Drawing That Link Between Sexual Health and Hypertension
Talking about sex is exciting, but discussing the boring science behind sex may not be so.
Sexual intercourse, to a human, is a biological activity that is part of reproduction and procreation. According to this article that talks about sex:
Above all, it is a healthy and natural activity. It is something most people enjoy and find meaningful even if they create meaning in different ways.
Men and women possess different sexual organs that can be stimulated to the point of achieving sexual ecstasy, or an orgasm. It is said in this article about orgasms that:
When you have an orgasm, your heart may beat faster and your breathing may change.
If you have a vaginal or clitoral orgasm, an intense pleasurable release of sexual tension is accompanied by contractions of the genital muscles.
Some people may ejaculate when having a vaginal orgasm. A clear fluid spurts from glands close to the urethra during intense sexual excitement or during orgasm. The glands are called the Skene’s glands.
If you have a vagina you may be able to experience more than 1 orgasm shortly after the first if you continue to be stimulated.
If you have a penis, an orgasm makes muscles contract and semen containing sperm spurts out of the penis (ejaculation). After this, you usually cannot have another orgasm for a while.
But as this Substack is known as The Biochemistry Of Human Health, we’re not going to be looking at sex. Rather, we’d be looking more at the biochemical and biophysical mechanisms at play in the body - and these mechanisms also can influence our blood pressure.
What is needed for both men and women to feel the pleasure?
Our blood vessels contain a layer of cells known as the endothelium. These cells, known as the endothelial cells, contain an enzyme known as endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS).
The cofactor tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) aids in the coupling of eNOS enzymes such that coupled eNOS can produce nitric oxide (NO) from L-arginine. The NO that is produced signals the dilation of blood vessels to be able to accommodate an increased blood flow rate, such as in the case of vigorous exercise.
In simpler terms, coupled eNOS is necessary to produce NO, which signals our blood vessels to dilate.
The dilation of these blood vessels is important to both men and women alike.
For men, we’re looking at the dilation of the blood vessels in the male genitals to achieve a penile erection, as outlined in this article:
Nitric oxide, derived from the nerve terminals innervating the corpora cavernosa, endothelial lining of penile arteries, and the cavernosal sinuses, is an important biochemical regulator of cavernosal smooth muscle relaxation. Nitric oxide also induces arterial dilatation.
While in women, we’re also looking at an increased blood flow to the female genitals, according to this article:
Genital arousal, an early physiologic event in the overall female sexual response, is a neurophysiological process comprised of central and peripheral components. The peripheral component is characterized by an increase in genital blood flow coordinated with clitoral and vaginal smooth muscle relaxation, engorgement of the clitoris and vaginal wall, vaginal lubrication and lengthening [1].
Physically, we’d be screwed (pun intended) out of deriving sexual pleasure if the NO production pathway is affected. That will also mean that our ability to regulate vasodilation is not as optimal as it should be.
What affects NO production in the body, then?
Off the bat, we can see that the first way that NO production can be affected is if we aren’t consuming sufficient L-arginine in our diets. L-arginine is one of the 20 amino acids that can be found in the proteins that make up our daily diet. According to the Mayo Clinic,
Your body usually makes all the L-arginine it needs. L-arginine is also found in most protein-rich foods, including fish, red meat, poultry, soy, whole grains, beans and dairy products.
Of course, it may not necessarily be a problem with insufficient protein consumption. Why so?
Because it isn’t just the blood vessels in our genitals that dilate upon NO signalling. NO signalling is also responsible for the rest of the blood vessels in our body being able to dilate and constrict appropriately.
Unfortunately, NO is itself a reactive chemical.
We need unadulterated NO to signal the endothelial cells.
However, according to this article:
Nitric oxide is called a free radical because it contains single unpaired electrons in its molecule. Hence it is reactive, and has a half-life of only a few seconds.
When one is experiencing oxidative stress in their lives (which may also be present in one suffering from hypertension), the increase in free radical content will increase the number of things being oxidised within the body. That includes the oxidation of NO or the enzymes that produce the NO.
Oxidative Stress Is An Electrochemical Concept That Focuses On An Inappropriate Rate Of Electron Transfer.
All this oxidation can cause 2 things to happen:
BH4 can be oxidised into dihydrobiopterin (BH2), which leads to eNOS decoupling and results in its inability to produce NO for vasodilation.
NO can also be oxidised further into peroxynitrite radicals, which have zero capability in regulating vasodilation.
In both cases, we can see that the endothelial cells are unable to regulate the dilation or contraction of our blood vessels appropriately when under oxidative stress.
Oxidative stress can also arise from other sources, such as an inefficient elimination of bile acids from our body — which could also translate into an accumulation of cholesterol in our body, or hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol).
Therefore, a poor waste clearance mechanism leading to a buildup in oxidative stress can also cause symptoms of sexual dysfunction to appear. That in itself is also rather unhealthy too.
We’d have to work on our antioxidant capabilities — after all, the cells in our body do produce glutathione antioxidants. When we’re in a state of oxidative stress, it basically just means that the glutathione antioxidants in our body are far too insufficient for dealing with the excess pro-oxidant species in our body.
And that would ultimately spell trouble for one’s sex life - not just sex, but if the biochemical pathways that influence biological orgasms are affected, then what about other processes that are governed by the same biochemical pathways, such as the regulation of our blood pressure?
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