Erection Problems in African American Men & Solutions

Introduction to erection problems in Black men 0:00

And we're going to be talking about black men and erection problems. Erection problems, it's a touchy subject. My patients are usually hesitant to talk about it. And of course the data backs up that black men do not like having erection problems. We don't like talking about erection problems. We don't like talking to another person about erection problems, much less someone we don't know like our doctors. And we certainly don't feel, you're not gonna feel right talking to a little East Indian lady about her erection problems.

I mean, I don't mean to make generalizations, but I just don't think that that's gonna be the case. Black men particularly would probably be most comfortable, if you could be comfortable talking about erection problems, black men would be most comfortable talking to another black man about it. I'm here to tell you that's the truth. That's what the data also shows, right? So the crazy thing is that erection problems are pretty common, right? They're out there. It's like 40% of black men over the age of 40 have some problems with erection problems, right?

And so that's almost half, right? Over the age of 40 will have a problem with erection. So what's an erection problem? That's a problem getting an erection, maintaining an erection to completion, You know, just happy with the entire sexual experience is not having any erection problems. Some people don't get an incomplete erection where it's not good enough for penetration and whatnot. And so all these problems are out there and it's affecting black men and black men don't want to talk about it.

So like anything, there's probably more black women listening to this podcast than the black men. And so what you'll be able to do is really direct us in the right direction. Tell us to go and talk to our doctor who hopefully is a black man or at least a black woman would probably be the second most comfortable person you can talk to them about. and see what there is out there. So it starts again, 40% at age 40, and then by the time people reach their 70s, 70% of black men have erection problems.

And you'll be surprised to know that despite you know, all this thing about black men and sexual performance and all that. The actual truth is that African-American men tend to have more problems with erection problems. They tend to have more problems with erection problems. And so that is against, you know, all the studly African soldier, African chief who never has erection problems.

How common erectile dysfunction is and who to talk to 2:51

No, actually black men tend to have more erection problems than white men or than Hispanic Latino men. And really when you think about that, the reason is because we have more health problems than Hispanic Latino men or white men. We have more cardiovascular disease. We have more diabetes, we have more obesity, which we've talked about how that contributes to inflammation and all the issues related to that. And so all of that tends to increase our risk for circulatory problems or vascular problems, right?

So if you have problems with your arteries, you have problems with your arteries all over, right? So you have problem with your arteries in your brain, that could give you a stroke. You have problems with your arteries in your heart, that can give you a heart attack. If you have problems with arteries in your legs, that can cause a problem where you end up having an amputation. If you have problems with your arteries in those places I've already described, you also have problems with your arteries in your penis.

It's because the arteries are arteries wherever they are. And so if you have circulation problems that would put you at increased risk for heart attack, stroke, or PVD, then we already know you have erection problems because it's not like the arteries there are somehow being saved. When we talk about smoking, for example, causing arteriosclerosis, heartening of the arteries, smoking causes problems that lead to erection problems. That's just the way it is. Whether you're smoking a cigar, a cigarette, whether you're vaping, it's the tobacco, right?

That's associated with a problem, with erection problems. So you got somebody who's 40 years old and smoking, I guarantee you he's having problems with erections. It's not as firm as it used to be. It doesn't, it's not working at his command like it should. And so again, another long list of reasons to stop smoking is that if you have a history of smoking, unfortunately, particularly a history of heavy smoking, you know, pack a day or more, you're going to have problems with circulation. You're going to have problems with stroke.

You're going to have problems with heart attack and have problems with They've also talked about people who use a lot of alcohol is associated with increased risk for erection problems, particularly when you're drunk. That makes it really difficult. Now, moderate use of alcohol is not associated with erection problems. Again, moderate use of alcohol is supposed to be beneficial for your heart, and that's a whole other podcast. but just sort of keep that, keep that in mind. And so, you know, the problem with the health problems that we see in the black community, number one, people with stroke, number one, people with heart attack, number one, people with kidney disease, all those problems tend to be circulation problems.

And if you have a circulation problem, I'll spot you, you also have an erection problem.

