It’s easy to think of caffeine and Yohimbe as similar compounds. After all, they’re both commonly taken by mouth. They both give the user a boost in energy. Finally, they’re both found naturally in plants! But the similarities end there.
This is especially true when you consider how each of these compounds affects blood flow through our bodies. Caffeine is a vasoconstrictor—it reduces blood vessel size—while Yohimbe is a vasodilator—it increases blood vessel size. These effects have very different results on your body that we’ll explore below.
The two compounds have opposite effects when it comes to dilation of the blood vessels.
The two compounds have opposite effects when it comes to dilation of the blood vessels. Caffeine increases blood flow and Yohimbe decreases blood flow.
Both caffeine and Yohimbe are stimulants, meaning they stimulate your nervous system, which can cause an increase in heart rate as well as increased alertness. Caffeine is also a diuretic (promotes urination), while yohimbine is not.
Yohimbe and caffeine do different things for energy
Yohimbe is a stimulant that works on the central nervous system by increasing blood flow to the muscles and brain. Caffeine also stimulates the central nervous system, but it does so by constricting (tightening) your blood vessels.
Yohimbine inhibits the function of a compound in your body called alpha-2 adrenergic receptors.
The alpha-2 receptors are proteins that help regulate blood flow. They’re also involved in the release of the body’s natural brakes, which prevent blood from flowing to unnecessary areas.
After you ingest yohimbine, it binds to these receptors and prevents them from doing their job by blocking them. This is why yohimbine can be used as a vasodilator: it stops your body from telling itself not to dilate, so your blood vessels open wide and increase circulation.
Caffeine increases blood flow by inhibiting the production of a compound in your body called cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP).
Caffeine increases blood flow by inhibiting the production of a compound in your body called cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP).
cAMP is an important signaling molecule that is involved in many bodily processes, including contractions of smooth muscles and blood vessels. It’s produced by the enzyme adenylate cyclase, which converts ATP into cAMP when stimulated by hormones or neurotransmitters.
The two compounds weaken and strengthen each other's effects.
Caffeine and yohimbine are both effective in increasing blood flow, but they do so in different ways. Both caffeine and yohimbine increase the release of catecholamines (adrenaline and noradrenaline) in the body’s sympathetic nervous system.
These hormones increase heart rate, blood pressure, and metabolism, which increases the amount of oxygen available to muscles. In addition to speeding up these physical processes, caffeine also improves mental focus during exercise by enhancing alertness.
In contrast to caffeine (and other stimulants), Yohimbe acts primarily on the parasympathetic nervous system—the part responsible for calming down your body after it has been stimulated by adrenaline or another stimulant like caffeine. Yohimbe also inhibits an enzyme called phosphodiesterase that breaks down cAMP molecules within cells; this helps prolong vasodilation (i.e., widening of blood vessels).
Yohimbine also increases muscle relaxation during exercise by stimulating receptors linked with increased nitric oxide production from endothelial cells (these substances help reduce inflammation). So basically, what this means is that yohimbine strengthens your vasodilation response long after your workout is over!

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Caffeine can improve endurance exercise performance, while yohimbine can be used to help remove stubborn fat.
Caffeine can improve endurance exercise performance, while yohimbine can be used to help remove stubborn fat. Yohimbine is an effective fat burner that helps you lose weight and burn more calories.
It’s also a great way to improve your athletic performance and stamina, especially when it comes to longer cardio workouts such as running or biking for 30 minutes or more.
Yohimbe contains an alkaloid called yohimbine, which has been shown in studies that it can increase your metabolic rate by up to 50%, depending on the dosage taken.
This means that if you take 1 gram of Yohimbe extract before working out, then after about 30 minutes into exercise (and depending on how much body fat you have), you will start burning through stored energy (i.e., glycogen stores) faster than usual!
Yohimbine has been shown to have some positive effects on erections, but some important caveats apply.
You may have heard that yohimbine can help with erectile dysfunction. That’s true to an extent, but there are some important caveats you should know about before trying it out.
First, the good: Yohimbine has been shown in studies to improve erections and treat ED symptoms. One study found that a high dose of yohimbine was effective at improving erections in men who had previously been unable to attain them (though these results were not replicated for every participant).
Caffeine and yohimbine affect blood flow differently, but both compounds affect blood flow in useful ways for most people.
Caffeine and yohimbine have different mechanisms of action, but both compounds affect blood flow in useful ways for most people.
Yohimbine inhibits the production of a compound in your body called cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). cAMP is vital for transmitting signals from one cell to another through hormones.
When you consume caffeine, it increases blood flow by inhibiting the same hormone that yohimbine inhibits—which means that caffeine can help you get more energy when you want it and make you feel less tired than usual.
Snickers Bar for Caffeine and Yohimbine. It’s important to remember that caffeine and yohimbine are very different compounds. One is a potent stimulant, the other has been shown to cause an increase in blood pressure by relaxing smooth muscle cells in blood vessels while simultaneously blocking certain receptors.
It’s best not to combine them as they might have opposite effects on each other which could result in heart problems or other serious side effects.