Sometimes, all you want is a crisp, ice-cold soda. Sure, its well documented that these delicious beverages are packed with enough sugar to melt the teeth out of your head, but sometimes the siren call of a Coke or a Pepsi is too much to ignore. But while the occasional soda doesn’t mean the end of the world, what of people that enjoy soda regularly? There are plenty of men who polish off a 2-liter of Mountain Dew every day, while other men opt to have a Coke with dinner every other night. Can all of this sugary soda be good for the body? What does it mean for the erection?
It’s true: men that would rather knock back a can of root beer than a bottle of water are potentially putting themselves at risk for erectile woes. In fact, the American Journal of Epidemiology published a report that found that men that consume more than 8 ounces of soda each day have a significantly higher risk of developing erectile dysfunction then men who enjoy soda occasionally or don’t drink it at all.
The report pinpoints the connection between soda and ED to one thing: Sugar. Soda is chock full of sugar, and all of that sugar can cause issues internally. The high levels of sugar in soda have been found to disrupt normal blood flow within the body, which can make it difficult for the body to supply the penis with the requisite blood needed for an erection.
In terms of long-term damage, excessive soda consumption can also lead to the development of type-2 diabetes. Type-2 diabetes, aside from significantly impacting a man’s diet, prevents the spongy tissue found in the penis from engorging properly with blood to achieve an erection.
So, whether its short-term or long-term, drinking lots of soda can lead to the same fate: Erectile dysfunction. Like all things in life, enjoy soda in moderation, and make sure to make healthy diet decisions.