Yes, there’s yet another great perk from drinking coffee, and even though it directly affects men, I think many women will benefit from it as well. Science has discovered that coffee may help reduce the risk of erectile dysfunction in men. And even if this problem isn’t affecting you or your partner now, it’s a good thing to keep in your back pocket for the future.
As of now, approximately one in every five men suffers from erectile dysfunction (ED) in America. Meaning that when Rachel on Friends told Ross, “It’s not that common, it doesn’t happen to every guy, and it is a big deal,” she was only two-thirds percent right. According to the researchers who conducted the study, “18.4 percent of men 20 years and older have ED, suggesting that more than 18 million men are affected.” That’s way too many awkward bedroom interactions for me to process.
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Before they even began the study, researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston noted that over 85 percent of adults drink coffee. That means, any ED findings that they came upon would affect a significant portion of the population. They surveyed over 3,700 men over the age of 20 for the study, asking them how much coffee they consume on average, and whether or not they suffered from ED.
The results were pretty encouraging. According to the percentages collected, between 85 and 170 milligrams of caffeine per day, or about one cup of coffee, reduces the risk of erectile dysfunction by 42 percent. Let me repeat that for emphasis. Forty-two percent by drinking only one cup of coffee a day, people!
If you’re wondering how this caffeine magic works, it’s quite simple. While it may hype you up overall, caffeine actually relaxes the muscles and arteries in the penis, which in turn allows for more blood flow there, which can pave the way for successful erections.
But wait, it’s not time to throw a cup of coffee at your man just yet. ED comes in many forms, and while the general numbers look promising, there are many forms of ED that don’t respond to caffeine at all. David S. Lopez, one of the researchers from the University of Texas, said to UPI, “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.” So sadly men with diabetes will not see any benefits from regular caffeine consumption.
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However, they can possibly enjoy some of these other great benefits that come from caffeine consumption in moderation, namely reduced risk of heart attack, contracting type 2 diabetes, dementia and skin cancer. It’s also chock-full of antioxidants which can help stave off a variety of other illnesses.
Even if you’re not a big coffee drinker, you can still benefit from this discovery. Caffeine, not coffee, is really the catalyst for the ED risk reduction, so tea, soda and even chocolate can have the same positive effect on a man’s sexual function. If you want to get creative, work some chocolate into your sexual escapades, and combine preventative measure with reward.
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