Reproductive Dysfunction? Maybe Try a Little Watermelon

Some men may experience better reproductive function during the summer months, and there has long been an old wives’ tale that tries to explain the matter. Sure, summertime may just be a period of the year when men feel naturally friskier, or perhaps the exposure to more sunlight and fresh air helps to explain this male organ health change. But folk medicine has for centuries encouraged men who have difficulties with their tumescence to partake of abundantly available watermelon during the summer season. And it seems that these old wives may have been on to something.

Citrulline

Why would this delicious fruit be a possible aid in reproductive health? After all, it’s 92% water, leaving very little else to make a contribution to male performance.

But one of the things that it does contain a lot of is an amino acid called citrulline (or L-citrulline). A typical 4-ounce serving of watermelon contains about 150 milligrams of citrulline, which is pretty significant.

Okay, so watermelon has a lot of citrulline. Why should this matter? Well, because citrulline gets converted into L-arginine, another amino acid. And this particular amino acid is a precursor to nitric oxide. And why does that matter? Because nitric oxide plays a big role in helping blood vessels, including male organ blood vessels, to expand. During tumescence, the member needs to be able to accommodate a great increase in blood. This increased blood flow fills the spongy tissue in the member, and it is this filling that causes the member to expand and harden. If the male organ blood vessels are opened all the way, it is much easier for the rush of blood to get in and do its job.

A study

A recent study, entitled “Oral L-citrulline and Transresveratrol Supplementation Improves Reproductive function in Men with Phosphodiesterase 5 Inhibitors: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Crossover Pilot Study,” has looked at the possibility of using citrulline in conjunction with other reproductive function medications to try to improve efficacy.

A little background is helpful in understanding this study. First, phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors (usually abbreviated PDE5i) is the name given to the most commonly used tablets for treating reproductive dysfunction, which are effective in up to 84% of patients. When these tablets do not work, additional therapies are called for usually in conjunction with the PDE5i tablets – but these additional therapies are not medications but things like pumps or injections.

This study looked at using both citrulline and another oral medication (resveratrol, which occurs naturally in grapes and wine) in conjunction with men for whom PDE5is were not providing the desired effect. All of the 13 men who completed the trial showed improved scores on the tests used to measure reproductive function.

Although this was a small pilot study, it does add some heft to the argument that watermelon may be of use in treating performance issues – although again, it doesn’t mean that watermelon by itself can do the trick.

And while watermelon is an excellent source of citrulline, there are many others foods that also provide citrulline, including garlic, onions, liver, cucumbers, chickpeas, peanuts, soybeans, salmon and even dark chocolate.

Treating reproductive dysfunction can require a multifactorial approach, and it is usually easier to treat if overall male organ health has been maintained. One way to help address this is by regularly using a superior male organ health creme (health professionals recommend Man 1 Man Oil, which is clinically proven mild and safe for skin). Seek out a crème which contains the amino acid L-arginine, which as this article mentions, can be a big help in nitric oxide production. It also helps if the crème contains a range of vitamins that can more easily deliver their benefits from topical application, such as vitamins A, B5, C, D and E.

Visit http://www.menshealthfirst.com for additional information on most common private part health issues, tips on improving sensitivity and what to do to maintain a healthy member. John Dugan is a professional writer who specializes in men’s health issues and is an ongoing contributing writer to numerous websites.

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Created on Sep 25th 2018 08:40. Viewed 306 times.

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