Health risks, circulation, smoking, and alcohol 6:18

And so that's why it shouldn't be any surprise that you had it. So now the problem is, now you have all these problems, you got diabetes, you got high blood pressure, you're in the doctor, and the doctor's not a black male, and you also have erection problems, but you don't wanna talk about it. And the data shows that black men are less likely to reach out to their doctor or clinician as it relates to erection problems. They're least likely to, report it's a problem, they're least likely to talk about it, they're not comfortable talking about it, all the things you would anticipate.

So, you know, as a doctor, that's just part of our thing is to ask, do you have any erection problems? Do you have anything? Some people look at me like I'm crazy. What are you asking me about my erection? Yes, I'm no, I'm fine. Well, you know, I'm just asking as a way to sort of put it up there, and I've actually had people say, no, I'm fine, and then within 10 minutes before the visit's over, kind of confess that, well, yeah, sort of kind of, it's not really great. I've also had the spouses, the wives, or the partners of my patients chime in and say, you know, he needs Viagra or he needs something and he needs to talk to you about that.

And sometimes they'll put you on the spot as relates to things that nature. So if you're hesitant to talk about it, please know from the doctor or the nurse practitioner standpoint, from my standpoint, it doesn't mean anything to us because most of the people I see are on something to help their erections because most of the people that I see, by definition, if they're coming to the doctor regularly, they have high blood pressure, they smoke, they have diabetes, they have circulation problems, they're on medication for this, that, and the other.

And so those things go hand in hand with having, you know, erection problems. So now, and it's not just an older men thing. Now there's some young men that have problems with erections as well. And that tends to be really more related to stress and anxiety and depression. And so I see again, young black men in their 20s are real hesitant to talk about it. But when they hesitate, I know it has something to do with sex. So I dive right in. and say, you know, look, we can talk about anything and I'm not gonna share anything, these things with them.

And so they have occasional problems where they're not having a good sexual experience, right? And some of that I've seen is really related to anxiety and depression. It's just sort of, it's, It's like if I see that, then I start asking, well, are you having any problem with depression? Are you having any problem with motivation? Are you getting up and leaving the house and all those things? And that can be a whole nother conversation that really they aren't having a conversation with anybody with.

They can't talk to their friends about it. They can't talk to their... parents about it, at least they don't feel like they can. And so trying to make a safe space for these younger black men to let them know that that anxiety and depression can greatly impact their ability to have a good sexual experience, right? So now also among young single black men, condom use, and I've talked to a different thing, talked about sexually transmitted diseases. I mean, we all know African-American women and men have the highest rate of sexually transmitted diseases, way higher than whoever is in second place, right?

And some of that, what we get from the establishment, from public health people, is, you know, start having protected sex, stop having unprotected sex, stop, stop, stop, stop, all these things, right? Because it's like, you know, black people are so randy, we're having sex and spreading disease and all that. But some of the issues that I've talked about in another podcast is that our core, our chemical core, we're not as healthy and on the inside as we should be, and therefore we can't fight off infection like we should, right?

Because whenever we are exposed to an infection, we don't necessarily catch it, right? And so when, you know, people, we've seen COVID, we've been exposed to COVID and didn't get it. Oh my goodness, you know, I've been exposed to colds or the flu and didn't get it, or exposed to STDs and didn't get it. I had a patient, whose wife became HIV positive through, and that's a whole nother story, and he had sex with her regularly and he never caught HIV from her,

Why younger men may struggle and the role of condoms 11:24

which was crazy. I mean, to me at the point, even for me to think that. But the point was is that his immune system was such that he didn't catch it. And it's much easier for a woman to catch disease from a man than it is for a man to catch it from a woman. And so if you have a strong immune system, you can fight off diseases like HIV or anything, right, with a strong immune system. Because there are people who don't catch things when they're exposed to it, just like the people who you know in your life who say they've never had a cold, and I get a cold two, three times a winter.

You know, I used to before I started taking more vitamin D. And so keep in mind that, and I got off on the side, but so the younger men that also, younger black men also have the highest condom use, right? So you have these high STD rates, but you also have men that have a highest use out of all the races and ethnicities the study showed of using the condom. So black men, younger black men tend to use a condom more, And they still, unfortunately, tend to get more STDs. And so some of that, as an aside, is the fact that your zinc levels, your immune system, your vitamin D, all those deficiencies are associated with an increased risk for STDs, right?

