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The Elephant in the Room is Cancer. Tea is the Relief Conversation Provides.
The Elephant in the Room is Cancer. Tea is the Relief Conversation Provides.
Marloe’s article is featured in our September 2025 magazine issue. Click here to read “Struggles of Survivorship.”
Disclaimer: This information is not a substitute for medical care. Always inform your healthcare team of any concerning symptoms you are experiencing, and consult with your provider before starting new treatments, therapies, or health routines.
“You’re too young to be worrying about your heart health!”
Hmmm . . . where have I heard that sentiment before? I don’t know about you, but as a young adult (YA) cancer survivor, I’m highly skeptical of anyone who tells me that I’m “too young” to worry about anything related to my health.
You might be wondering why I, a self-described sexual wellness enthusiast, have decided to bring heart health into the conversation today. Good question! Would you believe that sexual functioning is actually intricately related to the health of our cardiovascular system?
While we don’t often consider penises—or, actually, vulvas (more on this later)—when it comes to preventive health, we really should. Healthy lifestyle habits generally translate to a happier penis, and in the general population, problems with erections can actually be a bellwether for more serious health concerns like heart disease risk and even heart attack.1,2 Although you cannot necessarily control the sexual side effects that occur because of the various treatments you had for your cancer, you can make sure that any modifiable risk factors for erectile problems down the road are minimized.
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network3 recommends that cancer survivors adopt lifestyle changes that have been found to improve or maintain erection function. Because erections rely so much on a healthy vascular system, pretty much anything that increases the risk of cardiovascular disease is also a risk factor for erection problems. Conversely, this means that pretty much anything that promotes cardiovascular health is also protective of erection function. The earlier you adopt heart-healthy habits, the more likely there will be protective benefits, but it’s never too late to make changes!
Stop Smoking and Vaping
Research supports the negative impact that smoking has on people’s erection function,1.4 and studies show that quitting smoking can improve erections.5,6 Smoking messes with erections mainly by contributing to impaired blood flow to the erectile tissues of the penis in various ways. As you may recall from my previous digressions into the anatomy and physiology of erectile functioning, great blood flow to the genital tissues is an essential component of the process.
For example, the nicotine in tobacco products actually constricts the blood vessels of the penis, which is basically the opposite of what needs to occur if you hope to achieve an erection! Constricted vessels impede blood flow into the spongy erectile tissues and work against attaining or maintaining an erection.7,4 Also, over time, nicotine and other toxins in tobacco products contribute to a chronic inflammatory response and can damage the lining of blood vessels (called the endothelium).5 This damage leads to a hardening and narrowing of blood vessels as well as a reduction in the availability of nitric oxide, a molecule that plays a role in signaling the smooth muscles of the vessel walls to relax and dilate to allow for blood flow.5 There’s a surprising complexity to it, but the moral of the story is that smoking impacts erections, and not in a good way!
Emerging research also suggests an association between vaping or the use of e-cigarettes and erectile dysfunction,5,7 with one study finding that vaping impacts erections in people as young as 20 years old.7 E-cigarettes contain a lot of the same harmful substances as regular cigarettes.4 Exposure to toxins and chemicals through vaping likely impact cardiovascular functioning and blood vessel damage (and therefore affect erections) similarly to traditional tobacco products, but more studies are needed to fully understand the effect that vaping and e-cigarettes have on heart health, sexual functioning, and other possible health risks.4
If you currently use nicotine or tobacco products, quitting now can reduce your risk of experiencing erectile functioning problems down the road.4 The earlier you quit, the lower your risk! Circulation improves as soon as two weeks after someone quits smoking,8 and this means better blood flow to the penis, too. The American Cancer Society9 has great ideas to help you quit.
