Researchers at the University of Texas found that moderate coffee consumption seems to lower the risk of erectile dysfunction. However, caffeine’s precise effects on vascular function remain something of a mystery.
Moderate coffee intake of two to three cups a day seems to be associated with a lower perceived risk of erectile dysfunction, according to the findings of a recent study.
However, whether the caffeine in coffee actually expands or constricts blood vessels — either facilitating or hindering erectile function — remains uncertain.
University of Texas researchers analyzed data from 3,724 men, all 20 years of age or older, who had participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Erectile function status was based on test subjects’ own assessment of their sexual function. Study participants’ caffeine intake was estimated based on an analysis of 24-hour dietary recall data.
Moderate Coffee Intake = Less ED
According to the study’s findings, published in the April 28, 2015, issue of PLOS One, men who had a daily intake of 170 to 375 milligrams of caffeine were significantly less likely to report ED than those whose caffeine intake was lower or higher than theirs. However, according to an article at Healthline.com, researchers were unable to identify a direct cause-and-effect link between caffeine intake and increased blood flow.
Part of the uncertainty about caffeine’s effects on blood flow stems from the contradictory effects it has on various receptors in vascular tissue. On the one hand, it dilates blood vessels by diffusing nitric oxide to the smooth muscle cells that line artery walls, while on the other it blocks adenosine receptors in vascular tissue, which has a constrictive effect on blood vessels.
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