Healthy eating is important for everyone -- it helps you maintain an appropriate weight, provides your body with the right mix of vitamins and minerals, and sustains energy. But healthy eating has another perk ... it helps promote male fertility.

Male infertility is the cause of roughly half of all infertility cases. And erectile dysfunction can affect a couple's sex life and strain a relationship. To maintain or improve sexual function and fertility, a heart-healthy diet is imperative. Healthy blood pressure and unclogged arteries equal an improved blood flow -- and when it comes to men, improved blood flow equals healthier sexual function.

Check out the gallery for seven foods that can help improve male sexual function. And for more on men's sexual health, visit AOL Body.

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Pomegranate juice has for quite some time been touted for its antioxidant properties. Citing heart health as a primary benefit of its ability to help prevent free radical damage, many people made the switch to this more expensive juice in recent years.

But as good for your heart as pomegranate may be, there's evidence to suggest that men may be able to derive an added boner ... er, I mean bonus from this popular fruit.

A University of California study revealed that drinking a glass of pomegranate juice every day helps erectile dysfunction. It turns out that the same antioxidant properties that help ward off free radical damage also prevent circulatory issues, thus offering a wee bit of help to the fellas who need it.

For guys out there who may be putting on less-than-stellar performances in the bedroom lately, there may be more at risk than your pride.

As men grow older, there is a natural decline in testosterone production that begins to occur at or around the age of thirty, dropping precipitously as decades pass. This can be partly to blame for erectile dysfunction in some cases, but in others it may be a sign that you are at risk for heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Of course, many other factors can cause a man to have problems getting and maintaining an erection, such as bad diet, smoking, lack of exercise, and being forced to watch a "Golden Girls" marathon. Still, if you're having trouble, it's worth checking in with your doctor.

Fresh off the heels of writing a post on erectile dysfunction, I feel it is comically appropriate to highlight a recent story, reported by the Associated Press, on a strange side-effect of Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra.

According to the report, the FDA is now mandating that pharmaceutical companies list sudden hearing loss as a potential side-effect. This comes after twenty-nine separate cases of hearing loss (in only one ear) were reported by users of one of these three drugs.

The good news is that the hearing loss only appears to be temporary and returned shortly after use of the drug was discontinued. And, in fairness to these three drugs, it has yet to be proved that they are, in fact, completely to blame.

Nevertheless, if you're currently taking Viagra, Cialis, or Levitra and experience sudden hearing loss, you may want to climb out of the old-fashioned, clawfoot bathtub that men always seem to be sitting in during commercials for these drugs (with their wife in an identical tub right next to them, usually on a beach or some other place that carrying two, 350-pound tubs to would be near impossible) and go see your doctor.

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Hey, guys. Thinking about quitting? C'mon, you know what I'm talking about, don't play dumb. But it's not easy, right? Nothing that matters ever is. Platitudes aside, there must be something that can motivate you to finally put it out for good, right? I mean, if death statistics aren't strong enough scare tactics, I don't know what is. Oh wait ... wait, wait, wait ... maybe there is something that might make you think twice about lighting up. Yeah, this might do the trick.

You smoke, you become less of a man. Instantly. By now I'm sure you've heard that there exists a potential link between smoking and erectile dysfunction. But did you know that even a single dose of nicotine can impair sexual function? Yup, that's right, a single dose.

In a study conducted at the University of Texas, researchers broke their male volunteers into two groups: Nicorette and placebo. The first group, as you probably figured, was given Nicorette gum. The second group, as you also probably figured, were given a placebo. Forty minutes later, the researchers had all of the men watch a pornographic movie. Then -- and this is where things get a little weird, but I suppose it's all in the name of science -- the scientists wired electrodes to each volunteer's penis, allowing them to measure erectile response. Based on the results, the researchers concluded that nicotine had caused a 23 percent decrease in erectile response and sexual arousal.

Now is it time to finally stop smoking?

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Just in case the heightened risk of developing emphysema, lung cancer, throat cancer, and a host of other maladies weren't strong enough reasons for guys to stop smoking, maybe these two little (make that, very little) letters will: E.D.

A study out of Tulane University revealed that smoking may cause men to experience Erectile Dysfunction. Using survey data, researchers found that respondents who smoked (and also did not have any history of heart disease -- which itself is a separate risk factor for E.D.) were 41 percent more likely to develop E.D. than were nonsmokers.

Because smoking causes plaque to build up in the arteries, blood flow to the penis -- just like other parts of the body -- is restricted. Something to think about the next time you light up.

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It sounds odd that a condition like erectile dysfunction could end up saving a man's life, but that is precisely what a report from the New England Research Institute concluded.

The reason? Impotence is an indicator for metabolic syndrome, which can be a precursor to full-blown diabetes and heart disease.

So, if you've been diagnosed with ED in the past or now, there may be underlying ailments possible that would be best to have investigated if at all possible.

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British men will no longer need a prescription for the popular erectile dysfunction drug Viagra as of Valentine's Day. The British pharmacy chain Boots will be selling the drug to patients through a pilot program instead. Following a private consultation with a pharmacist who will take a health history and do a brief exam, men ages 30 to 65 will be sold four pills. If they want more, they can visit with a private doctor on a return visit.

Boots offers similar programs for other drugs, including those to treat obesity and hair loss. The program is being rolled out to reach more men who may suffer from the condition, since experts estimate only 1 in 10 are receiving treatment.

Does this mean Viagra is headed for widespread OTC status in the future? Only time will tell...

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We all seem to see these "male enhancement" commercials o TV these days that are 1) really goofy (male enhancement of...what?) and 2) a oil can really do those things? Well, I am being a little cheeky ere, but you get the jist.

More than 18 million men in America suffer from erectile dysfunction these days -- a huge amount all things considered with the current state of the .S. population and all.

But, help may be available in more than a little pill according to a new study from respected medical institution Johns Hopkins' University. The cure, if you will? Simple lifestyle changes suggests the new research. things such as ensuring regular exercise and physical activity may be the end-all, be-all of getting rid of that impotence problem -- are you up for it?

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