, changes in treatment – in fact, all the factual information passed on to us. We wrote down queries between hospital visits or as they occurred to us while I was in hospital, and often ran through our ‘agenda’ in the car on our way to consultations. In this sense, I suppose we treated them as we would a business meeting. It was also a tremendous help when we were discussing progress together or with, for example, my parents, because we always had something concrete to refer to.

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Most of us are familiar with the use of radiation in X-rays. In much higher doses it can be effective in treating certain cancers by damaging and in some cases completely destroying the cancerous tissue. It also has an important role in palliative care, as it can help to relieve some symptoms of cancer such as pain and bleeding.

The aim of curative radiotherapy treatment is to direct a very carefully measured dose of radiation to the area of the tumour and thereby to kill off the cancerous cells. The dose needs to be high enough to shrink the tumour but not so high that it also damages the surrounding normal, healthy tissue, which may be affected in the short term but should be able to repair itself in time. Some cancers respond very well to radiotherapy, and in some cases it may be sufficient to effect a cure.

Radiotherapy may also be used to shrink a tumour prior to an operation to surgically remove it, the aim being to make the surgeon’s job more straightforward. It has an important role, too, in cancers where surgery would not be possible.

There are two basic types of radiotherapy: external and internal. In neither type will you become permanently radioactive and, in the external type, you will not actually be in contact with radioactivity at any point.

It is most common for radiotherapy to be administered externally, by directing radiation at the tumour site using a radiotherapy machine, which looks very much like an X-ray machine. However, for some cancers radiotherapy is given internally, by temporarily placing a radioactive source either in or next to the tumour. Sometimes, it may be given in the form of a radioactive drink.

*20\118\2*

The body is made up of cells which are continually multiplying and working to replace those which have become damaged or worn out. This is a constant process which keeps the body working normally and ‘repairs’ it when, for example, you suffer an injury or have an operation. Cells in different parts of the body have different life cycles and multiply at different rates, but what is common to them all is that they contain signals which tell them how to behave and when to multiply.

Cancer happens when a single normal cell starts behaving abnormally. The cell begins to divide and grow uncontrollably because the signals which tell it how to behave are not working properly. The same happens to the cells it produces but because these cells are so minute, the effect of their growth can remain undetected in the body at this stage. The place in the body where this abnormal growth begins is known as the primary site of the cancer and the resulting tumour as the primary tumour. Although there are many, many different cancers, they are generally described in terms of their site of origin, so that lung cancer refers to a tumour which originated in the lung.

The next stage in the development of the cancer is for the cells to invade the tissue which immediately surrounds them. Next they can circulate to other parts of the body via the bloodstream or lymph vessels, which both reach all parts of the body and therefore provide an easy means of ‘transport’ for the cancer cells. The cancer cells arrive at a new site in the body (which can be quite distant from the primary tumour) and again invade the surrounding tissue. The resulting tumour is known as a secondary tumour or metastasis, and is directly related to the primary tumour. For example, bowel cancer tends to spread via the vascular system to the liver. The secondary tumour in the liver is not referred to as cancer of the liver, but as a ‘secondary cancer of the bowel’. The distinction is important in understanding your cancer: in this example, the spread does not mean that you are suffering from cancer of the bowel and cancer of the liver. It is the ability of the cancer cells to travel around the body and invade other sites which makes cancer such a difficult disease to treat effectively. If it were simply a question of treating a single abnormal ‘lump’, then this could in many cases be removed surgically and the problem eliminated.

Different cancers spread and invade other sites in the body at varying rates, but the sites where they metastasize (form secondary cancers) tend to follow a pattern. For example, testicular cancer spreads first to the lymph nodes in the abdomen, sometimes to the lungs and in some cases to the liver or brain.

Although cancers are generally described by their site of origin, you may also encounter other terms used to describe your cancer, according to the type of tissue where it originated. The most common of these are:

Carcinoma

Carcinomas account for a large proportion of all cancers. A carcinoma is a cancer which originates in the epithelial cells of the body. This is a layer of lining or covering cells which is found in the lungs, the stomach and digestive system and also on the surface of the skin and in glands throughout the body.

Sarcoma

Sarcomas are less common. A sarcoma is a cancer which forms in the tissues which connect the parts of the body together – the bones, muscle, cartilage, tendon and so on.

Lymphoma

Lymphoma refers to the cancers which originate in the lymph nodes and lymphatic tissue, although some lymphomas can start in the bone marrow.

