Key takeaways:
Foods high in salt and saturated fat can put you at risk for health conditions that can cause or worsen erectile dysfunction (ED).
Alcohol use can make it harder for you to have and maintain a firm erection.
For many people, a Mediterranean diet is great for overall health as well as ED prevention.
If you’re worried about erectile dysfunction (ED), you may be wondering if your food choices are putting you at risk. Can certain foods or beverages help you have firmer, more reliable erections? The short answer is: Yes, food does matter.
Your health is about more than what you eat or drink. And no single food or food group will cause ED. But some foods — like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains — can lower your risk for chronic health conditions. And there’s solid evidence that some other types of food, like red meat and fried foods, are risk factors. These chronic health conditions may cause ED (or make it more likely). Let’s take a closer look at the four worst foods for erectile dysfunction.
1. Fried food
Fried foods are high in saturated fat and trans fat. You can deep-fry almost anything in oil, but common favorites include:
French fries
Chicken strips
Fried fish
Mozzarella strips
Egg rolls
Fried chicken
Corn dogs
Eating these foods frequently can lead to weight gain, heart disease, and high cholesterol — all of which can cause ED.
2. Red meat
Just like fried foods, red meat is high in saturated fat. Red meat generally refers to any animal protein that’s not fish or poultry, including:
Beef
Lamb
Pork
Veal
Goat
Venison
Mutton
The saturated fat in red meat can increase your cholesterol levels and cause fatty buildup in your blood vessels — including the ones in your penis. This can make it harder for blood to flow into your genitals. And without good blood flow, your penis can’t become erect.
3. Food high in sodium
Eating too much salt (sodium chloride) can cause high blood pressure, which has been linked to ED.
About 70% of the salt people eat comes from packaged and processed foods, including:
Bread
Lunch meat
Burgers
Tacos
Rice
Pasta
Pizza
Meat and poultry
Seafood
Soups
Certain foods can help you maintain testosterone production. These nutrients give your body the building blocks it needs for healthy hormone levels.
Nutrition and exercise can help reduce the risk of erectile dysfunction (ED). Kegel exercises may be an easy add-on to boost your sexual health.
Some causes of ED can be curable. Learn more about what causes ED and which types are reversible.
4. Alcohol
Alcohol can cause major problems with erections. Drinking too much alcohol over time can affect your nerves and blood vessels, including those in your penis. Even 1 to 2 drinks can make it harder to have an erection — especially if you already have a history of erection problems.
And keep in mind: Drinking alcohol can also interfere with ED medications like Viagra (sildenafil) or Cialis (tadalafil). The best thing to do if you have ED is to limit alcohol and eat a wide variety of nutritious foods every day.
Best foods for erectile dysfunction
The Mediterranean diet is a great option for overall health. And there’s evidence that following a Mediterranean diet might prevent ED in some people. This is a style of eating that consists mostly of:
Whole, plant-based foods
Healthy fats
Vital minerals
Protein
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Here are some food options that may help support sexual health.
1. Vegetables
A plant-based diet has been shown to be the cornerstone of health. Vegetables that are high in nitric oxide promote healthy blood vessels, which are critical for a normal erection. Colorful vegetables also provide anti-inflammatory compounds, flavonoids, and antioxidants. Some examples of good veggie choices are:
Celery
Leafy greens
Beets
Cabbage
2. Legumes
Legumes provide lean protein and fiber. They also contain vitamins like folate that help with hormone production. Some examples of legumes are:
Beans
Peas
Pulses
Lentils
Peanuts
3. Whole grains
To be considered “whole grain,” a food must include all the parts of the grain and undergo little processing. A whole grain is made up of the:
Bran (outer layer)
Germ (where most nutrients are found)
Starchy endosperm
Here are examples of whole-grain food options:
Bread
Pasta
Cereals (wheat, rice, oats, barley, and rye)
4. Fruits
Just like vegetables, fruits contain antioxidants, vitamins, and flavonoids, as well as other anti-inflammatory compounds. Flavonoids help improve blood flow throughout the body. Some fruits to enjoy for erectile health include:
Watermelon
Berries
Citrus
Cherries
5. Nuts and seeds
Nuts and seeds contain protein and healthy fats, which are essential for hormone production. Like watermelon, they also contain high amounts of the amino acid, arginine. Arginine is converted to nitric oxide, which helps with erections.
Other foods to include and avoid
The list above isn’t complete. There are many other foods that can add variety and flavor to a nutritious diet. Try including some of these foods on a regular basis for sexual health:
Fish and seafood
Poultry and eggs
Low-fat dairy
Olive oil
Herbs and spices (especially turmeric)
The Mediterranean diet limits many of the foods already known to be risk factors for conditions that can lead to ED. It also limits:
Sugary foods and drinks
Highly processed foods, like packaged snacks or convenience meals
Refined carbohydrates, like white bread and white rice
Saturated fats, like red meat and butter
Limiting these foods can be good for your overall health — and that includes your sexual health.
Other causes of ED
ED is multifactorial, meaning it’s usually caused by several different health conditions at the same time. Food may play a role in those health problems, but so do your genes and the environment you live and grew up in, stretching as far back as before you were born.
