Is Coffee Good for Men - How Much Coffee to Consume to Enjoy the Benefits

There are many benefits to drinking coffee. This article, 'Is Coffee Good for Men?' will only explore the benefits and its drawbacks to men. There's an infographic on coffee benefits for men. Print and frame it as a poster. Then put it up in your cafe or restaurant! Ladies, check here for 'Is coffee bad for women?'.

Health Benefits of Coffee for Men

If you're already a caffeine lover, then you know of its health benefits including its benefits for sexual health. If you don't then you can head over to my other article 'How Good is Coffee?'

But how much coffee to consume to enjoy the benefits? Or will too much bring any detrimental effects especially to your sex life? Let's find out.

1. Coffee Benefits for Men with Erectile Dysfunction

Do you drink between 85 to 170 milligrams of caffeine a day? Then you have a 42% chance of not suffering from erectile dysfunction. This equals to drinking two to three cups of coffee a day. A cheaper and more enjoyable alternative to Viagra!

If your intake is higher, i.e. between 171 to 303 milligram (about three to six cups), then the chances will drop to 39%. This doesn't sound good. So limit your daily coffee intake to only two cups.

For more specific type of coffee and caffeine amount, see Table 1 below.  If you are a Starbucks fan, then Americano Grande at 225 mg should now be off your order list. Instead, go for latte or two cups of espresso!

Table 1: Type of Coffee, Size and Caffeine Amount  

Brewed Coffee	Espresso	Starbucks Americano	Latte
8 oz	8 oz	Grande, 16 oz.	63-175 mg
95-200 mg	47-75 mg	225 mg	Grande, 8 oz.

Note: Sizes are in fluid ounces (oz.) and caffeine is listed in milligrams (mg).

How Much Coffee is Too Much?

Remember that too much of a good thing can also be bad. The recommended maximum amount of caffeine is 400 milligrams a day. This is the safe limit for most healthy adults. That's roughly one Grande size of Starbucks Americano for breakfast, and one Latte for lunch. With no other caffeine such as tea, fizzy drinks etc. in between. But if you worry about ED, then limit your intake to only two cups of espresso.

This study was co-conducted by Run Wang, M.D., Steven Canfield, M.D., from University of Texas Health Medical School and Arup Sinha from UT School of Public Health.

The analyzed data were from 3724 men above 20 years old. This was part of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) conducted between 2001 until 2004. But the research paper was only published in 2015 in the high-quality peer-reviewed journal, PLOS ONE.

How Coffee Works in ED Benefits

It works from caffeine that triggers a series of pharmacological effects. This creates physiological and biochemical changes in the body. And causes arteries in the penis to relax. Hence, resulting in an increased penile blood flow. 

Source: The University of Texas, Health Science Center at Houston   and   PLOS ONE

2. Coffee and Parkinson's Disease

Do you know that men are 1.5 times more likely to develop Parkinson's disease than women?

Men X chromosome's genetic sensitivity to Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the reasons why. The protective effect of estrogen in women is the reason why they are less likely to develop this disease.

But wait. Coffee can help reduce the chance of getting PD.  Just a daily cup of coffee can reduce the risk by 30%. This is about 45.3 mg of caffeine in the cup of coffee. But higher caffeine intake will have better chances of lowering PD risk in men as well as in women.

The studies explained that caffeine and its major metabolites may be responsible for protecting dopaminergic neurons. This is the main source of dopamine. And their loss is part of the reason for Parkinson’s disease.

You can get the detail of these studies in the link below:

Source: A Meta-analysis of  Coffee Drinking, cigarette smoking, and the Risk of Parkinson’s Disease   and

Caffeine Intake, Smoking, and Risk of Parkinson Disease in Men and Wome

3. Coffee and Male Fertility 

Are you going through the In Vitro Fertilization program? Then stop taking coffee.

The researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston now says caffeine can harm sperm. Or rather, men who drink 265 mg or more, have the least chance of a clinical pregnancy.

A daily dose of two or more cups of strong coffee will give you only one in five chance of success through IVF.

If you drink less than a cup, the chance of being a father gets higher to 52%.

The best bet then is to lay off coffee for a while if you are on the IVF program.

