Health

Study: 'Stiff' Drink Appears to Help Male Performance in the Bedroom

Monday, January 26, 2009

It gives the phrase "a stiff drink" a whole new meaning: Australian researchers have made the surprise discovery that alcohol improves, rather than damages, men's performance in the bedroom.

They hope the finding, which flies in the face of conventional belief, will reassure men who worry about the affects of drinking on their sex lives.

Until now, it has been widely believed alcohol consumption could cause erectile dysfunction.

But a study of 1,580 Australian men has shown the reverse may be true, with drinkers reporting 30 percent fewer problems in the bedroom than teetotallers.

Even binge drinkers had lower rates of erectile dysfunction than those who never drank, although this type of drinking can cause other health problems.

Lead study author Dr. Kew-Kim Chew, of Western Australia's Keogh Institute for Medical Research, said men who drank within safe guidelines appeared to have the best erectile function.

"We found that, compared to those who have never touched alcohol, many people do benefit from some alcohol, including some people who drink outside the guidelines,'' Chew said.

Chew said he had patients with erectile dysfunction who had been told to stop drinking completely.

Click here for more on this story from The Sunday Telegraph.