Is garlic good for erectile dysfunction? What the research actually shows
Garlic isn’t proven to be good for erectile dysfunction (ED), because no study has tested garlic alone as an ED treatment. Garlic supplements may modestly lower blood pressure and cholesterol in some people, but whether that leads to better erections is unknown.
A 2026 review pooled 108 trials with 7,137 adults. On average, garlic lowered systolic blood pressure by about 3.7 mmHg and total cholesterol by about 10 mg/dL (Behrouz et al., 2026). These trials tested garlic supplements, not the garlic you cook with.
Does garlic help erectile dysfunction?
No, not on its own. There's very little direct research linking garlic to ED, and no study has tested garlic alone as an ED treatment.
One small 2024 pilot study gave garlic to men who weren't responding to the ED medication tadalafil by itself. Men taking garlic plus tadalafil had better erectile function scores than men taking tadalafil plus a placebo. But the study had only 35 men and lasted four weeks (Bhat & Shastry, 2024).
That makes garlic a possible add-on worth more research, not a proven ED treatment. Tadalafil is one of the medications covered in our guide on how ED medication like tadalafil works.
Garlic-as-ED-cure is a myth, in the same category as other common ED myths. If you want the fuller picture on what causes erectile dysfunction, that's a good next read.
How garlic is claimed to work
Some people claim garlic boosts blood flow through a compound called allicin. One lab study found allicin helped blood vessels relax by raising nitric oxide, but it used rat arteries taken out of the body (Ku et al., 2002).
That's an early, experimental finding. It doesn't show that eating garlic increases blood flow to the penis in men.
What can garlic supplements do for your body?
Garlic supplements may modestly improve two heart risk factors: blood pressure and cholesterol. These are risk markers. Studies haven't shown that garlic prevents heart disease or improves erections.
First, garlic supplements may lower blood pressure, mainly in people who already have high blood pressure. In a review of 11 trials, most people took 600 to 900 mg of garlic powder a day for 12 to 23 weeks. Systolic blood pressure fell by about 8.4 mmHg in people with high blood pressure, and by about 4.6 mmHg across everyone (Ried et al., 2008).
Second, garlic supplements may lower cholesterol, mainly in people whose cholesterol is already above 200 mg/dL and only after more than 2 months. In that group, a review of 39 trials found total cholesterol fell by about 17 mg/dL and LDL cholesterol by about 9 mg/dL (Ried et al., 2013).
The newer review of 108 trials found smaller average effects across all adults: about 3.7 mmHg for systolic blood pressure and about 10 mg/dL for total cholesterol (Behrouz et al., 2026).
High blood pressure and high cholesterol can damage blood vessels over time, which can make erections harder to get and keep. Garlic supplements may nudge those numbers down, but whether that leads to better erections is unknown.
If you're curious about other diet-related claims, other foods linked to erectile dysfunction covers the ones people ask about most.
Garlic's evidence-based effects at a glance
| Possible effect | Who it applies to | Size of effect | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower blood pressure | People with high blood pressure taking garlic supplements (mostly 600 to 900 mg garlic powder a day) | About 8.4/7.3 mmHg (systolic/diastolic) with high blood pressure, about 4.6 mmHg overall. Newer 108-trial review: about 3.7 mmHg systolic | Ried et al., 2008, Behrouz et al., 2026 |
| Lower cholesterol | People with cholesterol above 200 mg/dL taking garlic supplements for 2+ months | Total cholesterol down about 17 mg/dL, LDL down about 9 mg/dL. Newer 108-trial review: total cholesterol down about 10 mg/dL | Ried et al., 2013, Behrouz et al., 2026 |
| Possible add-on benefit for ED | Men not responding to tadalafil alone | Better erectile function scores in a small, 4-week pilot (35 men). Preliminary only | Bhat & Shastry, 2024 |
What about stress? The mouse study everyone quotes
You may have read that garlic lowers stress hormones like cortisol. That's accurate, but the study behind it was done on mice, not people. Mice under acute stress that were given raw garlic or aged garlic extract had lower cortisol and corticosterone levels than stressed mice that weren't given garlic (Hwang et al., 2019). This doesn't tell us whether garlic lowers stress hormones the same way in humans.
Should you eat garlic for ED?
