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Most supplements for sex drive have thin evidence behind them. A few have some. The ones sold as testosterone boosters have the least.
In July 2026, Cleveland Clinic urologist Dr. Raevti Bole said that anyone diagnosed with low testosterone should avoid over-the-counter supplements marketed to boost it, because those products are not FDA-approved treatments for low testosterone and there is little evidence that they work.
Which leaves the real question. If your sex drive has dropped and the bottle on the shelf is not the answer, what is? Usually a cause worth finding, and it is almost never the one on the label.
Do Supplements for Sex Drive Actually Work?
Two of the popular ones have signals in the research, and none of them act like a switch. Here is how the three most heavily marketed options compare once you line up what the reviewers found.
|
Supplement |
Marketed For |
What the Reviewers Found |
|---|---|---|
|
Ashwagandha |
Testosterone, stress, sleep |
NCCIH: some preparations may help insomnia and stress; limited evidence it may raise testosterone over two to four months; not enough evidence for most other uses |
|
Maca root |
Libido, erectile function |
2024 review: clinical studies point to improved sexual desire, erectile function and subjective wellbeing in men; more research still needed |
|
"Testosterone boosters" |
Raising testosterone |
Cleveland Clinic: not FDA-approved treatments for low testosterone, and little evidence they work |
The pattern is worth noticing. The products making the boldest promise have the weakest file, and the two with any real research behind them are studied for narrower effects than the advertising suggests.
What the Ashwagandha Research Says
Plenty of trials, mostly small ones. NCCIH, part of the National Institutes of Health, notes that many clinical trials have looked at ashwagandha but that many had small sample sizes and used a variety of different preparations, which makes the results hard to pool.
On what came out of them, NCCIH says some ashwagandha preparations may be effective for insomnia and stress, while the evidence on anxiety is unclear. There is limited evidence that taking it over two to four months may increase testosterone levels and sperm quality, and not enough evidence to say it helps with most other things people buy it for.
What the Maca Research Says
Maca has the more direct sexual-health file of the two. A 2024 review of maca in PMC reports that clinical studies, most of them focused on sexual health, point to improved sexual desire, erectile function and subjective wellbeing in men, with maca generally well tolerated.
The same review is careful about why that does not settle it. Maca's chemical make-up varies with ecotype, growing conditions and post-harvest processing, and the authors say further research is still needed to pin down the mechanisms and clinical uses.
Why Are Testosterone Boosters the Worst Buy?
Because they target a number that may not be your problem, with a product that has little evidence behind it. Dr. Bole made the first half of that point directly: low testosterone may not be the only cause of the symptoms people blame on it.
Conditions That Mimic Low Testosterone
Chronic conditions do double duty here. Obesity, diabetes and sleep apnea can all pull testosterone levels down, and they can also cause erectile difficulty and fatigue on their own, with the hormone sitting there as a bystander.
The Slow Age Drift
Age moves the number too, slowly. Cleveland Clinic notes levels can drop about 1% per year starting in the late 30s, and that providers treat a level below 300 nanograms per deciliter as low in adults. A one-per-cent annual drift is not the same thing as a deficiency, which is the gap the advertising lives in.
If you want the age-by-age picture before you spend anything, we have written about what testosterone numbers mean after 50.
What Is Actually Inside the Bottle?
Sometimes a prescription drug that nobody declared. In 2024 the FDA posted a recall of male sexual enhancement supplements sold under two brand names because the product was tainted with undeclared prescription erectile-dysfunction ingredients.
That matters beyond the one recall. A hidden ingredient means an unknown dose, no label warning, and no way for the person taking it to check whether it clashes with their heart or blood-pressure treatment.
It also explains why some of these products feel like they work. An unlabeled pharmaceutical will produce an effect. It is simply not the effect the herb on the front of the box is being credited for.
How Do You Tell If Testosterone Is Genuinely Low?
With a physical exam, a history, and blood work, in that order. Cleveland Clinic describes a provider asking about medical history, medicines, substance use and symptoms first, then ordering blood tests if the symptoms fit.
The Blood Tests Involved
The total testosterone test usually needs two separate samples drawn in the morning, when levels should be at their highest. A single afternoon result is not enough to build a decision on.
Two more tests help find the cause rather than just confirm the number. A luteinizing hormone test shows whether the pituitary gland is behind it, and a prolactin test looks for high levels that can point to a pituitary problem.
