The Vitamin Men Need to Make a Woman Happy

Vitamin D deficiency has emerged as a risk factor in a range of conditions, from

diabetes to high blood pressure, and heart disease.

Now, researchers at Johns Hopkins University believe that low levels of vitamin D
could also fuel erectile dysfunction (ED).

Erin D. Michos, MD, of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, and
his colleagues, discussed various mechanisms that could explain a biologic
relationship between vitamin D deficiency and ED. For example, in vascular ED
results from endothelial dysfunction and/or atherosclerosis. Diabetes mellitus is a
strong risk factor for both of these conditions, diabetic men are 3 times more likely
than non-diabetic men to have ED, they pointed out. The association of 25(OH)D
with ED and with ASCVD may be mediated by impaired glucose metabolism, they
stated.

Dr Michos and her team analysed the records of more than 3,400 men aged 20 and
older, who participated in a national Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, from
2001 to 2004.

None of the men had overt heart disease, 30 per cent were vitamin D deficient and
16 per cent reported symptoms of ED.

Vitamin D deficiency, defined as vitamin D levels below 20 nanograms per milliliter

of blood, was present in 35 per cent of men with ED, compared with 29 per cent
without symptoms of impotence.

Those men with vitamin D deficiency were 32 per cent more likely to have ED than
men with adequate vitamin D levels.

Researchers said that was the case even after they accounted for other factors
commonly known to lead to impotence, including certain medications, alcohol use,
smoking, diabetes, inflammation and high blood pressure.

The researchers also noted that men with ED have an increased prevalence of
endothelial dysfunction, and vitamin D may improve endothelial function. One
mechanism linking low vitamin D levels with ED may be via reduced synthesis of
nitric oxide, they wrote. Secretion of nitric oxide is needed for relaxation of the
smooth muscles of the corpora cavernosa and subsequent penile erection, and
vitamin D may be a regulator of endothelial nitric oxide synthase.

In short, insufficient levels of Vitamin D depletes the secretion of nitric oxide, a

molecule that helps blood vessels function properly, making it hard for men to get
hard.