(Updated October 31, 2019) | Eating vegan food can boost erections by nearly 500 percent, according to a study in the documentary “The Game Changers.”
The film — which is now available to view on Netflix — looks predominantly at athletes and the myth that they need protein from meat for ultimate strength and fitness. It was produced by Academy Award-winning director James Cameron, as well as Lewis Hamilton, Jackie Chan, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, among other athletes and celebrities.
For one scene in the documentary, three college athletes took part in a study focused on their erections.
They each wore a pair of rings on their penises; one on the base and one on the tip. The rings tracked the strength, longevity, and the number of erections they had over two nights.
On the first night, they each were fed a meat burrito. On the second, they ate plant-based burritos. The first athlete, Mason, witnessed a nearly 9 percent increase in the strength of his erection on the second night and a 303 percent increase in duration.
For the second athlete, Blake, results showed a nearly 500 percent increase (477 percent) in the number of minutes his erection lasted after eating plant-based foods. The third athlete, also called Blake, witnessed a 312 percent increase in the number of minutes his erection lasted. He also witnessed a 13 percent change in hardness.
Former lead delegate of the American Urological Association Dr. Aaron Spitz conducted the study. He said, “when I think of a manly man, I think of someone who has strength, endurance, sexual prowess, and fertility.” He added, “what the scientific studies are showing, is that the more meat men eat, the more quickly they lose their… manly manhood.”
His comment is an example of casual cissexism. While transgender refers to someone who identifies as a gender other than the one they were assigned at birth, someone cisgender identifies as the gender they were assigned at birth. Associating manhood with having a strong erection erases men who don’t have penises, women and gender non-conforming people who do. According to the European Partnership for Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights, the medical community needs to address cissexism. Doing so could make healthcare safer and more accessible for trans people.
“Historically, human reproduction, reproductive health and reproductive practices have focused on cissexism. In its recent publication, ‘Gender Identity and Reproductive Autonomy’, GATE (Global Action for Trans* Equality), emphasises that the reproductive practices of transgender and gender queer people are almost invisible both in transgender studies and in reproductive health studies,'” it explains.
It continues, “According to GATE, reproductive health studies have ‘mainly focused on whether or not trans people should be offered assisted reproduction services and/or fertility preservation before starting medical transition. Also, in the context of discussions regarding procreative liberty, trans individuals have until recently been neglected in such discourse.'”
‘I’d Love to Put Viagra Out of Business’
Earlier this year, Cameron told the Star newspaper he’d like to give Viagra a run for its money. “I’d love to put Viagra out of business, just by spreading the word on plant-based eating,” he said.
He said the results are “compelling.” He explained, “obviously one of the first symptoms of atherosclerosis is erectile dysfunction. And then some of the more severe heart problems tend to follow very quickly.”
Editor’s note: This article has been updated with an explanation of Dr. Spitz’s comment.
