Are Blueberries Better Than Viagra?

Before reaching for that little blue pill, you may want to pop a sweeter blue remedy instead. According to a new collaborative study from Harvard University and England’s University of East Anglia, consuming blueberries and other flavonoid rich foods like citrus and red wine can reduce your risk of erectile dysfunction. 

Even better, you can change your dysfunction risks by eating more fruit and adding exercise. The research, published in January in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, shows that an increased total fruit intake was associated with a 14 percent reduction in erectile dysfunction. And combining exercise and a high flavonoid diet reduced those disappointing nights by over 20 percent.

Erectile dysfunction affects up to half of all middle-aged men, but according to a study from the Journal of Sexual Medicine, one out of every four new cases occurs in men under the age of 40. Because erectile dysfunction can be an early indicator of “poor vascular function,” the senior author of the flavonoid study, Dr. Eric Rimm, a professor from Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health says flavonoids could help “prevent cardiovascular disease, heart attack, and even death.”