Recent research has also taken a look at whether ginger consumption affects a person’s sexual arousal and sexual functioning, particularly in the face of known hindrances to arousal, such as feelings of disgust. In a 2024 study published in the Journal of Sex Research, 247 participants received either an oral ginger supplement or a placebo pill. The researchers also analyzed participant responses of disgust to either sexual body fluids or neutral fluids. Questionnaire data revealed a correlation between sexual body fluids and increased feelings of disgust, which was found to reduce sexual arousal in women. Ginger supplementation was found to neutralize disgust’s effect on sexual arousal, however. Furthermore, increases in sexual arousal were also reported in both men and women who had consumed ginger and had been exposed to neutral fluids.
A 2023 research article published in Sexes explored possible explanations for this relationship. While further study is still needed, the researchers outlined how ginger may boost testosterone, a hormone associated with sexual desire. Alternatively, ginger is thought to potentially act as a serotonin receptor antagonist. Some research has drawn connections between serotonin and sexual inhibition. Serotonin antagonists, however, suppress serotonin release (via Medical News Today), which in turn may heighten sexual arousal and behavior. Finally, ginger may also boost nitric oxide production, which may increase blood flow in the testes and penis.
