I have never been impotent or suffered from erectile dysfunction, but over the past few years, my energy and libido have been low. To deal with general feelings of crappyness, I recently went on a low carb diet. The first two days were unremarkable - the same fatigue and general blah feeling that has been going on for a while. By the third day, my energy started to picked up. Four days into it, and I was feeling great. And I started experiencing spontaneous erections. Lots of them! Over time, the erection activity became more normal. For better or worse, the body adjusts, and a low carb diet does not induce permanent nymphomania.

Metabolic Syndrome or Syndrome X has several symptoms, including a gut (abdominal obesity), high triglycerides, high total cholesterol, low HDL ('good' cholesterol) and high blood pressure. Most experts say that if you have 3 or more of these, you probably have metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome is incredibly common, and there is little doubt that it is a big risk factor for erectile dysfunction. While the individual components of metabolic syndrome (like hypertension or low HDL) are risk factors for a droopy dong, the danger when these occur together is not additive - it is far greater.

Metabolic syndrome isn't just having the individual red-flags at the same time by coincidence. It is part of a larger pattern, and underneath the indicators is a major problem: insulin resistance. Having metabolic syndrome is a slow slide into diabetes. Sugar isn't so completely out of control that it spills into the urine, but sugar is not being handled right in the body, and it affects the blood vessel walls. These expand and contract to regulate blood pressure (and the flow of blood to the penis or clitoris).

Why not just eat less and exercise more? That's a good idea, especially when those habits are maintained from an early age. But once metabolic syndrome sets in, exercise tolerance decreases (Two weeks ago, a half hour of moderate exercise would leave me exhausted for a day, and I was trying to do that 3 or 4 times a week). And while exercise is great medicine for the average person, it may not be enough for a person who has diabetes or a pre-diabetic state (metabolic syndrome).

Is the low carb diet a silver bullet that slays all sexual problems. Nah. There could be other things causing your soldier to lay down and sleep when you would hope he would be standing upright and saluting. See a doctor. I've been visiting my doctor and getting blood work done for the past several years.

My Doc threatened to put me on medicines if my numbers didn't improve. I have upped the exercise, followed 'moderate' diet advice, tried relaxation stuff. One factor would go down a bit, while another goes up. I still felt like shit on the average day, and was convinced that something was wrong with me that didn't turn up in any of the tests. I think I have found the problem.

I've also been eating soy - lots of it. Eight ounces of Tempeh a day, a few glasses of soymilk. So maybe I've got a mild case of Persistent Sexual Arousal Syndrome, which may be triggered by heavy soy consumption? Maybe, but that doesn't explain my increased energy or the fact that my anxiety disorder shut itself off shortly after going low-carb. Given the fact that soy may help with high blood pressure and cholesterol and a host of other problems, I think that an extra 8 or 10 erections through the day is a tolerable side effect.

The diet program I am following is called Protein Power; I don't know that it is THE best book on going low carb, but it is a well written book from a team of medical doctors. They do a great job of explaining insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome, they knock down the myths about how dangerous a low-carb diet supposedly is, and they offer a workable plan.

Hunger? Not really. I am following the diet in the sense of we all have a diet (the stuff we eat) - this is not a starve yourself diet. According to their book and studies I have read, a higher fat diet reduces appetite and leads to eating less, which leads to weight loss. And with less insulin floating around the body, the body switches gears metabolically ... with too much insulin, fat cells pull food from the blood and pack it away. With lower insulin levels, the fat cells get a signal to start releasing the stuff they have in storage.

Fatigue? Some people complain of being tired or dizzy when going low-carb. I have experienced the opposite, but don't doubt that it can happen. Carb cravings? Sometimes. Fewer cravings as time goes on, although the notion of a slice of cherry pie remains tempting. But temptation is not hard to resist - I like the way I feel now, and don't want to go back to the way I was. I know that as my body loses its insulin tolerance, more carbs can be eaten. Going back to my old pizza-cola binges is out of the question, but in a month or two, I will be able to eat an occasional slice.