Viagra is so well known that every adult has heard of it and can tell you what it does. There is so much Viagra spam e-mail that the pharmaceutical company which manufactures the drug, Pfizer, has a whole page dedicated to the problem, entitled, “Avoid Fake Viagra.” Pfizer estimates that nine Viagra pills are dispensed every second, which is the equivalent of 300 million tablets a year. So what does Viagra do? It makes a man’s penis hard. It gives most men a rock hard erection, which is a good thing if they intend to have sex. How was this discovered? It all starts with scientists studying the technology of the penis. Viagra helps with ejaculation. Ejaculation can be broken down into three steps:

1- The male becomes sexually stimulated
2- The penis responds to this arousal by becoming erect
3- Stimulation of the penis causes ejaculation

Sometimes, however, step two does not happen. And if step two doesn’t happen there’s a problem because the man cannot ejaculate.

If you’ve ever seen the show “How It’s Made” on The Science Channel you’ll appreciate the next part. The show is one of my faves which is why I like the succinct explanation of how the penis works from HowStuffWorks.com:

Probably the easiest way to understand how the penis becomes erect is to think about a balloon. If a balloon has no air in it, it is limp. As you inflate a limp balloon with just a little air, it becomes elongated and rigid.
The penis uses a similar mechanism, but instead of using pressurized air to become rigid, the penis uses pressurized blood. The penis contains two cigar-shaped structures, called corpora cavernosa (singular - corpus cavernosum), that it uses to become erect.
Think of the corpora cavernosa as balloon-like tubes. Arteries bring blood into these two tubes, and veins carry blood away from them. The penis can be either limp or erect, depending on the flow of blood…

In a nutshell, if anything disrupts the flow of blood through the arteries leading to the penis it will greatly decrease a man’s ability to get an erection. Thus, this is the major cause of erectile dysfunction (ED). Through a complex biochemical pathway (which I am not going to discuss here, but you are welcome to look up) Viagra increases blood flow to the penis by blocking an enzyme called PDE5. Rehashing this biochemical reaction will give me flashbacks of Biochemistry 101 and I’m definitely not going there. So, let’s just say this process tends to work well for most men, except that most drugs have side effects. Some major side effects with the use of Viagra include:

-Change in color vision
-Headaches
-Heart palpitations

Of course you are supposed to consult your doctor about the use of any prescription drug. However, there are lots of people who use Viagra recreationally. This has the unintended side effect of dependency and some young men find that after lots of use, they can’t get hard without taking a pill (or two or three). Other drugs that are competitors of Viagra are Levitra and Cialis. They both work similarly by blocking PDE5, only with different chemicals. While Viagra and Levitra last four hours in the bloodstream, Cialis lasts much longer and can remain in the bloodstream for more than 24 hours.

Galas grants this penis Erectile Dysfunction not even Viagra can cure.

According to recent studies an ingredient found in watermelons called citrulline has an effect on the body much like Viagra. Citrulline causes the production of a compound that helps the blood vessels to relax (which is how Viagra works in the body when a man takes the drug). Citrulline resides in the flesh and rind of watermelons. When consumed in large quantities, it reacts with enzymes in the body and is changed into arginine (an amino acid) that is good for the heart, circulatory an immune systems. In addition, this same amino acid, arginine, increases nitric oxide, which relaxes blood vessels; this is exactly what Viagra does to the body.

If you think you can get the same effect by eating watermelon, think again. You would have to eat nearly six cups of watermelon to get enough citrulline to create the arginine boost and it’s beneficial side effects.

More scientific research on citrulline and it’s effect on the body are underway. In the meantime, you can feel good knowing that eating this sweet fruit is heart healthy with the added benefit of possibly helping your sex life.

 What a Knockout! Boxer Brandon packs a mean punch.