Health conditions
Typically, health conditions that cause inadequate blood flow or nerve damage are linked to ED. Common conditions that cause ED include:
Medication side effects
Medications can also affect your ability to have an erection. Common medications that cause ED include:
Water pills or diuretics like spironolactone and furosemide
Blood pressure and heart medications, such as chlorothiazide, lisinopril, amlodipine, and losartan
Antidepressants like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
Parkinson’s medications like pramipexole and carbidopa / levodopa
Smoking
Smoking is a leading cause of ED in the U.S. Toxic chemicals from inhaled smoke can damage blood vessels and result in decreased blood flow to the penis. In fact, in 2014, the U.S Surgeon General added ED to the long list of conditions that are linked to smoking.
The only way to treat ED caused by smoking is to stop smoking. Studies have shown that stopping cigarette smoking can improve ED in many people.
Quiz: Is it erectile dysfunction?
Frequently asked questions
It’s hard to say how effective supplements and vitamins are for ED. A recent meta-analysis looked at all the available studies on supplements for ED. It found that these studies aren’t consistent in their findings. Also, there’s a big range in terms of what’s actually in supplements. So it’s not possible to recommend supplements for a health condition like ED.
That said, some natural supplements have been linked with benefits for ED:
Ginseng
Puncturevine (Tribulus terrestris), which is used to boost libido in men
L-arginine, which can help with blood flow
As always, it’s best to check with your primary care provider before starting to take any supplements — for ED or any other reason.
An internet trend suggests that taking a salt supplement may help with ED. There are even supplements that claim they contain “blue salt from Iran.” These supplements aren’t regulated, and there’s no science to back using any type of salt to help with ED. In fact, consuming too much salt can reduce blood flow to the penis. This can lead to high blood pressure and worsen ED by damaging these delicate blood vessels.
There are no reliable studies that show that drinking baking soda helps ED. It has been studied as a way to help decrease pain of penile injections used to treat ED. But there’s no evidence it works to decrease ED symptoms.
Caffeine can make you nervous or jittery. But there’s no evidence it can cause ED. One large study looked at over 50,000 men of all ages and found no significant impact of caffeine on sexual function. That said, if you feel caffeine is affecting your sexual performance, you may want to limit your use.
It’s hard to say how effective supplements and vitamins are for ED. A recent meta-analysis looked at all the available studies on supplements for ED. It found that these studies aren’t consistent in their findings. Also, there’s a big range in terms of what’s actually in supplements. So it’s not possible to recommend supplements for a health condition like ED.
That said, some natural supplements have been linked with benefits for ED:
Ginseng
Puncturevine (Tribulus terrestris), which is used to boost libido in men
L-arginine, which can help with blood flow
As always, it’s best to check with your primary care provider before starting to take any supplements — for ED or any other reason.
An internet trend suggests that taking a salt supplement may help with ED. There are even supplements that claim they contain “blue salt from Iran.” These supplements aren’t regulated, and there’s no science to back using any type of salt to help with ED. In fact, consuming too much salt can reduce blood flow to the penis. This can lead to high blood pressure and worsen ED by damaging these delicate blood vessels.
There are no reliable studies that show that drinking baking soda helps ED. It has been studied as a way to help decrease pain of penile injections used to treat ED. But there’s no evidence it works to decrease ED symptoms.
Caffeine can make you nervous or jittery. But there’s no evidence it can cause ED. One large study looked at over 50,000 men of all ages and found no significant impact of caffeine on sexual function. That said, if you feel caffeine is affecting your sexual performance, you may want to limit your use.
The bottom line
When it comes to ED, making health-minded choices about food and alcohol can go a long way. Staying away from saturated fat, salt, and alcohol can help keep the nerves and blood vessels in your penis working well. And this can help you to have firm, regular erections. Remember, following a balanced eating plan like the Mediterranean diet isn’t only great for your erections — it’s also terrific for your whole-body health.
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References
Akintunde, J. K., et al. (2023). Downregulation of inflammatory erectile dysfunction by Mantisa religiosa egg-cake through NO-cGMP-PKG dependent NF-kB signaling cascade activated by mixture of salt intake. Toxicology Reports.
Alberg, A. J., et al. (2014). The 2014 Surgeon General’s report: Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1964 report of the advisory committee to the US Surgeon General and updating the evidence on the health consequences of cigarette smoking. American Journal of Epidemiology.
American Heart Association. (2024). 7 salty sodium myths busted infographic.
Bauer, S. R., et al. (2020). Association of diet with erectile dysfunction among men in the health professionals follow-up study. JAMA Network Open.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025). About moderate alcohol use.
Karimi, M., et al. (2024). Association between caffeine intake and erectile dysfunction: A meta-analysis of cohort studies. Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. (2024). Eating, diet, & nutrition for erectile dysfunction. National Institutes of Health.
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2016). Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020 Eighth Edition: Cut down on saturated fats.
Petre, G. C., et al. (2023). Dietary supplements for erectile dysfunction: Analysis of marketed products, systematic review, meta-analysis and rational use. Nutrients.
Pourmand, G., et al. (2004). Do cigarette smokers with erectile dysfunction benefit from stopping?: A prospective study. BJU International.
Salas-Huertos, A., et al. (2019). Effect of nut consumption on erectile and sexual function in healthy males: a secondary outcome analysis of the FERTINUTS randomized controlled trial. Nutrients.
Sexual Medicine Society of North America. (2022). Can a person’s diet have an effect on erectile dysfunction?
