--- title: "Baking Soda and Erectile Dysfunction" description: "Does baking soda help erectile dysfunction? No credible evidence supports it, and it carries real risks for men with high blood pressure or kidney disease." lang: en json-ld: | [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul R. Nelson", "jobTitle": "Licensed Mental Health Counselor (NY), Licensed Professional Counselor (CT)", "email": "paul@franktalk.org", "telephone": "+1-646-535-3133", "url": "https://franktalktherapy.com/about", "sameAs": [ "https://www.instagram.com/franktalkwithpaul/", "https://maps.google.com/?cid=1028244695779196009" ], "worksFor": { "@type": "ProfessionalService", "name": "Franktalk Therapy & Consulting", "url": "https://franktalktherapy.com" }, "hasCredential": [ { "@type": "EducationalOccupationalCredential", "name": "Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC)", "recognizedBy": { "@type": "State", "name": "New York" } }, { "@type": "EducationalOccupationalCredential", "name": "Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)", "recognizedBy": { "@type": "State", "name": "Connecticut" } }, { "@type": "EducationalOccupationalCredential", "name": "AASECT Certified Sexuality Educator" } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "ProfessionalService", "name": "Franktalk Therapy & Consulting", "url": "https://franktalktherapy.com", "email": "paul@franktalk.org", "telephone": "+1-646-535-3133", "areaServed": [ { "@type": "State", "name": "New York" }, { "@type": "State", "name": "Connecticut" } ], "founder": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul R. Nelson" } }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "Does baking soda help erectile dysfunction?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "There is no credible evidence that baking soda improves erections. It has been studied for exercise performance and for some kidney conditions under medical supervision, and neither of those findings translates into an effect on erectile function. Nothing published supports using it for ED." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Where did the claim come from?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Mostly from stitching together unrelated facts. Sodium bicarbonate buffers acid, it has been used as a sports supplement, and it appears in medical care for metabolic acidosis. Content sites and video channels combined those threads with the general idea that blood flow equals erections and produced a remedy that nobody actually tested." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Is it dangerous to try?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "It is not harmless. Sodium bicarbonate is a substantial sodium load, which matters a great deal if you have high blood pressure, heart failure or kidney disease, conditions that often show up alongside ED. Large amounts can also upset electrolyte balance. Ask a physician before taking it for anything." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "So what should I do instead?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Get evaluated. ED is frequently the first visible sign of vascular disease, so a physician visit is the useful first step rather than the last resort. If the medical side is addressed and sex is still going badly, the anxiety and avoidance layer responds to structured behavioral work." } } ] } ] --- [![FrankTalk Therapy](/__l5e/assets-v1/791852f2-474d-4294-bfbf-c5ac6322a947/franktalk-logo.png) ](/) [Home](/) Services [Therapy for Men](/therapy-for-men)[Sex Therapy](/sex-therapy)[Consulting](/consulting)[Couples & Partners](/couples-and-partners)[What We Help With](/specialties) Guides [All Guides](/guides)[How to Last Longer in Bed](/guides/how-to-last-longer-in-bed)[How Long Do Men Actually Last?](/guides/how-long-do-men-actually-last)[The Start-Stop Technique](/guides/start-stop-technique)[The Squeeze Technique](/guides/squeeze-technique)[Pelvic Floor Training for Men](/guides/pelvic-floor-training-for-men) Service Areas [Where We Serve](/areas-served) New York [Online Therapy in New York](/online-therapy/new-york) Connecticut [Online Therapy in Connecticut](/online-therapy/connecticut) Practice [About Paul](/about)[What to Expect](/what-to-expect)[Fees & Insurance](/fees-and-insurance)[FAQ](/faq) [Waiting Room](https://doxy.me/franktalktherapy)[Talk to Paul](/contact) # Baking Soda and Erectile Dysfunction [Home](/)/ Baking Soda and Erectile Dysfunction Guide The short answer is no. There is no credible evidence that baking soda improves erections, and no reputable body recommends it for that purpose. That is worth saying plainly rather than burying, because you probably came here from a video or a forum post that sounded more confident than the evidence allows. Searching for a kitchen remedy is not stupid. It is what men do when the subject feels too embarrassing to raise with a doctor. One boundary before we go on: diagnosis and medical treatment of ED belong with a physician. Paul is not a physician and does not prescribe. His work is the sexual and psychological side, alongside that care. ## Where the