An Italian study has found that folic acid, also known as vitamin B-9, is a nutrient that supports healthy erectile function. To help avoid erection problems, you might want to increase your consumption of foods high in this vitamin.
Folic acid, a form of folate also known as vitamin B-9, plays a vital role in cellular growth and regeneration. It also may help to preserve erectile function, based on the findings from a recently published study.
A team of Italian researchers from Rome’s Sapienza University recruited 31 patients diagnosed with erectile dysfunction and matched them with a like number of test subjects with no history of ED. Fasting blood samples were collected from members of both groups. Those blood samples were then tested for levels of folate and homocysteine, the latter associated with a higher risk of ED.
Is Folate Deficiency the Culprit?
Compared with blood samples from the control group, those from the ED patients were significantly lower in folate and higher in homocysteine. However, looking at the blood samples of both groups, researchers were unable to establish a significant correlation between folate and homocysteine levels. This observation led them to conclude that folate deficiency in and of itself could lead to ED. Their findings were published in a 2018 issue of The Aging Male.
Although folic acid is available in supplement form, it is always preferable to get key nutrients through the foods you eat rather than in supplements. Dark green leafy vegetables, including spinach, collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, and romaine lettuce, contain high levels of folate. So do asparagus, broccoli, citrus fruits, avocado, Brussels sprouts, okra, beets, cauliflower, celery, carrots, corn, and squash.
Viagra and its generic equivalent, sildenafil citrate, can help to overcome ED symptoms associated with compromised blood flow to the penis. To learn more about ED and the medications available to treat it, including brand-name and generic Viagra, pay a visit to eDrugstore.com’s Erectile Dysfunction page.
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