And so It's important to keep that in mind where I'm not saying have unprotected sex. I'm not saying don't wear a condom. I'm saying at least put yourself in the position where you're as healthy as you can be because there's a lot of evidence that bacterial vaginosis is really just a chemical imbalance that's showing that a person is not at their best in terms of their chemical core, having the right amount of vitamin D and vitamin C and of vegetables. There's people who have changed their diet and basically cured their bacterial vaginosis.

And bacterial vaginosis is what puts you at increased risk for catching gonorrhea or HIV and all those other things. And so it's the high bacterial vaginosis that puts you at a high risk for catching the worst things. And so being able to have the right chemical core is important. back to erections. So these young men who are using condoms as they're supposed to find that they have trouble maintaining erections because the condom doesn't allow them to feel all the things that they want to feel when they're having sex.

And so then they take the condom off and now we have a problem, especially now they've reversed Roe versus Wade. And so it's important to know that younger people who are wearing a condom and report erection problems, many of them are really reporting that because they just don't have the sensitivity that they had. And so now continuing on the vitamin D thing, I know you guys get tired of me, but there's just not enough people listening as it relates to this vitamin D deficiency, which is attached to so many things.

It's attached to chronic pain. It's attached to prostate cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer. It's also attached to erection problems, right? I mean, who knew, right? So it was a study found people with low vitamin D were more apt to have trouble with erections than people with normal vitamin D. and who in these United States have the lowest vitamin D levels after American men and women. So if just replacing the vitamin D might be all you need for an inconsistent erection or erection that may not be as firm as you want, right?

And you wanna be able to do that earlier, not later. Don't wait until you're 70 and then try to think you're gonna take some vitamin D and all of a sudden, you know, buying your erectionist back, it's probably not gonna work that way, right? But if you start early, you know, you have brothers and kids, We're young and say, you know, we're going to fix these vitamin D. We're going to make sure you eat vegetables and fruit. We're going to be deliberate about this because food is medicine. Then that way, when you get to 70, you'll have a much better situation.

Now, another study also showed that a low vitamin D in conjunction with diabetes tend to put you at even a greater risk for having erection problems. Again, if you've got diabetes, you probably wanna be on a, well, if you're black, you really wanna be on a vitamin D supplement, 2,000 international units a day. But if you're black with diabetes, you really, really, really wanna be on it, right? Okay, so also low-lying fruit, and people always roll their eyes when I say this, in terms of helping their blood pressure, helping their weight, helping their diabetes, and helping their erection problems, is physical activity, exercise.

If you go and run or sit-ups or push-ups or all those things, they're all associated with a decreased risk of having an erection problem. Just the hormones start flowing, the blood starts flowing, and there you go. You've got an erection just from exercising. So if you didn't need another extra reason to start exercising, There she goes, right? It can help with erections, no joke. I mean, it helps significantly with erections. And diet plays a big part as well.

Vitamin D, exercise, and diet for sexual health 17:00

I mean, taking foods that are high in healthy fats, that are high in vitamins and minerals, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, proteins, all those things help your overall health and reduce your risk of having an erection problem. And so I also get a lot of people who come in and say, you know, I'm having erection problems. It's just not right. And some of it, I believe, is in their head, right? So they may be one time they went to a party, they drank, drank, drank too much, came home, was gonna have sex, and then found they couldn't perform because they'd had too much to drink.

And it's very clear, if you are drunk, it's not easy to perform sexually, right? And so then this happens. It's all traumatic. It's all embarrassing. Oh my God. And the next time you go to have sex, you're not drunk, but you're thinking about the last time and what a horrible, embarrassing situation that was. And so you're in the process of having sex and, oh my God, I think I'm going to have trouble with my erection. I think I'm going to have trouble. I think I'm having trouble because you're not in the moment.

You're not actually having sex. You're worried about losing your erection. And that part can be completely in your head. And so one of the things that can be eye-opening to people is knowing that if it's in your head, you can put it aside, right? Now that you know, oh, that was in my head, you can kind of get past it. It's kind of like postpartum depression that when you give birth regularly, when people give birth, And within six weeks, they get the postpartum depression. They start to feel down, tearful, all those things.

