Best And Worst Foods For Premature Ejaculation

PE, or premature ejaculation, is a common sexual issue that affects 20-30% of men of all ages and backgrounds.

If you’ve ever looked up information about PE, you may have come across lists of foods that cause PE. Most of the time, these lists include the usual suspects, like foods that are high in sugar and simple carbohydrates, foods that are high in fat, and foods that have artificial ingredients.

Even though what you eat can affect your sexual health, there is no scientific proof that certain foods cause you to ejaculate early, at least not yet.

Below, we’ll talk about how your diet can affect your sexual health, from your overall sexual performance to problems like early ejaculation and erectile dysfunction (ED).

We’ve also talked about why you shouldn’t feel like you have to avoid certain foods if you tend to ejaculate early. We’ve talked about all the ways you can treat PE and have a more fulfilling, satisfying sexual life.

What Causes Premature Ejaculation?

Before we get into the details of your diet and premature ejaculation, let’s talk about what PE is and what can cause it.

According to the DSM-5, premature ejaculation occurs when a person ejaculates before they want to, within one minute of penetration, and during all or nearly all sexual activity (for example, 75 to 100% of the time).

To be diagnosed with PE, these symptoms usually have to last for at least six months and have a clear cause that isn’t sexual, like a drug or stress from a relationship problem.

PE can range from mild (when ejaculation happens 30 to 60 seconds after penetration) to severe (when ejaculation happens before sexual activity or within 15 seconds of penetration).

Experts still don’t know what causes a man to ejaculate too soon. At the moment, they think that a number of factors, both biological and psychological, may play a role.

Some hormones and neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, prolactin, luteinizing hormone (LH), and thyroid-stimulating hormone, could have levels that are too high or too low (TSH). Inflammation in the prostate or urethra could also be a factor.

From a psychological point of view, things like anxiety, depression, stress, a bad view of the body, worries about sexual performance, feelings of guilt, relationship problems, or a history of sexual abuse or repression may all contribute to the development of PE.

It’s important to note that premature ejaculation often happens along with other common problems with sexual performance, like erectile dysfunction. In fact, research shows that almost half of all men who have erectile dysfunction also ejaculate too early.

Experts think that these two common problems might have something to do with how people act. For example, men with ED might feel more performance anxiety during sex, which might make them hurry to keep their erection from going away.

In short, it’s kind of hard to figure out what causes PE. At the moment, research shows that a number of things may all play a role in its development. Most guys can’t point to a single “cause of PE” as the reason why they have it.

Does Food Cause Premature Ejaculation?

At the moment, there is no research that shows that certain types of food directly cause men to ejaculate before they should.

Simply put, science doesn’t seem to support the idea that eating junk food, starchy foods, or foods high in certain “bad” ingredients causes men to ejaculate too soon. The idea that food causes PE seems to be a myth, just like a lot of other common ideas about how the sexes work.

So, there is a direct link between what you eat and some parts of your health that can affect how well you do in bed.

Diet and Sexual Function in Men

It should come as no surprise that your sexual ability will improve in some ways as your overall health improves.

This is because, at least in men, sexual function and performance are closely linked to the health of hormones and the heart.

As a man, your sexual drive is largely controlled by sex hormones like testosterone. A high level of testosterone is linked to a strong desire for sex, while a low level of testosterone is linked to a drop in your libido.

In the same way, your cardiovascular system is very important for keeping your blood flowing, which is necessary for maintaining an erection. Many ED drugs, like PDE5 inhibitors, work by increasing blood flow to your penis, which makes it easier and stronger to get an erection.

So, where does your diet come in? Even though the foods you eat probably don’t directly cause or worsen premature ejaculation, your diet does affect your health in ways that affect your sexual function and performance.

One known risk factor for erectile dysfunction is heart disease. Eating a healthy, well-balanced diet can lower your risk of heart disease. This may lower your risk of erectile dysfunction (ED) and improve your sexual health by making it easier for blood to flow through your body.