Maintain a Healthy Diet and a Healthy Weight
A heart-healthy diet may help prevent or manage issues like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity—all of which are risk factors for erectile dysfunction.6,2 Obesity is also a risk factor for developing diabetes, which is highly correlated with erectile dysfunction.6,2 Diabetes can lead to damage of the nerves (called neuropathies).2 Along with blood flow, having healthy nerves in the genitals is another essential ingredient to erection function. Losing extra weight has been associated with improved erections.6
A diet high in flavonoids, and in particular flavones, may support erection function over time by promoting the smooth muscle relaxation of blood vessels and increasing blood flow into the penile tissues.4 Flavones are found in plant-based foods like green tea, veggies, fruits, and nuts. The Mediterranean diet is high in these foods, as well as fish and whole grains.4 Studies have found that people who eat a lot of these foods were less likely to experience erectile dysfunction, possibly due to the anti-inflammatory properties and their cardiovascular protective factors.4 Check out the American Cancer Society’s10 tips for eating healthier and also the Good Sex Diet.11
Please be aware that using dietary supplements is not the same as—and cannot take the place of—eating a healthy diet! Dietary supplements are not regulated as carefully as medicines, making it difficult to determine how safe and effective certain supplements may be.12 Supplements can be mislabeled, be of poor quality or inaccurately dosed, or contain undisclosed ingredients—all of which may be harmful. If you are considering starting a supplement regimen, always consult your healthcare team first. You can also learn more through the American Cancer Society.12
Moderate Your Alcohol Intake
Have you ever had more difficulty getting or keeping an erection after an evening of imbibing? As it turns out, alcohol can inhibit erection function.6,4 Alcohol decreases nitric oxide production, which—as we learned earlier—is important for helping relax the blood vessels in the penis to allow for increased blood flow and engorgement. This effect appears to be more strongly associated with chronic alcohol use and higher levels of consumption.4 Chronic heavy drinking can also increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and impair genital nerve function, which may impact erections.13 Notably, the recreational use of other substances, such as cannabis, amphetamines, opioids, and others, also contributes to the risk of erectile problems.4
Get Moving
Participating in physical activity can combat extra weight, which as we mentioned earlier is associated with cardiovascular issues and erection dysfunction.2,4 Plus, getting your blood pumping by following a daily-ish exercise routine means regularly delivering a boost of oxygen and nutrients to your genital tissues to help keep them healthy. Physical activity also helps with in-the-moment vasodilation and increased blood flow to all areas of the body, including the genitals. This means that you can use a quick bit of physical exertion—like taking a short walk around the block—to prep to for a sexual encounter, since the resulting increased heart rate and blood flow may help prime the erectile tissues to plump up with sexual stimulation.14 Using the sexual perks of exercise as a little motivation to get that body moving never hurts!
The Erectile Tissue Equality Issue
The vulva and vagina owners out there might remember from my previous digressions on the anatomy and physiology of the clitoris that their genital bits include erectile tissues as well! So why am I just focusing on penises?
Due to the patriarchy—sorry, but it’s true—cis men’s sexual functioning, and their erections in particular, have been studied to a far greater extent than the sexual functioning of cis women and vulvas. BUT, as the amazing sex educator Dr. Emily Nagoski is known to say, human genitals—regardless of the assigned sex or gender identity of their owner—are really all the same parts, just organized in different ways.15 Essentially, what she means is that the genital structures seen as “girl parts” or “boy parts” actually develop from the same embryonic tissues; they are considered homologues. It’s really the combination of chromosomes and hormones during embryonic development that tell the “universal genital hardware”15(p.20)—or tissues—to begin organizing into a penis-like structure or a clitoris-like structure.
So, what is the purpose of me sharing this brief embryology factoid? Simply put, genitals are genitals are genitals. No matter what they look like—in other words, how they arrange themselves in response to chromosome and hormonal influences—they all respond to sexual stimulation with an influx of blood that rushes into the erectile tissue structures (the corpora cavernosa and corpus spongiosum of the penis or the crura and bulbs of the clitoris), plumping them up and sensitizing them to touch.
One could intuit, then, that the unhealthy habits that affect penis erectile tissue and sexual response may also affect the erectile tissue and sexual response of the vulva and clitoris. And indeed, research has found that nicotine intake negatively impacts physiological sexual arousal in women,16,4 and that female sexual dysfunction is associated with conditions that impact vascular and nerve health, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.17
Therefore, if you are the owner of genital bits—regardless of appearance or label—I would encourage you to adopt heart-healthy habits on their behalf. Cardiovascular health is sexual health, and sexual health is human health. Period.
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