Battling Erectile Dysfunction with Vitamin B3

A new study has shown the effectiveness of taking a daily dose of Vitamin B3 (Niacin) can improve erectile function in men dealing with high cholesterol levels. The results of the study showed the 80 men with moderate to severe levels of erectile dysfunction (ED) who were given niacin improved their ability to maintain and achieve erections.

The study also included a group of men with mild levels of ED who were given placebos and showed no sign of improvement. All 160 men in the study also had high levels of lipids and cholesterol.

The author of the study – Dr. Chi-Fai Ng of the Chinese University of Hong Kong released a statement on the study; saying the results were exciting given how old and well-documented niacin is. Niacin is just a vitamin, making it one of the simplest treatments for erectile dysfunction.

The results of the study were published online in the National Center for Biotechnology Information.

The Cholesterol Connection

Niacin is already known to help patients with atherosclerosis; a condition causing fat to build up along the walls of blood vessels. It improves levels of both lipids and cholesterol, making it no surprise at all that it could also help with ED, given the connection between ED and atherosclerosis. Both conditions are caused by similar things.

Dr. Howard Hermann, of the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, explains that coronary heart disease is a cause for erectile dysfunction, but rather that both conditions have similar underlying pathophysiology. Basically; the two conditions can be caused by the same thing.

Strokes, heart disease, atherosclerosis and erectile dysfunction are all related to inflamed blood vessels according to Hermann, who was not a part of the study. One of the most common causes of erectile dysfunction is inflammation in the blood vessels connected to the penis. Because blood flow to the penis is limited, it’s hard to gain and maintain an erection.

Hermann wasn’t a part of this study, but he was involved in a study from 2006 that looked into how cholesterol-lowering statins affected erectile dysfunction. The study was small, but it did find that statins improved the effectiveness of ED drugs like Viagra for some men.

The study also showed that the statins affected ED faster than they reduced cholesterol levels, suggesting that statins were correcting the root inflammation involved with both problems.

The new study on niacin echoed the results from the statin study, strengthening the argument that ED could be related to other health problems. The men taking niacin showed improved lipid levels, as well as performing better with self-reported erectile function tests.

Convenience

In order to get the most out of common ED drugs, they need to be taken within a few hours of undertaking the sexual activity. As effective as ED drugs are, they are only really effective during this brief time span. This just isn’t enough for some people.

This is why niacin is so much more convenient than traditional ED medication. It can be taken once a day to improve erectile dysfunction, allowing you to have sex when you want without needing to worry about taking a pill. The only thing more embarrassing than having ED is being left without the pills that can treat the problem, even temporarily.

The niacin from the study was offered in the form of slow-release pills. These pills were designed to allow the niacin to slowly enter the bloodstream across the entire day. The men began the study with daily doses of 500mg of niacin to ensure there were no adverse side effects. After a while, the dose was increased up to 1,000mg, before finally reaching a maximum dose of 1,500mg.

Hermann admitted that there were still some questions left about statins and niacin that must be answered before they could be prescribed for treating ED. He said that there were still plenty of things to be learned about which patients are likely to respond to the treatment and which ones would be unlikely to respond to the treatment; adding that there are many scenarios that haven’t been tested yet.

The niacin study only included men who had lipid problems as well as ED problems. As such, there would need to be more tests done on men who only suffer from ED to see how well they respond. This is a study that Ng has expressed interest in doing, so perhaps it won’t be too long before we know more about that.

So tell your friends; if you are a man who suffers from erectile dysfunction and high cholesterol levels, then you could get a lot of benefit out of taking a daily dose of niacin.