A Diet High in Fruit Lowers ED Risk by 14%

Middle-aged men who eat more fruit—which contain high levels of flavonoids—are at a lower risk of erectile dysfunction (ED), according to new research.

Since the cause of ED is vascular, researchers wanted to examine how the role of a man’s diet impacts his risk of experiencing ED.
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To conduct their study, researchers followed 25,096 men (aged 40 to 75 years) without ED from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study from 1998 to 2008. Every 4 years participants completed questionnaires to report their total flavonoid intake, and they evaluated their erectile function in 2000, 2004, and 2008.

After the 10-year follow-up, 36% of participants reported incident ED. Men who reported eating a diet high in fruit—which contain anthocyanins and flavanones—had a 14% lower risk of ED. In addition, flavones, flavanones, and anthocyanins were associated with lower ED risk in men younger than 70 years old.

“These data suggest that a higher habitual intake of specific flavonoid-rich foods is associated with reduced ED incidence,” researchers concluded. “Intervention trials are needed to further examine the impact of increasing intakes of commonly consumed flavonoid-rich foods on men’s health.”

--Amanda Balbi

Reference:

Cassidy A, Franz M, and Rimm EB. Dietary flavonoid intake and incidence of erectile dysfunction. Am J Clin Nutr. First published online January 13, 2016. doi:10.3945/ajcn.115.122010.