Whether you have high blood sugar or not, you know that it’s a serious health condition that can have major health consequences. Living with high blood sugar can lead to numerous health problems including frequent nighttime urination, headaches, fatigue, nerve damage, and vision loss, just to name a few.
If you’re a male, though, you need to pay closer attention to your blood sugar levels. Research has linked high blood sugar to erectile dysfunction.
High blood sugar in males linked to erectile dysfunction
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The researchers looked at 145 studies, which included over 88,000 men with an average age of 56. The researchers found that men with diabetes were at a higher risk of experiencing erectile dysfunction compared to those men without diabetes. Specifically, diabetic men were three times more likely to have erectile dysfunction and 59 percent of diabetic men involved in the study had erectile dysfunction.
Furthermore, diabetic men developed erectile dysfunction 10 to 15 years earlier than men without diabetes.
But what links high blood sugar to erectile dysfunction and poor bedroom performance? Well, living with high blood sugar levels causes damage to blood vessels and nerves over time, which is necessary to gain and sustain an erection.
Additionally, erectile dysfunction is more commonly seen as a sign of heart disease. This is because the same plaque that builds up in the arteries that affect the heart can also impact the penis. The blood vessels to the penis may be the first to become affected by heart disease because they are smaller and thus more vulnerable to changes in blood circulation and plaque build-up. Therefore, even if you don’t have other signs of heart disease, changes to your bedroom performance could signal a serious heart problem.
The good news is that many of the risk factors that contribute to high blood sugar and diabetes can be easily managed through simple lifestyle interventions. Furthermore, those same interventions that work to improve your blood sugar levels can also work to improve your heart too. These lifestyle habits include reducing stress, maintaining a healthy weight, eating well, regular exercise, getting proper and adequate sleep, and controlling your blood pressure and cholesterol levels. By adhering to a healthy lifestyle, you can lower your risk of erectile dysfunction along with other complications regarding your heart.
Related: High blood sugar increases risk of heart attack complications
