Guys know that a reliably erect penis is generally indicative of good penis health, which gives them just one more reason to be obsessed with the feisty organ they keep tucked away in their pants. Understandably, men tend to focus on the state of their erect penis, always wanting it to be as firm and solid as possible. For those wishing to create a situation in which that erect penis is at its best possible level, it may pay to look into putting more nitrates into their diet.

What are nitrates?

Nitrates are compounds that occur naturally in some foods. Scientifically speaking, a nitrate is made up of one nitrogen atom and three oxygen atoms. When nitrates are consumed, they lose one of those oxygen atoms and turn into nitrites.

Nitrates are found in a lot of fruits and vegetables. They also are sometimes added to other foods, such as bacon; however, often these "additive" forms create something called nitrosamines, which can have negative health effects. This article will be focusing on naturally-occurring nitrates.

Soil tends to have a lot of nitrates, which is why they end up in many fruits and vegetables. This is especially true of root vegetables, which grow beneath the soil and so are heavily exposed to nitrates. Examples of nitrate-rich vegetables include spinach, lettuce, beets, green beans, celery, collard greens, carrots and cabbage.

Since fruits tend to be grown on trees, it’s harder for the nitrates to travel from the soil to the fruit - and so they tend to have lesser amounts of nitrates. But some fruits thought to be good sources of nitrates are strawberries, gooseberries, raspberries and cherries.

Nitric oxide

As mentioned, once consumed, nitrates turns into nitrites, and some nitrites become nitrosamines; however, the nitrites created in the body from food consumption generally turn instead into nitric oxide and swarm into the blood stream. And this is where the erect penis benefit comes in.

Nitric oxide has a number of benefits. Studies have shown it helps boost the immune system so it can fight infection, assists in transmitting information between brain cells, helps improve sleep, regulates blood pressure, improves cardiac health, and helps open up blood vessels.

It’s that last which is of most importance to the erect penis. When a man becomes aroused, his brain sends signals to the penis that it should prepare for an increase of blood flow. When the blood rushes in, it fills up the spongy tissue inside the penis. This in turn causes the tissue to expand, thereby causing the erect penis to occur. If the blood vessels are not blocked by plaque or other substances, they are able to transport more blood, which can help make for a firmer erect penis.

Although there are many factors that influence the firmness of an erect penis, eating a healthy amount of fresh nitrate-rich fruits and vegetables can be helpful. (For that matter, sleeping well, having a healthy heart and keeping blood pressure at an appropriate level can also help - and those are benefits of a nitrate-rich diet.)

Consuming nitrates is not the only way to get nitric oxide. This can also be helped by regularly using a first rate penis health crème (health professionals recommend Man1 Man Oil, which is clinically proven mild and safe for skin) . However, it’s crucial that the chosen crème contains an ingredient known as L-arginine. This amino acid plays an important role in the creation of nitric oxide. As a bonus, a crème with vitamin C may provide extra benefits. Vitamin C is a key component of collagen, which in turns helps ensure the firmness of erectile tissue.