The 5 Best Drinks for ED
The 5 Best Drinks for ED
Watermelon, dark chocolate and bananas may all be great foods to eat to keep hard, but what do you wash them down with?
As you eat foods that help you get hard, you might be wondering if there are also drinks to help with ED. What about special tea? Does drinking water help you perform?
Look, it would be great if you could hydrate your way to harder erections, and to a certain extent, you certainly can (more on that soon). But know that if you’re looking for powdered supplements or magic potions, we have bad news: there’s no such thing as a "performance enhancing" drink.
There are, however, some drinks that you might want to try if you’d like to shift the balance in favor of your arousal health.
The Best Drinks for Erectile Dysfunction
While it’s known that certain foods can improve erectile health and help with ED, what drinks for ED can help? Is there a best juice for ED or any other kind of best drink for ED?
While there’s no one best drink for ED, there are some drinks that might give you some benefits.
Pomegranate Juice
Although the evidence isn’t that strong, one 2013 review found drinking pomegranate juice was associated with improvements in ED in several studies.
The most likely reason for this is that the antioxidants in pomegranate juice have been found to enhance nitric oxide levels.
Nitric oxide is a naturally produced molecule that promotes blood flow throughout your vascular system. That makes it important for your physical functioning — including the ability to get and maintain arousal.
Research has found that nitric oxide plays a role in erectile function by relaxing the vascular muscle that supplies your genitals with blood when you’re aroused.
FYI: grape juice has also been found to increase nitric oxide levels, and its flavonoids may benefit vascular health.
While the evidence of the effects of pomegranate juice isn’t very clear, this juice for ED may be worth a try. Or you can try drinking grape juice if you prefer the taste.
Watermelon Juice
The most refreshing summer beverage for ED is watermelon. We’re calling it now — next year’s summer drink trend.
Look, watermelon is technically a food, but when juiced, it’s more than just a refreshing beverage — it’s one of the best sources of l-citrulline out there.
L-citrulline is an amino acid noted for its benefits to blood flow and vascular function, which are important parts of physical performance and bedroom performance. And yes, we’re pretty sure eating slices of it works fine too.
Beet Juice
Looking for the best juice for ED that can also totally stain your clothes? (Hey, we’re not going to judge). It comes from the beetroot, in our opinion and the opinion of our laundry detergent.
Okay, there’s no strong evidence of beet juice treating ED, but beet juice can increase nitric oxide in your blood, which may help to open up blood vessels — like those around your genitals — and promote the blood flow needed to get hard.
Beet juice may also affect blood pressure. If you have high blood pressure (hypertension), foods that are high in nitrates like beets and beet juice can lower your blood pressure.
Milk
There are a few reasons to avoid milk, like lactose intolerance or concerns about hormones, but medical experts wouldn’t suggest avoiding it for ED.
Drinking milk may help with arousal, according to a 2003 study. It found that foods with the amino acid L-arginine — such as dairy — can help relax your muscles and improve blood flow.
Also, kids who grew up in the ‘90s get some nostalgia from a good milk mustache, so… that’s a benefit.
(Related: The 5 Best Drinks for Erectile Dysfunction)
Tea and Coffee
While the world’s most popular sources of natural caffeine are good for your health, we’re not talking about the flavored, canned and bottled drinks you get at gas stations. But if you’re a coffee or tea drinker struggling with ED, you may be in luck.
Caffeine may improve blood flow, according to a 2005 review, as well as relax the smooth muscle that cause and sustain arousal. Another study found that consuming 170mg to 375mg of caffeine per day was enough to significantly reduce reports of ED, compared to those who didn’t consume that much.
The jury’s out on the benefits of caffeine in improving functioning, but we’ll take our coffee anyway.
Less Alcohol
You don’t need to read studies on men’s health and desire to know that alcohol isn’t great for you.
Call it alcohol-induced ED, drinking affects your central nervous system, arousal and performance.
Oh, and the sugary drinks that are often mixed with alcohol aren’t a part of a healthy lifestyle either — obesity and heart disease are both serious risks of a diet rich in sugars and they increase your chance of developing ED.
Do with this info what you will, but alcohol in moderation is generally thought to be best for everyone and everything — including your bedroom performance.
Other Treatments for ED
Some drinks may have an impact on your risk of sexual dysfunction, but unless you become severely dehydrated, what you drink probably isn’t going to be the biggest player in how easy it is for you to get hard. More often than not, ED is a result of better-established reasons for ED, like the psychological causes (stress, depression or performance anxiety) or the physical causes (genetial health, testosterone levels or cardiovascular health).
In these cases, other approaches to ED treatment make more sense. We like to break them into two categories:
(Related: The Best ED Pills for Men: Pros & Cons of ED Medication)
ED Medications
ED medications called PDE5 inhibitors work to encourage getting hard via increased blood flow to your genetials. These medications include:
Viagra (sildenafil). Sildenafil, or generic Viagra, provides relief from ED for around four hours.
Cialis (tadalafil). Tadalafil is a long-lasting medication that can provide relief from ED for up to 36 hours.
Stendra (avanafil). A newer ED medication that’s fast-acting, avanafil is less likely to cause certain side effects than older medications.
Levitra (vardenafil). This oral medication can provide relief from ED for slightly longer than sildenafil.
Healthy Habits for Mind and Body
Being overweight or obese, drinking excessive alcohol, smoking, having a sedentary lifestyle and using certain types of medication can all increase your ED risk, as well as affect your overall health. Because of this, the best preventative measures are regular exercise, eating a nutritious, well-balanced diet, and quitting smoking and other unhealthy habits.
Another issue that may cause problems is your mental health. Bedroom performance anxiety is a fairly well known psychological issue, but anxiety, depression, low self-esteem and negative body issues can all cause psychological ED in otherwise healthy individuals.
The best solution? Therapy and medication.
Best Drinks for Erectile Dysfunction: Takeaways
Like the potion guide in your favorite video games, we can point you to the best drink to last longer in bed and drinks to increase arousal, as well as give you the honest answer about whether energy drinks cause ED or if olive oil and lemon juice can treat it.
We also have guides for PE, foods that help ED and a deeper dive into water and how it helps your arousal.
The bottom line is that there’s no magic tonic. Hopefully, however, the health benefits we’ve outlined above give you some ideas of what to sip while you ponder better approaches to improving your functioning.
An extra cup of coffee, grape juice, beet juice or even milk could help with ED or the health conditions that cause it.
More importantly, cutting down on your booze could prevent alcohol-induced ED from taking hold.
If all else fails, there are plenty of science-backed ED treatments approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that a healthcare provider can prescribe.
If the cause of your ED is psychological in nature and not related to your physical health, it may be time to schedule a consultation with a mental health professional.
The best treatment, of course, is to talk with your healthcare provider about your symptoms and learn more about the best ED treatments for you.
This article originally appeared on Hims.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