But when you know, oh, this is postpartum depression, this is just a thing, no big deal, you get past it, right? It's the same thing. If you find out it's in your head, you can actually get past it because they say, oh, this is just me acting stupid. I don't really have an erection problem. I don't have a circulation problem. So keep that in mind as well. So now if you really do have erection problems, what are the solutions out there? There's some natural and some prescribed solutions for having erection problems.

And I'll run through a couple of them real quick. There's a thing called DHEA. DHEA is called dihydroepiandrosterone, right? Wouldn't that something? It's a hormone made by the adrenal glands, right? And it's been used for a while to treat menopausal symptoms, to treat people with depression. It's also been used to improve athletic performance, increases people's energies and so on. This DHEA which again is a hormone tends to decrease with age and so when you're in your 20s and 30s you have your highest level of your body making this DHEA in your 20s and 30s and that's when people are copulating, that's when people are making babies, becoming parents and so It's how humans were put together.

But it turns out this DHEA goes down by 10% every 10 years. So by the time you're in your 70s or so, you've just got a fraction. You may have 20 or 30% of what you had when you were in your 20s. And that low DHEA is what seems to be causing us to have problems with erections. that are associated with aging, right? And so there are people that then will take a DHEA supplement and find that their energy level is good and their sexual performance is better. Again, talk to your doctor about that. See if it's something that'll help.

I mean, sometimes as a side effect, you might get acne because acne is associated with testosterone. So when we were young going through puberty, we got acne and then twenties and thirties and it can be associated with hair loss. And, you know, at my age, I don't want to lose any more hair. So I don't know if it's for me, uh, stomach upset. It may drive your blood pressure up, which of course we don't need. in a community that has whole widespread high blood pressure. And it could change a menstrual cycles for women.

So be a little careful with DHEA, but it's out there, it's over the counter. Obviously you wanna start low and go slow and get some advice as you need it. But that's one of the options that are out there. And it's one of the theories behind why we have progressive problem with erections as we get progressively older. Now, a couple other things really address this nitric oxide, which causes vasodilatation, cause your vessels to dilate. And so if your vessels dilate in your penis, guess what you get?

You've got an erection. And so it's this L citrulline, which is found in watermelon, which is crazy. Watermelon is a rich source. cucumbers, pumpkin, squash, all those things tend to help reduce fatigue, increase performance and increase your ability to get an erection because just by the chemical reaction of your vessels dilating. This L citrulline helps to increase the nitric oxide levels and improve blood flow, right? And blood flow everywhere, blood flow to your brain, blood flow to your toes.

and blood flow to your penis, right? And so L-citrulline, it's been validated and it's a viable approach to improving blood flow because it's just simply how it works. Now, when you look at blood flow, that's how Viagra and Cialis work. They also work with this nitric oxide level which causes vasodilatation, your vessels dilate, boom.

Natural remedies and prescription treatments 23:00

Direction right and so anything that's going to cause that's going to cause your vessel to dilate in your head, right? It's going to cause the vessel to dilate in your head so one of the side effects people have from Viagra or Cialis is a headache You know the vessels are dial that's that's what a headache is too much blood flow to the head and so a side effect from again Viagra Cialis would be a headache, but you also know it's working. Like when people take a nitroglycerin pill for when they have heart disease, right?

Let me take a nitroglycerin. I'm having chest pain. And they do that. They get a headache. That's how we know it's working. That's how we know the vessels are dilating because they're doing it. We don't take nitroglycerin for erection problems because we have nitric oxide. Viagra, Cialis, those are prescriptions that I have to write or people like me have to write for you. There's not much we have to look out for unless you're on nitroglycerin, so I'm glad I mentioned that, or a long-acting nitroglycerin.

If you have severe heart disease and you're on nitroglycerin to dilate your vessels, then I'm pretty sure you also have an erection problem, and then that's when we have to be dicey and really make some hard decisions as it relates to prescribing Viagra or Cialis for those people, because it'll make your blood pressure drop too low. Vasodilation causes a decrease in blood pressure. So that nitric oxide approach to treating erections, it kind of keeps coming up, it keeps coming up. So just be aware of it.