Other research also shows that men are likely to have low testosterone levels if they eat a lot of junk food but not enough healthy food.

Diet and PE may also have something to do with how people think and feel. Obviously, eating junk food all the time isn’t good for your body, and bad eating habits might also affect how you feel about your body.

Simply put, unhealthy eating habits don’t directly cause sexual performance problems like PE and ED, but they may indirectly contribute to them by affecting your overall health and well-being.

How to Treat Premature Ejaculation

The good news is that premature ejaculation can be fixed, just like other common problems with sexual performance. Most of the time, PE can be treated with a combination of over-the-counter treatments, good habits, behavioral therapies, and, if necessary, prescription PE medications.

Eat a healthy diet

Even though making changes to your diet probably won’t fix your early ejaculation all at once, a good diet can help your overall health, sexual function, and quality of life.

Try to eat a balanced diet with a lot of foods that are high in nutrients. Our lists of good foods to prevent erectile dysfunction and boost testosterone talk about certain ingredients that you might want to focus on for your sexual health in general.

Even though there isn’t a lot of research in general, one small study suggests that low magnesium levels may be linked to ejaculating too early.

Pumpkin seeds, almonds, spinach, black beans, potatoes, rice, and edamame are all good sources of magnesium. Also, dark chocolate is a great way to get magnesium, zinc, and other important nutrients.

Use behavioral techniques to delay ejaculation

Small changes in the way you have sex can sometimes help you delay orgasm and keep you from ejaculating too soon.

The stop-start technique and the squeeze technique are two common ways to treat PE. With the stop-start technique, you temporarily stop sexual activity when you feel an orgasm coming on. With the squeeze technique, you squeeze your penis near the tip to delay orgasm.

Even though there isn’t much research on how well these techniques work in the long run, many men find that they work in the short term to increase ejaculation time and treat PE.

Try topical PE treatments

Most of the time, you can treat early ejaculation with creams and sprays that go on the skin, like our Delay Spray for Men and Clockstopper Climax Delay Wipes.

Topical treatments for PE work by making your penis less sensitive without making it too numb. This makes the physical feeling of sex less intense, so you can stay with the person longer after penetration.

Most sprays and anesthetic creams can be bought without a prescription and used five to fifteen minutes before sex. This is helpful if you want to treat PE without going straight to a doctor.

In our guide to lidocaine spray for premature ejaculation, we explain in more detail how topical sprays work, how well they work, what side effects they might cause, and more.

Consider prescription medication

If you have premature ejaculation that doesn’t get better with over-the-counter treatments and behavioral changes, your doctor might suggest that you take medicine to slow down the process of reaching orgasm and help you maintain a normal ejaculation time.

Even though there are no FDA-approved pills for premature ejaculation, some antidepressants are often given off-label as premature ejaculation pills.

For example, the antidepressants sertraline and paroxetine are often used outside of their approved uses to delay orgasm and treat ejaculation that happens too early.

The way these medicines work is by making your body make more serotonin. Researchers think that serotonin stops ejaculation, which means that it makes it take longer to reach orgasm during sex.

Our guide on how to use sertraline for early ejaculation goes into more detail about how SSRIs can help slow down ejaculation and give you more sexual energy.

Get expert help for premature ejaculation online

Contrary to what most people think, there is no strong scientific evidence that certain foods speed up orgasm and cause men to ejaculate too soon.

But a bad diet and way of life can hurt your overall health, which may make you more likely to get some sexual disorders. PE affects a lot of men, so if you are one of them, try to eat well and live a balanced, active life in general.

Our range of treatments for premature ejaculation includes tried-and-true ways to deal with PE directly, like wipes, sprays, and prescription medications that can be ordered online after a consultation with a licensed medical professional.

Want more information about PE? Our full guide to premature ejaculation tells you everything you need to know about this common problem with sexual performance, from what causes it to the latest research on how to treat it.