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As I understand it, Viagra works by making your blood vessels more sensitive to nitric oxide, which relaxes the blood vessels. You can also eat a diet high in n

As I understand it, Viagra works by making your blood vessels more sensitive to nitric oxide, which relaxes the blood vessels. You can also eat a diet high in nitrates like spinach and beets, to boost nitric oxide levels.

cableshaft 3y ago
Spinach is also high in oxalates, which is considered to be an anti-nutrient. It binds to other minerals like calcium and magnesium and prevent them from being absorbed[1]. So while most people can get away with eating more spinach than they are currently (because they probably don't eat very much of it at all), it might not be a good idea to go too heavy on eating spinach (or if you do, you should boil it first before eating them, as boiling vegetables significantly reduces oxalates). [1]: https://medium.com/@jj_virgin/the-dark-side-of-spinach-what-you-need-to-know-about-oxalates-dd7c34e5e6ac https://medium.com/@jj_virgin/the-dark-side-of-spinach-what-...
- swatcoder 3y ago
  Pretty sure if your choice comes down to weighing the secondary effects of spinach vs viagra, you'd still want to choose the spinach. The identified and unidentified side effects of most pharmaceuticals, and viagra in particular, are far more concerning than whatever may shake out of a plausibly realistic increase in dietary oxalates. That's not to say one can't or shouldn't make a reasonable choice to take viagra, but the oxalates in spinach shouldn't be a very relevant factor in one's decision-making.
  - cableshaft 3y ago
    I'm only arguing against going hard into eating Spinach without being aware of the possible risks. A lot of times people make an assumption that because something is a natural it can't really hurt them and they don't have to be careful how much of it they consume (like the Grapefruit diet or whatever) and go overboard with it. Personally I eat a decent amount of spinach myself, although I don't go super crazy with it, but someone with a history of kidney stones or low calcium or magnesium might not want to, or might want to at least take some steps to reduce the oxalates before eating it.
sph 3y ago
> You can also eat a diet high in nitrates like spinach and beets, to boost nitric oxide levels. The sibling comment explained why it's not a good idea. If you want to restore your nitric oxide levels (boost doesn't mean anything in a vacuum), quit eating tons of sugar, especially fructose. Its obesogenic effect on the liver is direct cause for the reduction of nitric oxide synthesis seen in metabolic syndrome, which presents as hypertension. In other words, go low carb and/or fix your diet-related hypertension, which is most likely caused by low nitric oxide levels. Eating a ton of spinach will probably just result in the formation of kidney stones and mineral deficiencies. -- First result on Kagi on fructose/NOS for further reading: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4947541/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4947541/
- cmiller1 3y ago
  > go low carb No, eat a healthy and balanced diet while avoiding processed foods, especially those containing large amounts of sweeteners.
  - sph 3y ago
    That is what I said.
    - cmiller1 3y ago
      Ideally your balanced diet should include a large amount of whole grains and fruit, not low carb.
vinyl7 3y ago
L-Citruline works well for nitric oxide boost

cableshaft 3y ago

Spinach is also high in oxalates, which is considered to be an anti-nutrient. It binds to other minerals like calcium and magnesium and prevent them from being absorbed[1]. So while most people can get away with eating more spinach than they are currently (because they probably don't eat very much of it at all), it might not be a good idea to go too heavy on eating spinach (or if you do, you should boil it first before eating them, as boiling vegetables significantly reduces oxalates). [1]: https://medium.com/@jj_virgin/the-dark-side-of-spinach-what-you-need-to-know-about-oxalates-dd7c34e5e6ac https://medium.com/@jj_virgin/the-dark-side-of-spinach-what-...

swatcoder 3y ago
Pretty sure if your choice comes down to weighing the secondary effects of spinach vs viagra, you'd still want to choose the spinach. The identified and unidentified side effects of most pharmaceuticals, and viagra in particular, are far more concerning than whatever may shake out of a plausibly realistic increase in dietary oxalates. That's not to say one can't or shouldn't make a reasonable choice to take viagra, but the oxalates in spinach shouldn't be a very relevant factor in one's decision-making.
- cableshaft 3y ago
  I'm only arguing against going hard into eating Spinach without being aware of the possible risks. A lot of times people make an assumption that because something is a natural it can't really hurt them and they don't have to be careful how much of it they consume (like the Grapefruit diet or whatever) and go overboard with it. Personally I eat a decent amount of spinach myself, although I don't go super crazy with it, but someone with a history of kidney stones or low calcium or magnesium might not want to, or might want to at least take some steps to reduce the oxalates before eating it.

sph 3y ago

> You can also eat a diet high in nitrates like spinach and beets, to boost nitric oxide levels. The sibling comment explained why it's not a good idea. If you want to restore your nitric oxide levels (boost doesn't mean anything in a vacuum), quit eating tons of sugar, especially fructose. Its obesogenic effect on the liver is direct cause for the reduction of nitric oxide synthesis seen in metabolic syndrome, which presents as hypertension. In other words, go low carb and/or fix your diet-related hypertension, which is most likely caused by low nitric oxide levels. Eating a ton of spinach will probably just result in the formation of kidney stones and mineral deficiencies. -- First result on Kagi on fructose/NOS for further reading: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4947541/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4947541/

cmiller1 3y ago
> go low carb No, eat a healthy and balanced diet while avoiding processed foods, especially those containing large amounts of sweeteners.
- sph 3y ago
  That is what I said.
  - cmiller1 3y ago
    Ideally your balanced diet should include a large amount of whole grains and fruit, not low carb.

vinyl7 3y ago

L-Citruline works well for nitric oxide boost