I’m a Doctor and I Won’t Touch Honey Packs. Here’s What I Do Before Sex Instead

4 min readIF YOU HAVE difficulty getting erections or simply want to spruce up your sex life, chances are you’ve heard about honey packs. The sachets of the sweet stuff are all over social media, promising enhanced sexual performance through stronger, long-lasting erections.At first glance, you might find this a “natural” alternative for young guys who don’t want pills or painful-sounding ED procedures like shock wave therapy. After all, the packets do feature pictures of honey and bees swarming on honeycombs, and honey is usually one of the first ingredients—a food many dudes already drizzle in oatmeal and tea. What could go wrong?A lot, actually.MH did a deep dive last year into whether honey packs actually work. The TL;DR version is that despite the alluring promise of near-instant, rock-hard erections, you’re really taking a gamble on what you’re putting in your body. Natural ingredients like honey and ginseng provide a “trivial” performance-enhancing effect and multiple honey pack supplement companies have been flagged by the FDA for having hidden and unknown dosages of ingredients not included in the label, like tadalafil (the active ingredient in Cialis), sildenafil (the active ingredient in Viagra), and acetaminophen.That’s why doctors have big safety concerns about honey packs, says Scott Miller, MD, a urologist and director of robotic surgery at Wellstar Health System. “If they can’t tell me what’s in them, then it’s an absolute no.” So if honey packs are out, what are some ways to help you get hard and stay hard? We turned to the experts, asking urologists what they do to prepare in lieu of popping a pack.Skip the Honey Pack and Take This Supplement InsteadHONEY PACKS (AND even gas station dick pills) aren’t worth your time or money. But not all supplements need to be ruled out, says Philip Werthman, MD, a urologist and director of the Center for Male Reproductive Medicine and Vasectomy Reversal. For guys with mild ED or who just want to optimize their libido, he recommends L-arginine supplements.L-arginine is an amino acid that supports blood flow through nitric oxide production. Nitric oxide allows blood vessels to open fully and allow more blood flow to come into the penis.“The penis is a hemodynamic organ. It works on blood flow. There has to be stimulation and a relationship that is functional between the nerves and the blood vessels,” says Dr. Werthman. “Anything that helps nitric oxide stick around longer will cause more blood flow to come in and maybe give a better quality erection.”If possible, he recommends choosing L-arginine supplements containing L-citrulline (a precursor to L-arginine) or pycnogenol. The latter is an antioxidant made from the bark of a tree and is a powerful antioxidant used often in the fertility world, says Dr. Werthman. In concert with L-arginine, the combo helps to boost erections.There is one caveat. For the effects to really work, you need to take this supplement on a daily basis. A single scoop the night before a sexual encounter won’t make much of a difference.“It’s the kind of thing you put into your supplement stack,” says Dr. Werthman. Beyond healthy erections, nitric oxide helps with increasing blood flow all over the body, potentially providing extra benefits to your brain, heart, and muscles if you’re working out.Buyer Beware: Supplements are not FDA-regulated, and some can get sketchy. Consider getting a product tested and certified by a third-party testing facility to verify the supplement’s safety and quality.Pile These Foods on Your Plate OYSTERS AND CHAMPAGNE get a lot of hype as aphrodisiacs. But Dr. Werthman says the true value is eating foods high in L-arginine. Here are some examples:ChickpeasLentilsTurkeyPoultry Fish like tuna and salmonNuts like peanuts, almonds, and walnuts LegumesPumpkin seedsAdditionally, watermelon is one of the best foods to eat on the day you’re having sex because of its high citrulline content, says Dr. Werthman. So, while spontaneous sex is great, scheduling sex can help you fuel your body (and boner) accordingly.As for what’s on the don’t eat list? Nothing, but both urologists say it’s best to avoid alcohol before sex. You might gain a little liquid courage, but the buzz kills erections. Alcohol slows down brain signals related to arousal and decreases the ability of blood vessels to trap blood in the penis.Take at Least 15 Minutes to De-Stress Before the Big EventCORTISOL, ALSO KNOWN as your body’s stress hormone, is one of the biggest killers of testosterone and erections. When your body is in fight-or-flight mode, Dr. Werthman says, the last thing it’s thinking about is having sex.The trademarks of a stressful lifestyle—lack of sleep, long working hours, and a poor diet—can all create barriers to intimacy, says Dr. Miller. Setting aside time to take care of yourself physically will help with performing at your best.For example, a meditation session or some light stretching can relieve some stress temporarily. You also might want to consider a quick workout. Now, Dr. Werthman warns that a single sweat session won’t do much for your penile health (over time, consistent exercise does support blood flow and cardiovascular health, helping you last longer). But in terms of mental health, the stress-relieving benefits of pushups or a quick jog can help you get amped for the main event. Plus, the endorphins in your body can shake off any pre-sex nerves and make you feel more confident in your body. One study involving over 128,000 people found all types of physical activity—walking, resistance training, Pilates, and yoga—effective in improving anxiety symptoms.Granted, for some people, sex itself is the stress reliever. But if you tense up thinking about the actual act, Dr. Werthman advises taking it slow. Get out of your head and focus on increasing erotic arousal through kissing and other forms of foreplay, then seeing if you want to go further. “It’s about being comfortable with your partner,” he says. “You want a dynamic where if you get a fail-to-launch situation, they understand. Because it happens—not every encounter leads to a touchdown.”Jocelyn Solis-Moreira, MS is the associate health & fitness for Men's Health and has previously written for CNN, Scientific American, Popular Science, and National Geographic before joining the brand. When she's not working, she's doing circus arts or working towards the perfect pull-up.