Several vitamins for erectile dysfunction (ED) may help treat symptoms or make them less severe.

A folic acid deficiency can impair nitric oxide metabolism.

Nitric oxide is produced in the endothelial cell layer covering the smooth muscle.

Best Vitamins fo Helping with Erectile Dysfunction - Illustration by Jessica Olah

Verywell / Jessica Olah

A deficiency in folic acid also contributes toendothelial dysfunction, which leads to erectile dysfunction.

Low vitamin D levels might increase your ED risk by promoting endothelial dysfunction.

The body creates vitamin D from direct sunlight on the skin when outdoors.

As such, some people do not make enough vitamin D from October to March.

Taking avitamin D supplementand eating foods rich in vitamin D can help boost your levels.

Vitamin D supplementation should be suggested for those with low levels.

However, increasing vitamin D intake alone is rarely the solution to ED.

In fact, there are some instances where it could cause or worsen your ED.

Vitamin D taken orally needs to go through this conversion, a process that can deplete magnesium stores.

Magnesium helps blood vessels to relax.

Insufficient amounts mean the penile vein cannot relax, leading to ED.

Therefore, vitamin D may indirectly cause ED if not taken properly.

Hardened and narrow blood vessels make it difficult for blood to flow into the penis before intercourse.

However other studies have found an association between high blood levels of vitamin B12 and erectile dysfunction.

More research is needed to understand the association between ED and vitamin B12.

However, they are not the standard treatment for ED.

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