Honey Packs: Are They Safe for Men?
Health ConditionsMen's Health

Are Honey Packs for Men Safe?

Are Honey Packs for Men Safe?
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Published on October 2, 2025
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If you’ve been on social media, you may have heard the buzz about “honey packs.” These honey supplements are mixed with various ingredients and advertised to enhance male sexual performance and fix erectile dysfunction (ED, a condition in which you’re unable to achieve or maintain an erection).

While you may be tempted to try honey packs for sexual health, experts recommend steering clear. Not only do honey packs lack scientific evidence to back up claims, but they’re also potentially dangerous.

What Is a Honey Pack?

Honey packs are supplements specifically designed for men. Sealed in individual packets, they contain honey and other natural ingredients, such as black ginger extract, vitamin C, ginseng, and maca root, says Seth D. Cohen, MD, MPH, a urologist at NYU Langone in New York City.

Supplement manufacturers claim that this blend of ingredients offers benefits for men’s sexual health.

Do Honey Packs Provide Benefits?

Manufacturers advertise that the ingredients in their honey packs can boost sex drive, strengthen erections, raise testosterone (the primary male sex hormone), and improve stamina. But there’s little to no evidence to back up these claims.

“If honey packs worked great, then men wouldn’t need U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)–approved medications like sildenafil or tadalafil,” Dr. Cohen says. (Sildenafil and tadalafil are erectile dysfunction treatments.)

Honey has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and has traditionally been used as a natural remedy for ED. It may have vasodilation effects (meaning it widens blood vessels to improve blood flow), helping men achieve and maintain erections. Research suggests that oral honey supplements may also increase testosterone.

But the few studies that do exist were conducted on animals. “There is no research on humans showing that honey improves erections or libido,” says Justin Dubin, MD, a urologist at Memorial Healthcare System in Aventura, Florida.

Evidence supporting the other natural ingredients found in honey packs isn’t much stronger. Ginseng, a popular additive, is an herb that has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries to enhance sexual performance.

 But the authors of a systematic review that included nine studies on ginseng supplements for ED concluded that ginseng had a trivial effect.

Maca root, made from a plant native to the Andes, is another common honey pack ingredient because it has been used for centuries in South America for its purported sexual benefits.

 Yet a research review reveals limited evidence for its effectiveness.

“The claimed benefits of honey packs on sexual health are just that — claims,” says Dr. Dubin.

Risks and Side Effects of Honey Packs

Besides the lack of evidence that they work as advertised, honey packs pose a few risks. As supplements, honey packs aren’t closely regulated by the FDA. This means the FDA doesn’t approve supplements or verify their ingredients before they’re sold, so you can’t be sure that the product contains the ingredients listed on the label.

In fact, the FDA discovered that many honey packs on the market illegally contained prescription ED drugs like sildenafil (Viagra) or tadalafil (Cialis), which must be used under the supervision of a licensed healthcare professional.

Men who take these prescription medications via a honey pack can face severe consequences. Some men develop a priapism (erection lasting longer than four hours), leading to more permanent ED, warns Dubin.

Visit a local emergency room if you have an erection that lasts longer than four hours, Cohen adds.

Tadalafil can also be risky if taken with medications like nitrates, which are often prescribed for heart disease or chest pain. Because tadalafil and nitrates both dilate blood vessels, combining the two drugs can cause your blood pressure to drop to a dangerous low.

Honey packs containing hidden tadalafil can also be risky for men with high blood pressure (hypertension) or liver or kidney disease. You may unintentionally take too much tadalafil, which can increase the risk of side effects such as headache and vision changes.

Should You Use Honey Packs?

Honey packs aren’t worth the risk.

“By purchasing products like honey packs, you are potentially doing more harm to your body than good,” Dubin says. “Most of these products contain unregulated, synthetic, and potentially dangerous medications and materials.”

Instead of trying an unproven supplement, visit your doctor if you have low libido or erectile dysfunction. “Sexual health issues may be a sign that something else is going on,” he adds.

Your healthcare provider can review your medical history and perform any necessary tests to determine the best medication or lifestyle approach to address your concerns.

The Takeaway

  • Honey packs are supplements made of honey and other natural ingredients. They’re trending on social media, thanks to their alleged benefits for sexual performance.
  • Honey packs lack scientific evidence to prove their effectiveness. In addition, many contain hidden ingredients that may pose health risks, especially for men with chronic health conditions.
  • It’s always best to speak with your doctor about sexual health concerns.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Zaid SSM et al. Protective Roles of Honey in Reproductive Health: A Review. Molecules. June 1, 2021.
  2. Ginseng and Male Reproductive Function. Spermatogenesis. September 13, 2013.
  3. Lee HW et al. Ginseng for Erectile Dysfunction: A Cochrane Systematic Review. The World Journal of Men's Health. April 2022.
  4. Shin B-C et al. Maca (L. meyenii) for Improving Sexual Function: A Systematic Review. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. August 2010.
  5. Beharry S et al. Is the Hype Around the Reproductive Health Claims of Maca (Lepidium meyenii Walp.) Justified? Journal of Ethnopharmacology. January 30, 2018.
  6. Information for Consumers on Using Dietary Supplements. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. October 21, 2022.
  7. Tainted Honey-Based Products With Hidden Active Drug Ingredients. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. August 2, 2022.
  8. Can Honey Packets Increase Sexual Performance? Hartford HealthCare. February 27, 2025.
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Christopher Wolter, MD

Medical Reviewer

Christopher Wolter, MD, is an assistant professor in urology at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona. He has been in practice since 2008, specializing in the areas of urinary incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, urologic reconstruction, urologic prosthetics, post prostate cancer survivorship, erectile dysfunction, neurourology and neuromodulation, and overall functional considerations of urogenital health.

Dr. Wolter has been heavily involved in urologic education. He spent the last 12 years heavily involved in resident education and leadership for his department, including the last eight years as urology residency program director. He currently serves as the director of urologic education for the preclinical and clinical rotations for the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine Phoenix, Arizona, campus.

Wolter completed his undergraduate and medical education at the University of Illinois. He then completed his urology residency at Tulane University in New Orleans, followed by a fellowship in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive urology at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

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Anthony Yeung, CSCS

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Anthony's work has been featured in Esquire, GQ, and Men's Health, Men's Journal, Muscle & Fitness, Golf Digest, AskMen, Runner's World, Eat This Not That, and Popsugar. He runs a marketing consultancy and writes articles on self-improvement on his blog with over 10,000 subscribers.

As a personal trainer, Anthony has also trained professional athletes, Grammy Award winners, celebrities, and everyone in between. Currently, he's been traveling the world full-time since 2019 and has lived on four different continents.

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