The Viral Olive Oil and Lemon Shot, Made Right
A spoon of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon, sent around online as a fix for the bedroom. Here is how to make it taste good, and what it can and cannot do.
Posted Oct. 29, 2026 · 1 shot
Every few months the same video makes the rounds: a tablespoon of olive oil and the juice of half a lemon, down in one go before breakfast, and a man supposedly stops needing his prescription. My brother-in-law has sent it to me twice.
The shot itself is harmless. It is the same oil and lemon that go on a salad, and made with care it tastes like a good dressing. It is not a pill, though. The olive oil has real research behind it as part of a whole way of eating, and the lemon is there mostly for flavor. Below is the version I make, and at the end, what the studies actually looked at.
What you need
| How much | What |
|---|---|
| 1 tbsp | extra-virgin olive oil, the peppery kind |
| 1/2 | lemon, juiced (about 1 tbsp) |
| 1 small pinch | flaky salt |
| 1 crack | black pepper, optional |
How to make it
- Squeeze the lemon into a small glass through spread fingers, so the seeds stay out.
- Pour the olive oil on top. It will float in a gold layer.
- Add the salt and the pepper, then whisk hard with a fork for ten seconds, until it turns cloudy and thick.
- Drink it right away, before it separates, and follow it with a glass of water.
Cook’s notes
- Buy an olive oil that catches at the back of the throat. That bite comes from polyphenols, and it is the part the Mediterranean-diet research cares about. A flat, buttery oil is fine for cooking and pointless here.
- A tablespoon is about 120 calories. Most people get more out of putting the same two ingredients on a plate of greens or beans every day than out of a shot.
- What the research says: long studies of Mediterranean-style eating, heavy on olive oil, vegetables, beans, fish and nuts, link it to healthier blood vessels and fewer erection problems in men as they age. No study has tested this shot on its own, and nothing in it acts the way a prescription does.
- Erection trouble that is new or getting worse is worth raising at a checkup. It often shows up before a circulation problem does anywhere else.
FAQ
Does it work like the prescription?
No. A prescription changes blood flow within the hour. Olive oil is food, and the benefit in the studies came from years of eating a certain way, not from a morning shot.
Can I take it on an empty stomach?
Most people can. If oil first thing turns the stomach, have it with breakfast, or skip the shot and use the same oil at lunch.
Is bottled lemon juice fine?
Fresh is better. Bottled juice tastes flat and a little bitter next to good oil.