By David Liu, PHD

Sunday April 29, 2012 (foodconsumer.org) -- The U.S. Food Drug Administration has reportedly approved a new drug called Stendra or avanafil indicated to treat male erectile dysfunction (ED), which affects an estimated 30 million American men.

The drug developed by a company called Vivus Inc. is an ED drug in the same class of erectile dysfunction pills as Viagra by Pfizer Inc., Cialis by Eli Lilly and Levitra by GlaxoSmithKline and Bayer.

All the drugs do the same thing - that is, inhibiting the same enzyme, PDE5 and increasing blood flow to the penis, which is needed in order for the penis to become erected for sexual intercourse.

It is reported that Stendra acts faster than its counterparts.  It can only take as short as 15 minutes for the penis to become erected, compared to 30 or 45 minutes for other ED drugs.

The side effects for Strendra is similar to those from other ED medications such as headache, facial redness and nasal congestion.   One down side of Stendra is that it is possible even though it is rare that some men may have 4 to 5 five long erection. In such a case, the FDA says the patients need to seek medical attention before the penis get injured.

Trials show that men who had erectile dysfunction due to diabetes and medical conditions could have successful intercourse after taking Stendra.

Food consumers should know that erectile dysfunction is often caused by other medical conditions. Many diseases can cause this condition.  For instance, in addition to diabetes, cardiovascular disease can be a major cause for erectile dysfunction.

A study, which is not a trial of Stendra, and is scheduled to be presented at European Congress of Endocrinology 2012 in Florence, Italy, reports that ED patients  can also suffer depression and cardiovascular events.

The study led by A. Fisher of Sexual Medicine and Andrology Unit in Florence, Italy and colleagues found that men with severe erectile dysfunction were 75 percent more likely than others to have incident major cardiovascular events.

And the study that followed 1687 patients for an average of 4 years also found that lower penile blood flow at <13 cm/s when the penis is soft was linked to 167 percent increased risk for incident major cardiovascular events. Low penile blood flow at <25 cm/s when the penis is hardened, was linked to 57 percent increased risk for the cardiovascular events.

Although ED medications like Stendra can help men act quickly, men with erectile dysfunction may want to check and see if they suffer also other medical conditions like diabetes and heart disease.

It should be noted that some dietary supplements and foods can also help men who need stronger sexual desire and stronger erection.  Garlic, vitamin C, fish oil, oysters, peanuts or arginine supplements are all helpful.  These things can promote the production of semen without which men can only shoot blanks and boost sexual desire, together making your sexual experience more enjoyable.  These foods should also help women.

Whether or not you use Stendra, men and women as well should use healthy foods or dietary supplements mentioned in this report as often as they can because they are healthy foods or dietary supplements to say the least.