Drinking a cup of coffee can help keep you up… in more ways than one!
A study conducted by David Lopez, Dr.PH, M.P.H., Run Wang, M.D. and Steven Canfield, M.D of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), found that men who drink the equivalent caffeine level of two to three cups of coffee a day are less likely to have erectile dysfunction. In the United States alone, 18.4 percent of men 20 years and older have erectile dysfunction. This means more than 18 million men are affected by ED.
Here are the details of the study published in PLOS ONE:
- 3,724 men over the age of 20 were studied, from 2001 to 2004.
- Men who consumed between 85 and 170 mg of caffeine per day were 42 percent less likely to report issues with erectile dysfunction.
- Men who consumed between 171 and 303 mg of caffeine per day were 39 percent less likely to report issues with erectile dysfunction.
- These statistics were compared to men who consumed 0 to 7 mg of caffeine per day.
- These benefits were found for men who were not only a healthy weight, but also overweight or obese. Even hypertensive men showed this trend.
Regretfully, men with diabetes did not show these same results.
“Even though we saw a reduction in the prevalence of ED with men who were obese, overweight and hypertensive, that was not true of men with diabetes. Diabetes is one of the strongest risk factors for ED, so this was not surprising,” said David S. Lopez, Dr.P.H., M.P.H.
So, why is caffeine related to lessened incidence of ED? Caffeine is a vasodilator. What that means is – caffeine triggers a series of pharmacological effects that lead to the relaxation of the penile helicine arteries and the cavernous smooth muscle that lines cavernosal spaces, thus increasing penile blood flow. And, as we all know, improved blood flow to the penis equals stronger erections!
Interesting notes:
- There is 95 – 200mg of caffeine in an 8-oz cup of coffee, on average.
- Black tea has 14 – 70mg of caffeine in an 8-oz cup, on average.
- There is 24 – 45mg of caffeine in 8 ounces of green tea.
- A 12-ounce can of cola only has 27mg of caffeine.
- There is 12mg of caffeine in each ounce of dark chocolate.
Learn more about erectile dysfunction here — Need an Erectile Dysfunction Cure? Never Suffer from Impotence Again