When is alcohol harmful to Erectile Dysfunction?
You may have read it on cigarette packs before: Smoking leads to impotence. It does not stand on wine and beer bottles, but excessive alcohol consumption can also cause erectile dysfunction.
Would you like to know why, whether it is already too late or whether it makes sense to frustrate now? Read here everything you need to know about erectile dysfunction through smoking and alcohol.
In small amounts, drinking alcohol can boost sexual desire by lowering the inhibition threshold and dilating the blood vessels, increasing blood flow to the penis, and strengthening the erection.
The experts recommend a maximum of 20 grams of alcohol a day for men. That's about a quarter of red wine with 12% alcohol. More alcohol consumption causes physical damage including erectile dysfunction.
Following is a small test that can help you to decide your use of alcohol is harmless or not.
The following questions should be answered:
1. How often do you drink alcohol during the week?
- At most once a week: 0 points
- More often than once a week: 1 point
2. When drinking, how many alcoholic drinks do you typically take in a day?
- 1 to 2 drinks: 0 points
- More than 2 drinks: 1 point
3. How often do you drink 5 or more alcoholic drinks on a special occasion for example at a party?
- Less than once a month: 0 points
- Once a month or more: 1 point
If you have less than 2 points in total for the first three questions, your drinking behavior is safe.
If you answer yes to one or more of the following questions, you should seek professional help with alcohol cessation.
4. Have you experienced in the last 12 months that you could not stop drinking after you started?
5. In the past 12 months, have you been unable to meet certain expectations of drinking?
6. In the past 12 months, did you need an alcoholic drink in the morning to feel fit again after a night of heavy drinking?
7. Have you felt guilty or remorse over your drinking habits during the last 12 months?
8. During the past 12 months, did it seem that you could not remember the previous evening because you were drinking?
9. In the past 12 months, has a relative, friend or even a doctor once expressed concerns about your drinking behavior or suggested that you limit your alcohol intake?
10. Have you or anyone else under the influence of alcohol been injured during the past 12 months?
Why can alcohol promote Erectile Dysfunction?
Regular consumption of alcohol causes:
- Nerve damage: Alcohol is a potent neurotoxin that also affects the nerve stimuli that are important for an erection.
- Hormonal Disorders: Alcohol lowers the testosterone level and thus the desire for sex.
- Mental Illness: Alcohol often causes depression, one of the major causes of erectile dysfunction.
In addition, alcohol alters the shape and structure of sperm so that fertility is impaired.
Alcohol can cause erectile dysfunction, that's a fact. Alcohol abuse leads to nerve damage that is not always curable.
