Best Drinks For Erectile Dysfunction

Chances are, if you’re one of the 30 million men that struggle with erectile dysfunction, you’ve been looking for solutions. Erectile dysfunction can be frustrating, but did you know your diet can affect your erectile health?

You can eat certain foods that may reduce the chances of erectile dysfunction (ED). But what about beverages? What are the best drinks for erectile dysfunction? Is there such a thing as "erection tea" for men? Does drinking water help sexually?

When you hydrate and what you hydrate with could absolutely have an impact on erectile dysfunction, as well. 

We’ll break down the best drinks for ED and how you can manage this medical condition to get your sexual performance back to where you want it to be.

What Is ED?

Before getting into what the best drink for erectile dysfunction is, it’s important to note that ED can vary in severity. Erectile dysfunction can affect some men now and again, while others have long-term erection issues.

Erectile dysfunction is when a man is unable to get or maintain an erection that’s firm enough for penetrative sexual intercourse.

When you’re sexually aroused, your brain initiates an erection by sending chemical messages to the penis. This causes the muscles of the corpora cavernosa (two erectile chambers that run along the left and right sides of your penis) to relax and allows blood to flow into the tissue.

Erectile dysfunction can also mean not being able to get an erection every time you engage in sexual intercourse, your erection not lasting through sexual encounters or not being able to get an erection at any time.

We’ve discussed this more in our guide, How Do I Know if I Have Erectile Dysfunction?.

Erectile dysfunction can happen as an isolated incident or, at the same time, as other forms of sexual dysfunction, such as premature ejaculation, anorgasmia (difficulty reaching orgasm) or a low sex drive.

There are several causes of erectile dysfunction, from psychological (stress, depression or performance anxiety) to physical (penis health, testosterone levels or cardiovascular health).

But because the male sexual function is a complex process, pinpointing one cause can be difficult.

Best Drinks for Erectile Dysfunction

While it’s known that certain foods can improve erectile health and help with erectile dysfunction, what drinks for ED help? And what is the best drink for erectile dysfunction? Is there a best juice for erectile dysfunction?

While there’s no one best drink for erectile dysfunction, there are some drinks for ED that can help.

Pomegranate Juice

Although not largely significant, one study from a research team at California State University found that 25 of 42 participants who had improvements with ED drank pomegranate juice for four weeks.

The antioxidants in pomegranate juice have been found to enhance nitric oxide levels. Grape juice has also been found to increase nitric oxide levels.

Nitric oxide is a naturally produced molecule that promotes blood flow throughout your vascular system, making it important for your physical function — including the ability to get and maintain an erection.

Research has found that nitric oxide plays a role in erectile function by relaxing the vascular muscle that supplies your penis with blood when you’re sexually aroused.

While the evidence of the effects of pomegranate juice isn’t very clear, this juice for erectile dysfunction may be worth a try. Or you can try drinking grape juice if you prefer the taste.

Beet Juice

Another possible best juice for erectile dysfunction? Beet juice.

While there’s no strong clear evidence that beet juice helps with ED, there are benefits to this beverage. Beet juice can also increase nitric oxide, which may help open up blood vessels and promote the blood flow needed for a strong erection.

This juice may also affect blood pressure — another potential factor that can cause erectile dysfunction.

Foods that are high in nitrates — such as beets and beet juice – can lower blood pressure in those with hypertension (high blood pressure).

High-nitrate foods may also increase cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), which helps arteries relax and could increase blood flow to the penis.

Milk

Drinking milk is not only good for your bones but may also help with sexual function.

According to a 2003 study, foods with the amino acid L-arginine — such as dairy — can help relax your muscles and improve blood flow.

Less Alcohol

Maybe you’ve heard of “whiskey dick”, a temporary form of alcohol-induced erectile dysfunction that occurs after you drink — you guessed it — alcohol. It should be noted there’s no one particular type of drink that causes alcohol-induced erectile dysfunction, contrary to the popular nomenclature.

While alcohol may make you feel less inhibited, drinking affects your central nervous system, which plays a role in sexual arousal and performance. Alcohol can also impair reasoning, motor skills and reaction time, and messes with information brought to and relayed from the brain to other parts of your body.

If you find whiskey dick interfering with your sexual functioning and impairing your sex life more often than you’d like, try cutting back on alcoholic beverages to start.

Caffeinated Beverages

If you’re a coffee or tea drinker and struggle with ED, you may be in luck.

A 2005 review found that caffeine may improve blood flow and relax the muscles that help you get and keep an erection.

Another recent study found that men who drank about 170mg to 375mg of caffeine per day were less likely to report ED than those who didn’t. 

However, they weren’t able to find a connection between caffeine and increased blood flow. 

The study was also biased and came from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

The jury’s out on the benefits of caffeine in improving sexual functioning.

Other Treatments for ED

If you’re looking for the best drink for erectile dysfunction, there are some options that might help. Or if you’re looking for other ED treatments, we’ve listed some below.

Adopting Healthy Habits

Certain health issues that can cause ED include being overweight or obese, smoking, not staying physically active, drinking too much alcohol, using certain types of medication (blood pressure medications) or having a health condition.

While not all of these are immediately remedied, there are changes you can make to reduce the chances of ED and improve your overall health. Regular exercise, quitting smoking and eating a nutritious, well-balanced diet are good places to start.

Science-Based Medications

Oral medication is one of the most common and effective ways to treat erectile dysfunction. FDA-approved options include:

• Sildenafil (Viagra®).Sildenafil (generic Viagra) provides relief from ED for around four hours.

• Tadalafil (Cialis®).Tadalafil is a long-lasting medication that can provide relief from ED for up to 36 hours.

• Avanafil (Stendra®). A newer ED medication that’s fast-acting, avanafil is less likely to cause certain side effects than older medications. 

• Vardenafil (Levitra®). This oral medication can provide relief from ED for slightly longer than sildenafil.

Our guide to the Most Common Erectile Dysfunction Treatments talks about these medications, their side effects and more.

Talk Therapy

Many causes of erectile dysfunction are psychological, rather than physical — something psychotherapy, or talk therapy, can help with.

In therapy, you can explore and work through the mental and emotional factors that are causing your ED and learn to change those negative thought patterns and behaviors.

You can even consider going to sex therapy for erectile dysfunction, a specialized form of counseling specifically for sexual issues.

Next Steps for Erectile Dysfunction

While there’s no one best drink for erectile dysfunction, some of the ones listed above certainly provide other health benefits that may also improve your sexual functioning. 

You can try things like adding an extra cup of coffee or two to your morning mix, or drinking more grape juice, beet juice or even milk. 

And we hate to say it, but cutting down on your booze intake may help, too.

If all else fails and you’d like to try something other than a morning shot of beet juice with your breakfast, there are plenty of science-backed, FDA-approved ways to treat ed. They include medications like sildenafil, tadalafil, avanafil and vardenafil. These may be preferred to discuss with your healthcare provider instead of searching for "apple cider vinegar erectile dysfunction".

If the cause of your ED is psychological in nature and not related to your 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.