A latest nutrition study has suggested that biochemicals present in berries, citrus fruit and red wine could help men sustain healthy erections. On January 13, researchers reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that foods rich in these flavonoids are linked to reduced risk of erectile dysfunction.

Researchers from Harvard University's TH Chan School of Public Health and the University of East Anglia in England reported that consumption of a flavonoid-rich diet could be as good for erectile function as a brisk walk for two to five hours per week.

Fruits and vegetables get their vibrant colors from flavonoids. The research discovered that three specific flavonoids, including anthocyanins, flavanones and flavones, proved most beneficial in preventing erectile dysfunction.

Anthocyanins are usually present in cherries, blackberries, blueberries, radishes and red wine, whereas flavanones and flavones are present in citrus fruits.

In a university media research, lead researcher Aedin Cassidy, a professor of nutrition at the University of East Anglia, said that men who regularly ate foods high in these flavonoids had 10% less chances of suffering from erectile dysfunction. Cassidy added that in terms of quantities, they considered just a few portions per week.

The study has discovered a link just between consumption of flavonoid and erectile function, and not a cause-and-effect relation. According to other health experts, the findings of the study could just be the result of men consuming lots of fruits and vegetables under an overall healthy lifestyle.

Dr. Bruce Gilbert, director of reproductive and sexual medicine at the Arthur Smith Institute for Urology in New Hyde Park, NY, said, “I'm a firm believer that food is medicine.But does this paper give me the good sense that they have made their point that eating more berries will decrease erectile dysfunction? No”.