Connection Between Caffeine & Erectile Dysfunction
For years there has been an ongoing debate and struggle to prove the connection between caffeine and erectile dysfunction. Some claim that excessive caffeine intake can even promote ED in healthy subject. If paired with stress, caffeine could result in unnecessary nervousness and inability to relax that could potentially lead to performance anxiety. What does this new breakthrough mean? Keep reading to find out the different approaches to this subject.
In a recent controversial study on rats, researchers investigated whether caffeine could in fact help promote healthy erections in diabetic men.
- The main erectile dysfunction causes suffered by 75% of diabetic men originate in their poor functioning endothelium. This thin layer of cells that lines the interior surface of blood vessels is in charge of responding to chemical signs. During healthy erection these chemical signals ask to increase blood flow by allowing the blood vessels to dilate.
- Current drugs for treating ED such as Viagra and Cialis are from the PDE5 inhibitor family. They prevent the breakdown of an important chemical necessary for erection called cGMP.
- While Viagra targets mainly PDE5, that is specific to the penis, one of the effects of caffeine is to block the action of many different types of PDE inhibitors.
- This prevents the breakdown of cGMP throughout the body and in theory, this should allow for an erection to develop.
In order to test whether indeed caffeine could help develop healthy erections through these alleged chemical events, the researchers conducted a study on diabetic rats. The rats were given caffeine for eight weeks and then tested again for their erectile function.
- Before they were given caffeine, the diabetic rats had low pressure in the tissue of the penis, even during stimulation.
- After ingesting caffeine, penile pressure during erection improved and the levels of cGMP increased in the entire body.
So, what is the conclusion? Although chances that caffeine could help restore complete potency in men with diabetes and ED are slim, the results of this rat study suggest that it is quite possible that diabetes patients who drink coffee may need to take less medication for treating their ED.
Does Caffeine Belong with Erectile Dysfunction Causes or Remedies?
Until there is concrete evidence whether the connection between caffeine and erectile dysfunction is positive or negative, it is anyone's guess. It may as well be one of the leading erectile dysfunction causes. After all, caffeine is a stimulant and studies suggest that it narrows blood vessels and stimulates the adrenal gland to release more cortical and adrenaline. Both effects can cause a rapid and serious rise in blood pressure, especially if the patient is not a regular coffee drinker.
Dr. Mark H. Cline, Ph.D., a psychologist and researcher at the Male Health Center in Dallas claims that "Caffeine releases adrenaline in your body, and one of the things that adrenaline does is shut off arterial flow to the penis," " The problem is that the effects of caffeine can last 12 hours or longer after you drink it. So if you are having trouble with erections and drink a lot of coffee, maybe you ought to cut back or switch to decaffeinated".
In other words, despite this potential new discovery, caffeine may cause more damage and worsen your ED symptoms. To this day the only readily available drugs that help with temporary reversal of ED are Viagra and Cialis.
