Do bananas help with erectile dysfunction? There is no evidence that they do: no study has tested bananas for erection problems in men. A banana is a good serve of fruit, and men who eat more fruit develop ED less often — but that is a finding about whole diets, not about bananas.
Is there any research on bananas and erections?
Not in people. A PubMed search on 26 September 2026 returned 45 papers, and none was a study of bananas in men with erectile dysfunction (PubMed search). The three that tested the banana family for sexual function used extracts of the peel, in rats: plantain peel given to rats whose sexual function had been impaired with an antidepressant (Oyeleye et al., 2022), plantain peel tested on rat penile tissue in a dish (Oboh et al., 2017), and banana-peel flour in stressed rats (Meliala et al., 2026). None of that tells you what eating a banana does for a man. The natural-alternatives ranking lists bananas among the foods with no randomised trial in men with ED (natural alternatives to Viagra).
Do bananas contain bromelain, and does it raise testosterone?
No, and not in any way that has been shown to matter. Bromelain is a group of enzymes found in the stem and fruit of the pineapple plant; it is promoted for uses such as sinusitis and pain after wisdom-tooth extraction, and erections are not among them (NCCIH). The one human study to measure testosterone gave 15 racing cyclists 1,000 mg of the enzyme a day or a placebo: testosterone fell during a six-day race, a little less with the supplement — a borderline trend — and erections were not measured (Shing et al., 2016). If low testosterone is a worry, a GP can test for it; healthdirect lists hypogonadism, where the testicles cannot make enough testosterone, among the causes of ED (healthdirect).
Can bananas help erections indirectly?
Only as part of eating more fruit. Eat for Health notes that "most Australians eat only about half the recommended quantity of fruit", and that potassium and magnesium in fruit "have also been linked to lower blood pressure" (Eat for Health) — and high blood pressure is one of the conditions that contribute to ED. In a study of 25,096 men followed for 10 years, those who ate the most fruit were 14% less likely to develop ED; the foods that stood out were citrus and blueberries, and bananas were not among the top sources the researchers analysed (Cassidy et al., 2016).
How many bananas should you eat for ED?
There is no dose, because no effect has been shown. For general health, men are advised to eat two serves of fruit a day (Eat for Health), and one medium banana is one serve of about 150 g (Eat for Health). Eating more than that has not been shown to do anything for erections.
What about other foods?
The picture is the same: the diet as a whole matters more than any one food. A Mediterranean-style diet — fruit, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and healthy fats like olive oil — restored normal erectile function for some men with metabolic syndrome in a two-year trial (Esposito et al., 2006); that evidence, and the foods sold as "natural Viagra", are covered in foods and erectile dysfunction. Watermelon, the fruit most often called a natural Viagra, is answered in is watermelon a natural Viagra?
The short answer
Eat bananas because you like them. They will not treat erectile dysfunction, and the enzyme said to be in them comes from pineapples. If erection problems keep happening, see a GP: ED is often the first sign of heart disease, high blood pressure or high cholesterol, and those are worth finding early.