Now there's other stuff called yohimbine. I don't know if you've heard about that. It's from a tree, a yohimb tree, native to Africa. It's also been used to treat erectile dysfunction for probably centuries. No telling how long. People have been using your hand being for for for erection problems and and for energy and things of that nature. And so it's also a good natural choice. And so for those of us who are of African origin, like I am or my ancestors, I should say. You know, yohimbine might be a natural lean into, you know, Africa sort of thing.

And that because that's where some of my genetic roots actually are. Yohimbine. So look it up. See what you think about that. Let me know. Horny goatweed. My son told me about horny goatweed. I'd never heard of it. I said, what a crazy name, horny goatweed, right? It's known as Epimedium. Epimedium is the active ingredients in horny goat weed. I just imagined a horny goat, right? But anyway, so this has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries, right? And it's used to treat fatigue, energy, pain, low libido.

Libido is like an interest in having sex. So some people don't have erection problems because they have a low interest, they don't wanna have sex. So therefore, they're not gonna have an erection. And so therefore, therefore, right? And so that's how you end up with erectile dysfunction. So this horny goat weed, I guess, makes you horny and that increases your libido and that can help. And so again, one of the active ingredients in this epimedium is something that increases blood flow similar to the L-citrulline, things that causes vasodilatation and can lead to erections.

And finally, beetroots. You know, beets are good for you. I mean, I'm not a big beets fan. My wife liked beets, but beetroot, a lot of potential as it relates to helping with erectile dysfunction. And again, what does it have? It has that nitrate, it has that nitric oxide or precursors of nitric oxide. that cause vasodilatation, right? And so there you go. Even beetroots can be good. Eat your beets because it can have a lot of antioxidants. All the vegetables and fruits that have a lot of color have a lot of antioxidants.

It helps you fight infection. It's also good for cardiovascular health. It helps lower your cholesterol. All those good things. I know that was a lot and I appreciate you sticking with me, but you know, tell your friends, tell the men in your life, make them listen. These are some things out here if you want, Cialis or Viagra, Tadolaphil or Sedentaphil, which is what the generic names and they're way more affordable now. Talk to your doctor. We won't have much hesitance giving you a prescription for that.

It's not a big deal unless you have severe heart disease and you're on a long acting nitroglycerin. We won't have any trouble giving that to you. You don't have to go online and do all that crazy stuff and pay extra, you can just go to your doctor and they'll usually do that. The other things, yohimbine, horny goat weed, L-citrulline, beetroot, you can just buy that online. Go to Amazon and buy that, just like you go to Amazon and get your genetic sequence multivitamins for African Americans. Because remember the first thing I said was vitamin D deficiency.

So if you could fix all this stuff just by taking the proper amount of vitamin D, why wouldn't you, right? So if you don't wanna buy genetic sequence multivitamin, just get some vitamin D supplement, get a zinc supplement, get a vitamin C supplement and take them separate and be stubborn. Right. I'm just teasing, but but but do something right because the evidence is out here, and we're just not, it's just not percolating into the black community like I think it should because I'm not hearing it talked about when when my black friends and family get together so Once again, I'm Dr.

Greg Hall. Go to my website, drgreghall.com. I got all the articles. I got this article. If you want the particulars, look for that, drgreghall.com. Also look at sequence multivitamins.com. If you want to buy from us or if you want to go to Amazon, just Google genetic sequence on Amazon G net X right thanks so much for listening I appreciate we just had such an overwhelming response to everything we're doing you know I'm trying to make the world a better place I'm really trying I appreciate all the support you guys give me and then please have a blessed day and a great summer take care None of the statements that I have made have been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.

Genetic sequence multivitamins are not intended to treat, cure, or prevent any diseases. Furthermore, none of my statements should be construed as dispensing medical advice or making claims regarding the cure or prevention of diseases. You should consult your own licensed healthcare provider before starting any supplement, diet change, or exercise program, especially if you are pregnant or have pre-existing injuries or medical conditions. Remember, having a doctor is always your best option.