When the weather starts to warm up and you swap your snow boots for flip-flops, that means it’s time for a cook out. Any good cook out is going to need a good mix of food, and it seems someone inevitably brings watermelon slices for everyone to nosh on. While chowing down on watermelon, you hear the table next to yours talking about the fruit’s apparent “restorative” properties. Watermelon, they say, can affect your body like Viagra, and can produce rock-solid erections. You mark this talk down as idle gossip, but you begin to wonder if there’s any truth to this idea. Can a slice of watermelon really assist you in getting an erection?
The answer is “yes, theoretically.”
You see, watermelon is chock full of an amino acid called citrulline. When consumed, citrulline is converted into the amino acid arginine, which relaxes and dilates the blood vessels, which facilitates better blood flow. Erectile dysfunction drugs such as Viagra work in the same way, opening up the blood vessels so blood can reach the penis and achieve an erection.
So, since the arginine in watermelon works the same way as Viagra, surely you can eat enough watermelon and overcome erectile dysfunction, right? Well, that’s where the “theoretically” part comes into play.
Despite extensive research, erectile health experts have not been able to figure out how much watermelon it takes to achieve an erection. A 4-ounce serving of watermelon contains about 150 milligrams of citrulline, but that’s not nearly enough to open the blood vessels enough to overcome ED.
So, if you’re thinking about ditching your Viagra and investing in a watermelon garden, think again. You might need to eat a whole watermelon or two before your erection springs back to life, and by that point you’ll be so full that sex will be the last thing on your mind. Stick with the surefire thing and use your ED medication when it’s time to hop between the sheets.