Leukaemia

Leukaemias are cancers of blood cells. They originate in the bone marrow and affect the white cells in the blood and, in turn, also the red cells. The white cells are important because they affect your body’s ability to fight infection and the red cells carry oxygen around the body.

A relatively small number of different cancers account for a high proportion of cases newly registered each year, the more common being the lung, colorectal, prostate and bladder cancers. These account for around half of the total cases and, as with many cancers, are most common in older men. The main exceptions to this for men are cancer of the testis whose incidence peaks before the age of 40, and the leukaemias which have two peaks, one before the age of 20 and the other around the age of 70.

*6\118\2*

Once you’re comfortable with sexual pleasure that doesn’t involve intercourse, and with the experience of losing and regaining an erection, the therapist may suggest that you’re ready for intercourse. Often sex therapists recommend that the woman be on top, because this makes it easier for her to be the more active partner, Such an arrangement may help the man because he has less pressure to perform and can more easily relax and enjoy himself.

An important part of a sex therapy program is for each partner to be responsible for his or her own pleasure—and to communicate his or her feelings. Marvin and Caroline welcomed this change. Focusing on different ways to have sensual pleasure was a wonderful development. “This helped us take the emphasis away from intercourse,” she says. Initially, the ban on intercourse was difficult, but the process of going through the exercises provided an unexpected bonus for Caroline. She found herself learning to be more comfortable with enjoying sensual and sexual pleasures which did not involve intercourse. Like many of us, although she “knew” such behavior was okay, she had not quite accepted it emotionally. But having Marvin caress her for a period of time without any expectation of intercourse helped her overcome her inhibitions about “that kind” of touching.

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As you have seen throughout this book, a fulfilling sex life requires a lot more than a pill. There are any number of variables and conditions which can affect the attraction, as well as the performance, of two people, with one factor overriding all the rest. Without libido, the desire to bond physically with another person can be greatly diminished—or even lost. A constant presence throughout our lives, libido ebbs and flows as much as the tides. Springing from an intricate network of physiological and psychological components, libido varies from man to man. And, of course, from woman to woman.

Years of living with ED can have a profound and far-reaching effect on the libidos of both men and women. When sex is absent, often the desire to have it again is sacrificed as well. Yet, when sexual function is restored—as it can be with the new oral medications—libido doesn’t automatically jump-start in both partners equally, much less simultaneously. For many men, the desire to have sex is a logical extension of being functional again. For women, however, the reality can be very different.

Many women have told me so. Their husbands or companions, ecstatic with the return of their potency, exhibit an intense longing for sex. But often the women don’t. It’s not, they explained to me, because they don’t feel attractive or because they no longer have feelings for their partners. Rather, it’s because they have adapted to their situation, integrating the loss of sex into their daily lives. And, they confess, the idea of accessing those dormant feelings can be daunting.

Their reaction is totally understandable. The longer they have lived with men who have ED, the harder it can be for them to tap into their own sexuality. As you read in Chapter 6, there are many ways to heighten intimacy between partners. But where libido is involved, the approach is somewhat different. The best place to start is inside your head.

*136\183\8*

Sexual well-being has always been an integral part of the overall health profile of my patients. It makes a lot of sense: if the body is sound, it is likely that sexual performance will be, too. And the reverse is true as well: if a man’s sexual health is compromised, then his body may be in jeopardy. Your first line of penile health defense is determined by three things: supplements, diet, and exercise. All three go a long way toward helping you avoid ED.

The lifestyle recommendations in my virility-enhancement program have more than one application. Not only will they help prevent and, in some cases, treat, ED, they will actually make you feel and look better. And they will not only improve your sexual function, they may also save your life.

Research has shown that optimal sexual health depends on certain lifestyle choices. All affect the body, the flow of blood, and delivery of a pivotal element: oxygen. Although there are several major physical causes of ED, each one has an impact on oxygen flow. They are hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, stress, smoking, alcohol consumption, and lack of exercise. Without sufficient oxygen supply to the penis, an erection won’t happen. That’s because decreased oxygenation of penile tissue can cause progressive fibrosis—a permanent thickening and stiffening of tissue—of the gland. With more fibrous tissue than muscle tissue in the penis, this can cause the penis to actually shrink in size. The crucial oxygen pipeline can be severely limited or blocked by all of the conditions listed above—and all of them can be controlled, improved, or even eliminated through lifestyle changes.

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