Circulation, Mind, and Medicine: Rethinking Erectyle Dysfunction with Dr. Jordan Barber

About this episode

Dr. Jim Chialtas interviews Dr. Jordan Barber about erectile dysfunction, exploring its causes and treatments through the lens of Chinese medicine and conventional approaches.

In this 167th episode, I’m joined by Dr. Jordan Barber, Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine with over 20 years in clinical practice. He is the co-author of "Thinking in Chinese Medicine: A Patient's Guide to Acupuncture" (2026) and "Realigning Medicine: Building an Authentic, Fulfilling, and Thriving Healthcare Practice" (2025). Our focus today is on an important but often sidelined issue:erectile dysfunction. I hear about ED frequently from patients, usually as an aside to another medical concern — why is that? We’ll define ED and its varying levels, separate myths from facts, and explore distinctions between performance anxiety, behavioral causes like problematic pornography use, and physical drivers. We’ll discuss whether ED always comes down to circulation, how Chinese Medicine frames theproblem (circulation, hormones, mood, metabolic disease, etc.), and what conventional medicine offers — including how PDE5 inhibitors (Viagra/Cialis) work by upregulating eNOS to improve blood flow, and where concerns about iNOSfit in. We’ll also cover practical strategies: diet, lifestyle, TCMapproaches, and when a condition may be advanced enough that different…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Jim Chialtas

Guest: Dr. Jordan Barber

Topics covered

• erectile dysfunction
• Chinese medicine
• circulation
• healthcare practice
• acupuncture
• lifestyle strategies

Keywords

• erectile dysfunction
• Chinese medicine
• acupuncture
• PDE5 inhibitors
• healthcare
• lifestyle
• diet

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Viagra, Cialis

Books & works: Thinking in Chinese Medicine: A Patient's Guide to Acupuncture, Realigning Medicine: Building an Authentic, Fulfilling, and Thriving Healthcare Practice

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