Hard is good, harder is better -- for your health, your libido, your life. Such is the provocative premise behind Dr. Steven Lamm's The Hardness Factor, a groundbreaking book that will change the way men live and love. The Hardness Factor measures male health through the quality of an erection -- perhaps the greatest male motivator for better living (more so than fear of cancer, heart attack, or stroke). The Hardness Factor asks, Can men be hard and in shape for sex their entire lives? The answer is, absolutely. Here for the first time are scientific, evidence-based regimens -- emphasizing nutrition, supplements, and exercise -- to increase erectile quality. By following the programs in The Hardness Factor, you will improve overall health; produce stronger, harder, and longer-lasting erections; increase strength, fitness, flexibility, and vitality; restore self-confidence; and achieve maximum sexual gratification with your partner. A renowned New York clinician, bestselling author, and a favorite expert on the television show The View , Dr. Lamm offers straight talk for men of all ages in "The Four-Day Insurance Policy," which can provide a quick fix for that upcoming Saturday night (or any other dating emergency), and the more detailed "Six-Week Hardness Factor Program," which will improve a man's sex drive, stamina, hardness, and, most of all, health. This comprehensive guide also includes numerous recipes created by acclaimed chef Waldy Malouf, aimed at promoting nutritional health and jump-starting the libido. After following The Hardness Factor, you will not only achieve optimal health and sexual fitness but also understand why the penis is the best barometer of a man's health.

The Hardness Factor (TM)
How to Achieve Your Best Health and Sexual Fitness at Any Age

Chapter One

What Is the Hardness Factor?

Degrees of Hardness

A man may think he's best friends with his penis, but howwell does he really know it? Few are aware that there are degrees ofpenile hardness. Fewer still know what "normal" hardness is. Age,exercise, diet, and stress can affect a man's erectile quality (EQ) -- even men in their early 20s, all full of testosterone, the source of masculinity and hardness, sometimes fail to achieve an erection. More worrisome is that men 40 years of age or older have a 50 percent chance of getting and maintaining an erection. Those numbers rise exponentially as the decades increase. But the good news is that all these hardness factors are within a man's control.

How Dependable Is Your Penis?

BILL, age 31 -- Hard as a rock?

My answering service called early one Monday morning to say thatBill had already called twice, each time with the message that hehad to see me first thing that morning. Bill was 31, an in-demand studio guitarist, whose first CD had just been released by a major label. I was a bit surprised that he would be calling since I had just given him a complete medical work-up a month earlier as part of a life insurance policy he was applying for. He was in very good mental health, and I recalled having congratulated this ardent "meat and potatoes" guy on good cholesterol numbers.

When Bill came in, he appeared nervous and agitated, and somewhat sheepish. He's a handsome, fit guy with a thick mustache flecked with gray that offsets his completely shaved head. I ushered him into my office and he was about to say something when he noticed that my door was not completely shut. He popped out of his chair, closed it firmly, and then sat down again.

"I've got a problem that's driving me nuts, which is why I need to see you," he said. "It concerns a woman who's important in my life. No, actually that's not really true. It's not about the woman at all. It's about me." He looked down at his feet, obviously embarrassed. "Well, to be more precise, it's about my penis. I need help. Fast. I need one of those six-packs of Viagra."

"All right, Bill, slow down," I said. "Why do you think you need Viagra?"

"Karen is flying in next month from Santa Barbara," he said. "And I'm really crazy about her. But if I have another awkward moment like I did the last time and can't maintain my erection and hold my own in bed, I know I'll be deleted from her speed dial. She's not going to give me another chance. I have such anxiety over this that I'm certain I'm not gonna be able to get it up."

I asked Bill if he was having any problems getting the initial erection. He seemed perplexed by the question. "I can get an erection," he said. "In fact, as soon as I see her, I'm hard as a rock." He paused for a moment. "It's not that I'm having problems there. It's just that my erection seems softer once we get going. It seems to disappear for a while when we're getting hot and heavy, and it's a lot of work to get it back. It's really annoying and, to tell you the truth, it's becoming a big deal for me."

"First of all," I told Bill, "this is not uncommon, so I don't want you to panic. You'd be surprised how many guys have crises of confidence. You're not alone there, but," I went on, "you have to understand that penises are temperamental and too often we allow ourselves to be judged by them. That naturally puts a lot of pressure on us to perform. One day can be great, the next day a complete horror show. But yours is a problem that I can definitely help you with."

"You can help guys with limp dicks?" Bill asked.

"Actually, you don't have a limp dick, Bill," I said. "You just aren't as hard as you want to be. You know, sometimes it's amazing that any of us manage to have erections at all. These are true, mind-body events connected withhighly-tuned physiological workings. It's all part of what I call the Hardness Factor.

"The Hardness Factor is not only about having erections, but about feeling more confident about your erections, more sure of yourself as a sexualperson -- the surprise is that it's also about your health. For the past couple of years, I have been slowly developing a program to help enhance erectilehardness. I've conducted clinical studies that have never been done before to assess what works and what doesn't: herbal products, prescription drugs, exercise, you name it. The Six-Week Program I've developed ensures thatyou can confidently expect to maintain a hard erection during lovemaking."

I asked Bill if he would like to have something that would givehim the confidence that he could perform when Karen arrived. WhatBill required was something that would produce dramatic results ina very short time.

His face brightened, and he appeared somewhat relieved. "Great. You are going to give me the Viagra?"

"You actually don't need prescription drugs," I told him. "You already get erections. I'm sure that if I ran one of my clinical tests on you, you would score very high for hardness."

Bill was puzzled. "Are you down on the medications?" he wanted to know. "I thought Viagra was supposed to be great."

"Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra are great for those men who really need the drugs," I explained. "I can give you whichever medication you need. You just take any of these pills and fifteen minutes later, you will be ready for sex. The fact that we have these drugs is a wonderful thing, and I'm certainly not hesitant in prescribing them. But I reserve them for men who really need to use them in order to get an erection. And luckily, you're not one of them ...

The Hardness Factor (TM)
How to Achieve Your Best Health and Sexual Fitness at Any Age. Copyright © by Steven Lamm. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

Excerpted from The Hardness Factor: How to Achieve Your Best Health and Sexual Fitness at Any Age by Steven Lamm
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.