Vitamin V, Viagra & Erectile Dysfunction

Since more than 20 years, I have my own magazine, in which I write about many different topics. Health and medicine is one of the major subjects, and I often receive emails with questions from my readers. Once many years ago, I had written about letters of the alphabet of vitamins, and I received the question: “How much should one take daily of Vitamin V?

I did read this again. Vitamin V!? What the hell is that? I thought I knew most facts about vitamins, and I had followed ongoing research about vitamins for years; that there would be one I had never heard of was unlikely. But Vitamin V???

With considerable effort (internet was not as all-encompassing as today), I found out that in limited circles, “Vitamin V” was a nickname for Viagra. But how is it, is Viagra a vitamin?

No, certainly not. Viagra is a medical drug, definitely no vitamin. The active ingredient is sildenafil citrate, and its effects were discovered by scientists at Pfizer. It's mainly used to treat ED (erectile dysfunction), but is also useful for a number of other conditions. Especially pulmonary arterial hypertension and altitude sickness. Scientifically, sildenafil citrate acts as an inhibitor of cGMP-specific phosphodiesterase type 5.

I repeat, this is a medical drug; it is not a vitamin and not a general aphrodisiac, and it should be used only when absolutely needed. Very serious adverse effects have been reported

If you suffer from ED, try high dose Vitamin B3 (Nicotinic Acid) first. Only if that doesn't help, there is reason to consider pharmaceuticals (and there are alternatives to Viagra). But don't bother with niacinamide or non-flushing forms of B3, genuine nicotinic acid is the only form that provides full benefits. The flushing indicates that you have the right thing (Read more about that in Nicotinic Acid, the Real Super Vitamin!)

Generally, if you have ED, you should be examined by a competent physician, because it can be a secondary symptom, a sign of serious illness, such as prostate ailment, cardiovascular disease, or diabetes. If you suffer from something like that, it must be treated. Viagra can be a useful help to keep a sex life in cases like these, but if you successfully try it without any examination, it can mask these other diseases until they are worse and harder to treat.

It can also be a matter of hormones, for instance a too low testosterone level, which, in turn, can be due to various factors.

Don't hesitate to talk with a doctor about this, it is not shameful. ED can also be a result of nutritional deficiencies or simply an unsuitable diet. The biochemical processes involved in sex urge as well as erection are as dependent on nutrients as all other processes in the body. Diet and supplementation should be evaluated. Vitamins D and E have a role in this mechanism, and so have certain amino acids, as well as nitrogen.

Then there are psychological factors. It is normal that sexual interest and ability fluctuate. There are ups and downs. Stress affects it strongly. A stressed man loses his sex urge. Why? Well, in nature stress is a reaction to danger. You become alert to it and ready to fight or flee. In such a moment you have no time for sex. You don't even think of it. It would just distract you, and in a condition of stress, you have only this in your mind: fight or flee. Your life might depend on it.

In modern life, stress has developed beyond the flight-and-flee level, to a pathological condition that can be caused by a large number of things, most of them by no means serious enough to motivate as strong a reaction. But worst of all, there is chronic stress, a permanent stress. That means that the whole inner biochemical environment is changing and the organism is gradually breaking down. This is one of the major factors contributing to degenerative disease.

A man living with such stress has problems with sex. He will get ED, impotency or totally lose interest in it. That can become a vicious circle, when the man starts to worry so much about his sexual inability that it becomes a major source of stress, which just affects him more negatively, and everything just gets worse and worse.

Breaking such a circle is not easy, but it can be done. However, whether you can do it yourself or need professional help, the most essential is an understanding partner.

Related articles:

Testosterone: How to Keep Up the Level

The Prostate: Health & Illness

Vitamin D – Underrated Vitamin?

Vitamin E - A Powerful Vitamin

Nicotinic Acid, the Real Super Vitamin!

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