Eating garlic as part of a balanced diet is generally safe. Don't expect cooking with garlic to match the results above, though, because those studies tested garlic supplements at set doses.
If you're thinking about taking garlic supplements, talk to a healthcare provider first. They may raise the risk of bleeding, especially if you take blood thinners or aspirin, and garlic can cause stomach pain, gas, and nausea (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, 2025).
If ED keeps happening, see a doctor too. A doctor can help work out the cause, whether it's physical, psychological, or both.
ED has physical causes, like blood flow and hormones, and psychological causes, like stress and performance anxiety. Up to 30% of men under 40 have experienced erection difficulties (Nguyen et al., 2017). If stress or anxiety is part of your picture, psychological approaches to treating ED are worth exploring alongside anything you eat.
The Erection Reset's approach
Garlic won't address the stress, anxiety, or performance worries that can play a part in ED, especially in younger men.
The Erection Reset, built with Dr. Shannon Chavez, licensed clinical psychologist, AASECT-certified sex therapist, and certified clinical sexologist, works on that side of ED: the mental and emotional patterns behind it, not diet.
Support for the mental side can work alongside medical care, so you don't have to choose one or the other.
FAQs
No. No study has directly compared garlic to ED medication like Viagra or tadalafil. The one study that tested garlic for ED used it alongside tadalafil, not instead of it, and only in men who weren't already responding to the medication (Bhat & Shastry, 2024).
There's no proven way to use garlic to treat ED. In one small study, men took garlic as an add-on to their existing ED medication (Bhat & Shastry, 2024). Eating garlic in meals is fine, but check with a healthcare provider before taking garlic supplements, since they can raise bleeding risk (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, 2025).
No herb, including garlic, is proven to treat ED. Garlic supplements may modestly improve blood pressure and cholesterol (Ried et al., 2008; Ried et al., 2013), but whether that leads to better erections is unknown.
There's no evidence that it does. The nitric oxide finding came from a lab study on rat arteries taken out of the body (Ku et al., 2002). No study has shown that garlic causes a lasting increase in blood flow in people.
Sources
- Ried, K., Frank, O. R., Stocks, N. P., Fakler, P., & Sullivan, T. (2008). Effect of garlic on blood pressure: A systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Cardiovascular Disorders, 8, 13. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2261-8-13
- Ried, K., Toben, C., & Fakler, P. (2013). Effect of garlic on serum lipids: An updated meta-analysis. Nutrition Reviews, 71(5), 282–299. https://doi.org/10.1111/nure.12012
- Bhat, G. S., & Shastry, A. (2024). Prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, two-arm study to evaluate the efficacy of coadministration of garlic as a hydrogen sulfide donor and tadalafil in patients with erectile dysfunction not responding to tadalafil alone: A pilot study. Indian Journal of Pharmacology, 56(4), 242–247. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijp.ijp_310_23
- Ku, D. D., Abdel-Razek, T. T., Dai, J., Kim-Park, S., Fallon, M. B., & Abrams, G. A. (2002). Garlic and its active metabolite allicin produce endothelium- and nitric oxide-dependent relaxation in rat pulmonary arteries. Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology, 29(1-2), 84–91. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1440-1681.2002.03596.x
- Hwang, K. A., Hwang, Y. J., Hwang, I. G., Song, J., & Kim, Y. J. (2019). Low temperature-aged garlic extract suppresses psychological stress by modulation of stress hormones and oxidative stress response in brain. Journal of the Chinese Medical Association, 82(3), 191–195. https://doi.org/10.1097/JCMA.0000000000000028
- Nguyen, H. M. T., Gabrielson, A. T., & Hellstrom, W. J. G. (2017). Erectile dysfunction in young men: A review of the prevalence and risk factors. Sexual Medicine Reviews, 5(4), 508–520. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sxmr.2017.05.004
- Behrouz, V., Zahroodi, M., Clark, C. C. T., Mir, E., Atashi, N., & Rivaz, R. (2026). Effects of garlic supplementation on cardiovascular risk factors in adults: A comprehensive updated systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Nutrition Reviews, 84(1), 1–35. https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuaf090
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. (2025). Garlic: Usefulness and safety. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/garlic
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About the experts
A neurobiologist and science communicator, Paula turns research on the brain, behaviour and health into clear, evidence-based education about mental, physical, and sexual well-being.
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