Are Load-Boosting Supplements Safe? Urologists Reveal the Truth

IF YOU’RE INSECURE about if the amount of spunk you spurt stacks up to what you see in porn, you’re not alone.

“Not only has the porn industry led people to question the size of their physical parts, sexual abilities, and sexual duration, but it’s also led folks to worry about the size of their load,” says AASECT-certified sex therapist Rufus Spann, Ph.D., founder of Libido Health, an app engineered to bridge sexual health and overall wellness.

And while size shouldn’t matter—when it comes to your penis or what comes out of it—larger loads may be associated with increased sexual pleasure. “The release of semen occurs with the sensation of orgasm, so greater semen volume is often associated with more pleasure, whereas less volume can result in less pleasure,” says board-certified urologist, Peter Schlegel, MD, FACS, an advisor with Ro, a sexual health pharmaceutical and supplement company.

For millennia, what you shot was what you got. But now, there are supplements designed to quell load-based anxieties and increase sexual pleasure by—allegedly—helping your semen volume measure up to a money shot. Sometimes called volume enhancers or boosters, these over-the-counter supplements claim to increase the total amount of seminal fluid expelled from the urethra during ejaculation. Most don’t claim to have the turnaround time of erectile dysfunction gummies, sublinguals, and drops, but instead are designed to be taken daily like a multivitamin.

But do these supplements actually work, and are they safe for your swimmers? Here, urologists share the factors that affect load size and if there’s anything you can do to influence it.

First, what is a normal amount?

Load size, known medically as “semen volume,” varies from person to person, says Dr. Schlegel. Anywhere from 1.25 milliliters to 5 milliliters is considered typical, per the International Society for Sexual Medicine. But 5 milliliters of ejaculate is equivalent to one single teaspoon of milk, so even the highest end of that is far from the ropes of adult videos.

Most people with penises expel a standard amount of semen and have a general sense of its size based on sight or feel, says Joshua Gonzalez, MD, a board-trained urologist, sexual medicine specialist, and tco-founder of Popstar, a supplement line of products geared to address sexual health concerns, including semen volume. But the only real way to know your semen volume is through a semen analysis, which is usually only performed to gain information about fertility markers (like sperm count) and involves ejaculating into a cup, explains Dr. Schlegel.

What impacts semen volume, exactly?

Before we go any further, let’s address what doesn’t impact load size. Cultural messaging might have tricked you into believing otherwise, but semen volume isn’t affected by nor is a reliable indicator of desire, sexual abilities, or masculinity.

“There is a ridiculous myth that if you sleep with someone who ejaculates a smaller volume, they’re not that into you,” says sex and relationship expert Tara Suwinyattichaiporn, PhD, an associate professor of relational and sexual communication at California State University and host of the Luvbites podcast, where she recently addressed load size. “But a person can feel extremely attracted to someone and still produce small loads.”

There’s also a BS misconception that semen volume is a measure of one’s masculinity. “My hypothesis is that this myth comes from the idea that if you produce a big load, you’re more likely to impregnate the mate, which means you’re fulfilling your ‘masculine role’ in a more effective manner,” says Suwinyattichaiporn. But there’s no connection between load volume and an individual’s gender, gender presentation, or relationship to femininity and masculinity, she says.

As for what actually impacts semen volume? Turns out, the most significant factor is age.

Why does it decrease with age?

Semen volume naturally and slowly decreases as men grow older, due to other aspects of aging, says Justin Houman, M.D., a board-certified urologist who specializes in hormone health, sexual health, and fertility and the Senior Medical Advisor at the sexual wellness platform Cake. For one, testosterone production naturally decreases by approximately one to two percent per year after age 30, which may impact ejaculatory volume, he says.

The prostate also tends to grow larger as men age. ​​Some of the fluids that make up seminal fluid come from prostate fluid, Dr. Schlegel says, so, benign enlargement of the prostate (BPH)—which impacts half of men over the age of 50 and 90 percent over 80 years old—can limit semen flow and lead to reduced volume overall.

Plus, certain medications impact semen production, many of which guys are far more likely to be on when they’re older as opposed to in their twenties. Hair loss medications, SSRIs, and diuretics, which often treat high blood pressure, are known to impact semen volume negatively, says Dr. Schlegel. Alpha-blockers—which treat urinary issues and prostate problems—can have the same effect, he adds.

Can supplements actually increase volume? Are they safe?

The jury is still out. There are currently a handful of brands—Popstar, VB Health, and Semenax, to name a few—with a volume booster on the market. However, it’s important to keep in mind that the FDA doesn’t regulate which supplements go to market, so there is no guarantee that these products actually do what they say they do—or even that they’re safe.

And while some anecdotes suggest satisfied customers, without science to back up their claims, many experts are unconvinced. “There is little reason to believe that these supplements will improve your load volume,” says Dr. Schlegel.

Dr. Houman is also skeptical. “Most over-the-counter semen volume supplements contain nutrients like zinc, L-carnitine, maca root, and fenugreek, that have been shown to support semen volume or the health and function of the reproductive organs that support semen production,” he says. “For the men who are deficient in these nutrients, these supplements may modestly increase volume—but we’re talking in the range of a few milliliters at best.”

For everyone else, “it is very unlikely that these supplements are going to transform ejaculatory load from a teaspoon to a shot glass,” he adds. “Although there is no specific safety concern, certain supplements can have adverse effects on liver function, and toxicity can occur if too much of any herbal material is taken,” says Dr. Schlegel.

Additionally, certain herbal ingredients can negatively impact the endocrine function, which will ultimately backfire against your goal of improving sexual prowess and performance, says Dr. Houman.

“Some ingredients can also interfere with the efficacy of prescription drugs, so you should always talk to your doctor, especially if you’re already taking medications or have underlying health conditions.”

What else can I do for larger loads?

There’s a reason most large load supplements recommend being taken with water—and it isn’t because they’re worried you’ll gag on the pills. Rather, increasing your daily water intake is the easiest and cheapest way to increase your ejaculation volume, says Dr. Houman. “Being well-hydrated helps the body produce more fluid overall,” he says.

Abstaining from ejaculating for a few days may also help. “The longer it’s been since you’ve last ejaculated, the more ejaculatory fluid there will be—though, that is only true up to a point,” says Dr. Schlegel. Semen volume levels out after seven or eight days of abstinence, research shows, meaning there is no additional volume increase associated with forgoing ejaculation for more than a week. (In fact, because regular ejaculation is linked to improved prostate health, most doctors don’t recommend it.)

Implementing other healthy lifestyle habits—quitting smoking, limiting alcohol intake, and exercising—may also help you have larger loads, says Dr. Houman. When you have better overall health, the better your sexual organs will function, which can have a positive, domino effect on ejaculatory volume, he explains.

That said, if you’re interested in shooting larger loads because you or your partner have a cream pie, body fluid, cum fetish, or breeding kink, Spann recommends getting creative. “Some sexual partners find that spit, urine, and other bodily fluids create a similar sensation that arouses that particular kink or preference,” he says. Sex wax, arousal gel, and store-bought lubricants designed to mimic the texture of cum (like #LubeLife Jizzy Juice Cum, Calexotics Fuck Sauce, and Spunk Lube) are other readily-available substitutes.