claim came from Not from a study on erections. It came from combining three unrelated true things. Sodium bicarbonate does buffer acid, and it has a legitimate research history as a sports supplement for short, intense exercise. It also has real medical uses under supervision, including in some kidney conditions. And everyone knows erections depend on blood flow. Put those in a blender with a thumbnail and you get "baking soda for ED". Nobody in that chain measured an erection. The remedy is cheap, already in your cupboard, and requires no conversation with anyone. That is precisely why it spreads. ## What the evidence actually says There is no body of clinical trial evidence testing sodium bicarbonate for erectile dysfunction. Not mixed evidence, not weak evidence, just an absence. Treatments that do have evidence behind them are unglamorous by comparison: managing blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol, reviewing medications that suppress erections, exercise, sleep, cutting back alcohol, stopping smoking, oral medication where a physician thinks it is appropriate, and behavioral therapy where anxiety is driving the pattern. ## It is not risk-free Because it is a household item, people assume it cannot hurt. Sodium bicarbonate is a significant sodium load, and the men most likely to have ED are frequently the same men managing high blood pressure, heart failure or kidney disease. Extra sodium is the last thing that group needs. Taken in quantity it can also disturb electrolyte balance and stomach acidity. This is not a scare. It is a reason to ask your physician before taking anything for ED, including things sold as food. ## What the search is really about Men who type this are rarely committed to baking soda. They are looking for a way to fix something private without having to say it out loud. The remedy is incidental; the avoidance is the real finding. That is understandable and it is also expensive. Every month spent on a remedy with no evidence is a month in which a treatable vascular or hormonal cause goes unexamined, and a month in which avoidance hardens into a habit that outlasts the original problem. ## What to do instead See a physician and say the word. ED is a recognized early marker of vascular disease, so this visit is a cardiovascular check as much as a sexual one. Bring a list of your medications; several common classes suppress erections, which is covered in [medications that cause ED](/guides/medications-that-cause-erectile-dysfunction). Then deal with the part medicine does not reach. If erections work alone but not with a partner, or work on medication while sex still feels like an exam, that is anxiety and learning, and it responds to [sexual therapy for erectile dysfunction](/guides/sexual-therapy-for-erectile-dysfunction). The clinical page is [erectile dysfunction](/specialties/erectile-dysfunction). Sessions are available to men in New York and Connecticut. This page is education, not treatment, and reading it does not create a therapist–client relationship. If you are in crisis, call or text 988. FAQ ## Frequently asked questions Does baking soda help erectile dysfunction? There is no credible evidence that baking soda improves erections. It has been studied for exercise performance and for some kidney conditions under medical supervision, and neither of those findings translates into an effect on erectile function. Nothing published supports using it for ED. Where did the claim come from? Mostly from stitching together unrelated facts. Sodium bicarbonate buffers acid, it has been used as a sports supplement, and it appears in medical care for metabolic acidosis. Content sites and video channels combined those threads with the general idea that blood flow equals erections and produced a remedy that nobody actually tested. Is it dangerous to try? It is not harmless. Sodium bicarbonate is a substantial sodium load, which matters a great deal if you have high blood pressure, heart failure or kidney disease, conditions that often show up alongside ED. Large amounts can also upset electrolyte balance. Ask a physician before taking it for anything. So what should I do instead? Get evaluated. ED is frequently the first visible sign of vascular disease, so a physician visit is the useful first step rather than the last resort. If the medical side is addressed and sex is still going badly, the anxiety and avoidance layer responds to structured behavioral work. Still have questions? [Contact us](/contact) Book a Session ## You were not really looking for baking soda. You were looking for a way to deal with this without saying it out loud. Saying it out loud, once, to someone who works on it daily, is usually faster. [Talk to Paul](/contact) Related ## Keep reading [ ### Vicks VapoRub and Erectile Dysfunction The same claim, with a real risk attached to putting menthol on genital skin. Read more ](/guides/vicks-vaporub-and-erectile-dysfunction)[ ### Beetroot Juice and Erectile Dysfunction A remedy with a genuine mechanism that still does not do what the internet claims. 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