I’ll turn 62 in a few months. So I don’t feel too embarrassed about having mild erectile dysfunction. Fortunately, Sildenafil—better known under one of its marketing names, Viagra—works like a charm. Or more precisely, I should say it is like clockwork. (For me, Tadalafil—better known under its marketing name Cialis—does almost nothing. I’m sure it works great for many others.)

The reason I am saying this is that mentioning it out in the open might help you get over resistance to looking into some chemical help if you are beginning to need it. Everyone is different, but for many men, erectile dysfunction is a concomitant of aging, just like needing reading glasses. Others run into this relatively easily fixable trouble earlier.

When I teach financial theory, I compare diversifiable risk to a malady that can easily be cured. For many men, this is in that category. Don’t suffer needlessly. Try available potential remedies to see if they work for you.

One thing that led me to delay trying Sildenafil was the fear that it would interact badly with my low blood pressure. That turned out not to be a problem at all.

By the way, looking for an image to put at the top of this post revealed that a lot of research is being done to see if sildenafil can be useful in dealing with other maladies. Those research efforts make sense because it expands blood vessels, leading to more blood flow throughout the body, something that could be useful in many situation.

I’m glad for progress. Sildenafil was approved for treatment of erectile dysfunction only in 1998. So as an approved drug, it is less than a quarter century old. It’s good not to live in the bad old days.

For annotated links to other posts on diet and health, see:

• Miles Kimball on Diet and Health: A Reader's Guide