Who to Ask
Hormone results read better alongside the rest of the picture, which is what an endocrinologist is for. Irina Urusova, MD covers endocrine and thyroid care in the Beverly Hills and West Hollywood area for exactly this kind of workup.
And if the appointment itself is the obstacle, a doctor who visits at home can take the history and order the same blood work without anyone sitting in a waiting room to discuss their sex life.
What Moves Sex Drive More Than Any Supplement?
The boring list, and the clinics put it first on purpose. Cleveland Clinic lists eating nutritious foods and getting physical activity as the first treatments for low testosterone, before anything else is considered.
The Habits That Come First
Its wider advice for supporting healthy levels runs along the same lines: eat well, stay physically active, sleep seven hours a night and get sleep apnea treated if you have it, and keep addictive substance use down. Each of those also independently affects desire, energy and mood.
How Long to Give It
There is a timeline attached, which is useful when you want to know whether you are waiting too long. Cleveland Clinic says that if diet and activity have not helped after six to 12 months, or if symptoms are severe, other treatment may be worth discussing.
For the rest of what drains desire, from stress and sleep to the relationship itself, see our piece on what kills libido and how to get it back.
What About Women's Sex Drive Supplements?
The same evidence problem, with even less research aimed at women. Mayo Clinic points out that women's levels of sexual desire change across the years anyway, commonly with the start or end of a relationship, with pregnancy, with menopause or with illness.
Medicines and Life Stages
Medicines belong in that list too. Mayo notes that some medicines used for conditions affecting mood can lower sex drive in women, which is worth raising with a prescriber before anything gets bought off a shelf.
Mayo also names the threshold for taking it further: if the lack of interest continues or returns and causes personal distress, that is the point to talk with a healthcare professional, because there is a treatable condition called sexual interest-arousal disorder.
Where Supplements Fit for Women
On supplements specifically, the 2024 maca review notes some promise for easing menopausal symptoms in women, again with the call for more research. If the change arrived alongside perimenopause, our article on what happens to sex drive in perimenopause covers the hormonal side in more detail.
Why Is a Supplement So Much Easier to Buy Than an Appointment?
Because it does not require saying anything out loud. A bottle arrives in a box and asks no questions, which is most of its appeal and all of its limitations.
Mayo makes a point worth holding onto here: you do not have to meet a medical definition to ask for help. Being bothered by it is reason enough to raise it.
Not every version of this is a hormone question either. Where the issue sits in desire, arousal and the body rather than in bloodwork, somatic sex education and intimacy coaching is a different route into the same problem, and our guide to who does what among sex therapists and sexologists explains the difference between the roles.
FAQ
-
Nobody can say yet. NCCIH notes ashwagandha may be safe when taken in the short term, up to about three months, and that there is not enough information to judge longer use. That is a gap in the evidence rather than a known danger, but it is worth knowing before a standing subscription.
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Yes. Cleveland Clinic advises telling your provider if you are sick when blood is drawn, because illness can temporarily lower testosterone levels. A result taken during a bad week can send a workup down the wrong road.
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The 2024 review frames maca's clinical findings around sexual desire, erectile function and subjective wellbeing rather than around raising the hormone itself. If a label promises a testosterone effect from maca, it is promising something the review does not.
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The FDA publishes company recall announcements on its website as a public service, which is where the 2024 male enhancement recall appeared. The agency is clear that posting an announcement is not an endorsement of the product or the company.
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Because they are often not the same thing inside. NCCIH points out that ashwagandha trials used a variety of preparations, and the maca review notes that composition shifts with ecotype, growing conditions and post-harvest processing. Two products can share a name and little else.
-
Yes, and it is a standard part of the visit. Cleveland Clinic describes providers asking about medical history, the medicines you take and substance use before ordering any blood work, and supplements belong in that answer.
Sources Used
Ashwagandha – National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, NIH (2023)
Do Testosterone Supplements Really Work? – Cleveland Clinic Newsroom (2026)
Exploring the chemical and pharmacological variability of Lepidium meyenii: a comprehensive review of the effects of maca – PMC, National Library of Medicine (2024)
Low sex drive in women – Mayo Clinic (2024)
Low Testosterone – Cleveland Clinic (2026)
Male Enhancement Supplements Recalled – U.S. Food and Drug Administration (2024)
Luteinizing Hormone (LH) Levels Test: MedlinePlus Medical Test – MedlinePlus (2023)
Written by Sofiia Puhach
October 30, 2026
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Most over-the-counter libido supplements have thin evidence behind them, and a urologist's advice is to skip the testosterone boosters.