Stinging nettles and erectile dysfunction: Do they actually help?

Stinging nettle is a nutrient-dense plant. It contains vitamin A, calcium, iron, and protein, and people have used it for general health for centuries (Rutto et al., 2013). But there's no verified evidence that stinging nettle treats or improves erectile dysfunction (ED) directly. Rather than causing an erection, rubbing the plant on your skin will cause a painful rash. If ED is a recurring issue for you, the first step is seeing your doctor to find out what's actually causing it.

What is stinging nettle?

Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) is a wild plant with small hairs that sting on contact. People have used it in food and traditional medicine for hundreds of years (Rutto et al., 2013). Today, you'll find it as tea, capsules, and extracts sold for general health. Its reputation is real in one sense: the plant is genuinely full of useful nutrients.

Stinging nettle's nutrient profile

All amounts are for 100g of blanched stinging nettle (USDA FoodData Central, 2019).

Does stinging nettle help with erectile dysfunction?

No direct evidence supports stinging nettle improving erectile function. Its reputation as an ED remedy comes from general nutrient claims rather than any proven mechanism that connects the plant to how erections actually work.

Being nutrient-dense doesn't automatically mean a plant fixes a specific problem. Eggs are full of vitamin A too, and nobody claims they cure ED.

Can stinging nettle raise testosterone?

Some supplement brands claim nettle root extract raises testosterone. This is a common marketing claim, but there's no verified clinical study behind it.

What actually causes erectile dysfunction?

ED has two main types of causes: physical issues with blood flow, nerves, and circulation, and psychological factors like stress, fatigue, and low mood (Nguyen et al., 2017). Understanding which one applies to you changes what actually helps, and a healthcare professional can work out what exactly is causing your ED. For the full picture, Mojo's full guide to erectile dysfunction breaks down both categories in more depth.

Physical vs. psychological causes of ED

Physical causes affect blood flow, nerves, or hormones. They fall into three main groups:

• Blood flow (vascular) causes: blood flow to the penis gets reduced or blocked. Heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes can all do this.
• Nerve (neurological) causes: the nerve signals that trigger an erection get disrupted. This can happen after a stroke, or with multiple sclerosis, a spinal cord injury, or diabetes.
• Hormonal causes: hormone levels shift and lower desire or erectile function. Examples include low testosterone, high prolactin, and thyroid problems.

Side effects from certain medications can also play a part. A doctor needs to check for all of these.

Psychological causes come from the mind. Stress, performance anxiety, and fatigue can all get in the way of an erection even when everything else is working fine. Some research suggests that up to 85% of ED cases in men under 40 are mainly psychological (Nguyen et al., 2017). However, more recent studies report that as many as 87% of young men with ED also have a physical part to their condition, such as a blood flow, nerve, hormone, or medication-related cause (Nguyen et al., 2017). So being young doesn't automatically mean your ED is psychological. You can read more about psychological erectile dysfunction and how it's different from the physical kind.

The "nettle rub" myth, debunked

Rubbing stinging nettle on your skin does not cause an erection. There's no evidence anywhere that supports this. The plant's stinging hairs release compounds on contact that cause burning, itching, and a rash, and that's the only proven effect.

If you've heard this tip somewhere, skip it. At best it does nothing. At worst, it really hurts.

Treatment options for erectile dysfunction

What actually helps depends on the cause, and a doctor is the right first stop for any kind of ED. A doctor can check for physical causes, rule them out, and treat them. They can also help with psychological ED, for example by referring you to talk therapy or a specialist sex therapist. If you haven't had that conversation yet, here's how to start that conversation with a doctor.

If the cause is psychological, no supplement or home remedy retrains a stressed nervous system. That takes structured, evidence-based work, such as therapy with a specialist sex therapist. You can explore treatment options for erectile dysfunction to compare what's out there for both categories.

A program like The Erection Reset can be a supportive tool alongside that care if your ED is psychological. It's an evidence-based training program built with Dr. Shannon Chavez, a psychologist, sex therapist, and sexologist who specializes in performance anxiety, arousal conditioning, and nervous system regulation. The program doesn't diagnose or treat ED. It helps you understand and work on the patterns behind it, starting with how your erection system actually works, then moving into regulating your nervous system so your body can respond the way you want it to.

Some studies suggest that up to 30% of men under 40 have experienced erection difficulties at some point (Nguyen et al., 2017). If that's you, you're dealing with something common that has an actual cause, and once you know the cause, you know where to look for help.

Other men's health benefits of stinging nettle

Stinging nettle's nutrient density may support general health beyond the ED question. For example, the vitamin A in nettle plays a part in immune function and in male reproduction (Office of Dietary Supplements, n.d.-c).

If you're looking at food-based options for general men's health, nettle isn't the only one. Certain nuts get discussed in a similar way, and it's worth understanding what the evidence for those actually shows too.

Safety and side effects of stinging nettle

Stinging nettle is generally considered safe for most healthy adults when prepared properly, whether as tea, cooked greens, or a standard supplement dose. It’s just raw contact with the plant that causes skin irritation.

When you take nettle by mouth, allergic reactions are rare. It may cause stomach cramps or diarrhea, and if that happens, stop using it or take less (University of Rochester Medical Center, n.d.).

Verified side-effect data for supplement doses is limited. Check with a doctor or pharmacist before taking nettle if you have an existing health condition, or if any of these apply to you:

Source for this table: (University of Rochester Medical Center, n.d.).