Could Food High In Nitrates Help You Get Harder Erections?
Could Food High In Nitrates Help You Get Harder Erections?
How many times have you come across recommendations that in order to have stronger erections you should eat Food High In Nitrates? But what are nitrates and how they can help? Throughout this post, I’m going to provide useful info about the nitrates and best food sources to include into your diet.
What Is A Nitrate?
Nitrates are compounds that are naturally found in some foods such as vegetables, but they are also added as a preservative to processed foods. These compounds are often confused for nitrites, but they are not the same thing.
Both nitrates and nitrites consist of a single nitrogen atom, but the first has three oxygen atoms while the latter is bonded to two oxygen atoms.
Nitrates have gotten a bad reputation lately as many people connect them to cancer, but evidence on this subject is scarce. The reality is that nitrates are harmless, but when they convert to nitrites things get more complicated.
Nitrites can form into nitric oxide which is a good thing of course, but they can also turn into nitrosamines which can have a negative impact on your body. That’s why it’s important to focus on foods you eat and what sources of nitrates you consume.
Both nitrates and nitrites circulate from the digestive system into the bloodstream. They also reach saliva and return back into the digestive system. What many people don’t know is that nitrates can work as antimicrobials and help destroy pathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella [1].
As mentioned above, they can also turn into nitric oxide which is a vasodilator. This is exactly why nitrates are important for every guy. You need nitric oxide for strong and hard erections [2].
Food High In Nitrates
As seen above, nitrates are useful for the proper function of our body. They are particularly important for men who want to improve their athletic performance, sexual prowess, and erectile function.
Of course, getting these benefits depends on the foods you eat. The best thing to do is to consume nitrate-rich vegetables rather than consume processed foods. Below, you can take a look at nitrates in the food list.
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Arugula
Arugula is a lesser known member of the cruciferous vegetable family, but you should definitely include it into your diet.
Also known as rocket lettuce, colewort, rucola, and roquette, arugula is found in the Americas, Europe, and North Africa. Arugula is incredibly nutritious; a study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition identified this vegetable as one of the greatest whole-food sources of nitrates with 480mg per 100g [3].
Arugula also has the potential to detoxify your body, strengthen the immune system, improve bone health, speed up metabolism, and of course to improve erectile function.
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Celery
Celery is a great replacement for unhealthy snacks. It helps reduce cravings and promotes weight loss, but it also allows you to avoid processed foods that are loaded with potentially dangerous compounds.
Celery is abundant in various nutrients including nitrates (250mg per 100g), vitamins A, C, K, minerals, antioxidants, enzymes, you name it.
This vegetable supports digestive health, combats oxidative stress, and alleviates inflammation. If you combine high nitrate content with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, it becomes clear why this vegetable can give you a strong erection.
You see, both oxidative stress [4] and inflammation [5] are associated with Erectile Dysfunction.
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Beets
Beets are absolutely wonderful. Not only they have a vibrant colour that gives blood-red juice, but they also improve your health in more ways than one. Beets have between 110mg to 117mg nitrates per 100g [6].
Beet juice can supply the body with 250mg nitrates per 100g which is amazing.
Reasons to consume beets are numerous including the fact they are one of the best nitrate-rich vegetables, but they also regulate blood pressure, enhance athletic performance, alleviate inflammation, promote weight loss, among other things.
All these qualities are crucial for a strong erectile function.
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Lettuce
Here’s yet another reason why you should eat more lettuce – it’s abundant in nitrates. Level of nitrates in lettuce depends on the variety. For example, butter leaf lettuce yields 200mg nitrates per 100g while oak leaf lettuce supplies the body with 155mg per 100g. Lettuce promotes weight loss, relieves inflammation, lowers cholesterol levels, protects neuronal cells, promotes sleep, fights against oxidative stress.
High nitrate content dilates your blood vessels and allows the penis to get engorged.
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Spinach
Popeye ate spinach to gain strength, and you can do the same, just minus those cartoon-like effects. You see, 100g of spinach contains about 250mg nitrates. That means that spinach can, indeed, help you become stronger.
As it dilates blood vessels, spinach improves athletic performance, erectile function, and takes your endurance to a whole new level. Other benefits of spinach include antioxidant effects, eye health, blood pressure regulation, cancer prevention.
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Carrots
Just like celery sticks, carrots also serve as a convenient, delicious, yet healthy snack. Now you’ll have an additional reason to include it in your diet – carrots are rich in nitrates.
About 100g of carrots yields 90mg to 195mg of nitrates, which is a decent amount. Plus, carrots are abundant in fiber, vitamins A, B6, K, and many others. Due to being food high in nitrates, carrots can promote blood flow and contribute to healthy erectile response.
They help address the root cause of erectile problems which come down to poor blood flow. Other benefits of carrots include cancer prevention, cholesterol regulation, eye health, heart health, weight loss.
Let’s not forget that weight loss is also important for strong erections if you happen to be overweight.
Conclusion
Nitrates have gotten a bad reputation lately although that’s not justified. They are mainly found in vegetables and improve your blood flow, digestive health, athletic performance, among other things.
For stronger erections and better gym sessions, focus on nitrates found in vegetables and avoid consuming processed foods. That way, you’ll also supply your body with other important nutrients that can also strengthen your erectile response.
References :
- http://www.refdoc.fr/Detailnotice?cpsidt=1875340
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17170606
- https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/90/1/1/4596750
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15947695
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17707576
- http://www.efsa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/scientific_output/files/main_documents/689.pdf