Source: The Massachusetts General Hospital Male Infertility Program and WebMD   

4. Benefits of Coffee for Men with Prostate Cancer

Do you know that prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the USA? And it is the most common cancer among men? It sounds scary, right?

While there are several types of treatments available, most of them are expensive. The cheaper option is to drink coffee!

While studies have shown that coffee consumption may reduce the risk of prostate cancer, further study with a larger sample size is still required to confirm this association. What is known for now are:

• That prostate cancer risk is decreased by 2.5% for every 2 cups drunk per day.


• Another study shows a 21% lower risk of developing prostate cancer among coffee drinkers as against non-coffee drinkers.


• That six or more cups of coffee daily will reduce the risk of advanced prostate cancer by 60%.

Coffee is Not Carcinogenic

And the following reports suggest that there is no association between coffee intake and cancer i.e. coffee is not carcinogenic.

• World Cancer Research Fund International 2014 Prostate Cancer Report.


• WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer.

Bottom line: For regular coffee drinkers, it is reassuring to know coffee will not increase your risk of prostate cancer. If you don't drink coffee, should you start now? You can or you can also wait. Because the report says there are still insufficient data to link caffeine to prostate cancer. So try other ways to manage your prostate health. Such as making changes to your diet and lifestyle, do exercise and lose weight.

Sources: 

Coffee consumption and prostate cancer risk,
WCRF Report,
Carcinogenicity of drinking coffee

5. Is Coffee Bad for Men? Only if Mixed with Alcohol

Do you know that men are more likely to overly drink alcohol?  And almost two times more likely to binge drink compared to women? You can read all these in Excessive Alcohol Use and Risks to Men's Health.

What if I tell you alcohol-coffee mix can be deadly? How?

Because caffeine can play tricks to your brain. It will trick you to think that you are less drunk.

Robert Swift, M.D., Ph.D., the associate director of Brown University’s Center for Alcohol & Addiction Studies who did the study has this to say:

As soon as you start drinking, alcohol signals your brain to pump out higher levels of the feel-good neurotransmitter dopamine. In turn, dopamine activates the production of a chemical called cyclic AMP.

Cyclic AMP makes your brain more active. You feel happier, and you’re more talkative and energized. To make sure your brain doesn’t go into overdrive during this time, your body keeps the chemical in check using special enzymes.

Once you stop, alcohol’s sedative properties start to kick in. The alcohol sparks the release of other neurotransmitters that start to slow down all your brain’s processes. You begin feeling tired and fuzzy, and your reaction time gets sluggish.

But when you add an 8-ounce cup of coffee to the mix, the caffeine blocks the special enzymes that control the energizing cyclic AMP. This ramps up alcohol’s feel-good effects while turning down its sedating effects.

So even though alcohol continues to make your brain more sluggish, you start to feel more energized and not as drunk. You may be more likely to go for another round or attempt to drive home.

And that’s the problem because caffeine masks alcohol’s sedation, but it doesn’t actually reduce the amount of alcohol in your blood. You’re still drunk.

That's why alcohol-caffeine mix can be dangerous and deadly. So guys, if you have to drink alcohol, skip your coffee.


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Use This Mobile Device to Check Your Alcohol Level

Worried about your alcohol level in your body? Then use this BACtrack Mobile Smartphone Breathalyzer. Yup, use your handphone to check. This is the most accurate smartphone breathalyzer on the market and will instantly transform your iPhone or Android smartphone into a breathalyzer.

It comes with three replaceable and washable plastic mouthpieces that can be used over and over. If you'd like others to share your BACtrack smartphone breathalyzer, then buy some extras. An extreme temperature will affect the performance of this machine so keep your BACtrack at temperatures between 40-98 degrees F.

With good maintenance and usage, your BACtrack Mobile's Xtend Fuel Cell Sensor will remain accurate up to thousands of tests.

Is Coffee Good for Men Infographic

I have summarized the above findings in this infographic. Print and frame it and hang it in your cafe or restaurant. It will be a good conversation piece.

Coffee is Good for Men

So coffee is good for men after all, albeit in moderation. Are there any other coffee benefits for men that I had missed out? Feel free to share your views or comments below.

Cheers.