Potency is the ability of the body to perform a sexual intercourse. Usually, this term refers to male sexuality. Impotence (inability to achieve and maintain erection necessary for sexual contact) is caused by either physical or psychological reasons. Many cases combine these factors.
Reduced potency can be explained by other reasons. They include:
- Excessive alcohol consumption;
- Smoking;
- Excessive physical exercise (cycling);
- Recreational drugs (cocaine);
- Fatigue and stress;
- Abdominal surgery (prostate surgery);
- Environmental factors (pesticides).
Many people believe that potency and alcohol are related, because the latter is an aphrodisiac. Nevertheless, alcohol lowers testosterone level and can reduce sex drive.
Alcohol can also cause male erectile problems:
- If you consume alcohol in moderate amounts, it will not damage your health, but excessive alcohol consumption will negatively affect erection.
- Alcohol can also damage the penis nerves, which are responsible for erection. This condition is known as “alcohol impotence”.
- Another problem with potency and alcohol is that excessive alcohol consumption is often accompanied by smoking, poor nutrition and lack of exercise. These factors also cause erectile dysfunction.
How excessive alcohol consumption affects potency
Most men experience erectile problems from time to time. However, these unpleasant “misfires” disappear on their own, unlike erectile dysfunction. Erectile dysfunction causes are numerous, and alcohol consumption is one of them.
How alcohol affects the body
Alcohol can block nerve impulses through which the brain and body exchange “messages”. That’s why drunken people often have slurred speech and emotional outbursts. But even a small amount of alcohol affects the nervous system, causing slower reflexes and blurred thinking.
Some scientists believe that moderate consumption of alcohol (1-2 glasses of any alcohol per day) can actually improve the health of the cardiovascular system.
Excessive consumption of alcohol can lead to the liver diseases, symptoms of hypertension, certain types of cancer.
In 2007, scientists tried to estimate the prevalence of erectile dysfunction in patients with alcohol dependence.
The researchers found out “How alcohol affects potency” with the help of 100 men diagnosed with “alcohol dependence syndrome”. They were tested for impotence via criteria for erectile dysfunction. The result was the following:
72% of men reported one or more types of erectile dysfunction, the most common of which were:
- Premature ejaculation;
- Decreased sexual desire;
- Poor quality of erection.
Thus, chronic and regular alcohol consumption causes potency problems, leading to low self-esteem. That’s why a person who abuses alcohol and suffers from impotence needs not only erectile dysfunction medications (Viagra, Levitra, Cialis, Kamagra), but also advice of a psychologist and a sexologist.