Mens_HealthUSA_December_2016

30 MensHealth.com | December 2016

Dan Saelinger/Trunk Archive (rocket), RYAN O. (gl

oves), STEVE SANFORD (Court)

Useful

Stuff

ILLUSTRATION BY GUY SHIELD

You’ve seen the ads and perhaps scanned the list of

exotic ingredients: yohimbine, horny goat weed, arginine,

maca, ginkgo biloba. The promise: erections like a 19-

year-old’s, rock-hard and reliable, and for less money

and hassle than Viagra—no prescription needed. Men

sp end hundre ds of tho usands eac h year fo r these sup -

plements. Yet they haven’t been proven to work.

What’s more, some “herbal” supplements are any-

thing but. As of this past September, the FDA had found

32 with the same active ingredients used in ED drugs

like Viagra, Cialis, or Levitra, or chemicals so close that

they work the same way. It makes sense: If a company

wants to hook you, relying on herbs alone is risky. Add

real medicine and its magic formula may seem to work.

So w hat ’s w ro ng w i th V iagr a in yo ur her bs? F o r o ne

thing, you don’t know how much is in there. Plus, if you

have diabetes, high BP, or heart disease, you could end

up having killer sex—literally. These drugs expand blood

vessels, which is perilous for folks with these conditions.

Even if you’re healthy, you still don’t know what chem-

icals are in that pill. The active ingredients are probably

counterfeit, but they’re still strong. Plus, they’re produced

under lax supervision in some basement lab.

So why are they allowed? A 1994 law (pushed by the

supplement industry) says herbal supps don’t have to

b e F DA tes te d o r ap prove d b efo re they go o n sale. I f the

FDA does find an illegal or unlisted ingredient, it asks for

a voluntary recall (and issues consumer alerts; visit

fda.gov and search “tainted sexual enhancement prod-

ucts” for a list). This is a largely cat-and-mouse game,

and the mouse usually gets away.

Bottom line: Visit a doctor, not a convenience store,

for ED. Some drugmakers offer discounts for prescription

ED drugs—without the steep price for your health.

Are You Getting Stiffed?

Those “herbal” male-enhancement supplements don’t work as claimed.

Worse, some contain dangerous drugs. Here’s what you need to know.

Prepare

for Liftoff

78%

Your increased risk of

being in a car crash if you’re

an angry driver

Source: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto

Run Intervals Losing excess

weight can help boost your

libido, says Jamin Brahmbhatt,

M.D., a urologist with Orlando

Health. High-intensity interval

training is a proven fat burner.

Dr. Brahmbhatt runs for 20

minutes straight, alternating

between sprints and jogs.

Stick to the Scrip If you’re on

statins for high cholesterol, keep

taking them: They may aid erec-

tile health, a new Greek study

suggests. As it turns out, they

boost your blood vessels’ ability

to expand and contract, which

helps more blood reach your

penis faster. That’s a good thing.

Lay Off the Porn About a quar-

ter of men seeking treatment

for ED are under 40; for many of

them, it’s due to performance

anxiety. “Men watch porn and

think they have to last for hours,”

Dr. Brahmbhatt says. Don’t buy

in: Intercourse lasts about 5 to 8

minutes, he says.

WORKS FOR US I’m a reluctant winter

runner and need pampering to stay

out in the cold. The North Face Runners

2 Etip ($30, thenorthface.com) are

gloves made of lightweight fleece to

keep my mitts warm. They have conduc-

tive fingertips so I can easily skip songs

or find a fresh podcast, and they’re great

p a l m p rote c to r s i f I wa nt to p u m p ou t a

few pushups outdoors. I also wear them

when grilling outside so that I can start

the timer easily and know when to flip the

rib eyes. —Ben Court, features editor

T h re e s i m p l e ways to s o l ve

the hard problem of ED.