Honeys, gummies and pills: what are we really taking?

I haven’t even been working in a sex shop for a month, and one of the things people ask us for most often is the famous “natural” honeys, gummies and pills for sexual performance.

Watching men and women buy them without thinking twice worries me.

Maybe someone young does not take any medication and assumes there is nothing to worry about. But the reality is that almost all of us consume something: alcohol, cannabis, a supplement, maybe grapefruit juice. And as the years go by, it becomes even more likely that we take medication for blood pressure, the heart, anxiety, depression, the prostate or some other condition.

I am not saying all of those things interact in the same way or carry the same level of risk. We will get into each of them and why it matters to know exactly what we are taking.

That is where I start to worry about buying a honey, gummy or pill that promises better sexual performance when we cannot be completely sure what is inside.

“Natural” does not necessarily mean safe

One of the products we carry, for example, is Zeus Plus. The package talks about male enhancement and uses a proprietary blend of several ingredients. In the presentations I reviewed, the directions vary: the 1600 mg capsule presentation says not to take more than one capsule within four days, while some gummies use a 72-hour dosing interval. That describes how often the product is to be used; it does not establish that the effects last 72 hours. The label also tells people with certain health conditions to consult a doctor.

I want to be fair: Zeus Plus does not appear in the FDA alerts I reviewed, so I am not going to say that it contains hidden sildenafil, tadalafil or another drug.

But seeing how easily products like this are sold was one of the things that made me start looking into the category.

And that is where I found the real problem.

The FDA has tested numerous supplements, honeys, chocolates, liquids, capsules and other products sold for sexual performance and found substances that were not listed on the label.

Those include sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra, and tadalafil, the active ingredient in Cialis. Other products have contained substances such as yohimbine, flibanserin and testosterone propionate.

So someone may think they are simply taking herbs, honey or a “natural” supplement when they may actually be taking a drug without knowing it.

What if I am already taking something else?

This is where knowing what is actually inside matters.

Sildenafil or tadalafil with nitrates or nitrites: this is one of the most important combinations. It can lower blood pressure to dangerous levels. Sildenafil is contraindicated with organic nitrates and nitrites.

That brings up something especially relevant in a sex shop: so-called poppers. Products sold under names such as Rush may contain nitrites. The FDA also warns that inhaling or ingesting these products can itself cause severe harm.

Blood-pressure medications and alpha-blockers: sildenafil and tadalafil can add to their blood-pressure-lowering effects. That does not mean everyone taking those medications can never use an erectile-dysfunction drug; it means the prescriber needs to know what you take and manage the treatment appropriately.

Some HIV medications, antibiotics and antifungals: certain drugs can substantially increase sildenafil or tadalafil levels in the body. Ritonavir and some strong CYP3A4 inhibitors, for example, require important dose adjustments.

Alcohol: with tadalafil, large amounts of alcohol can increase the chance of dizziness, headache, rapid heartbeat and low blood pressure. And too much alcohol can also make the erection you were trying to improve more difficult.

Grapefruit: MedlinePlus recommends discussing grapefruit and grapefruit juice with a clinician when taking sildenafil or tadalafil.

Yohimbine: this is not just another harmless “herbal” word either. The FDA has found products with dangerously high undeclared amounts of yohimbine and warns that risks are greater with stimulants, some ADHD medications, MAO inhibitors and certain antidepressants.

The evidence for a specific cannabis interaction is not as clear as it is for nitrates or poppers, so I would not put them in the same category. And “anxiety or depression medications” covers far too many different drugs to claim they all interact in the same way.

That is exactly my point: if you do not know what is really in the product, you also do not know which interaction you need to avoid.

What the FDA has already found

In 2026, through September, the FDA alert page has included products such as: DEEP, MAXMAN Coffee, Premium OrgaZEN 10000, Anaconda Premium 500K, Kangaroo Intense Venus 3000, MAGNUM products, Branch Manager for Men, Business Pill, Pink Pussycat products, Juicy AF!, Big Dick Energy!, X10 Natural Enhancement Supplement, Erectus Plus, Sensual Miracle Honey, biQ-FEL, Hard AF!, WAP Sensual Enhancement, Red Bull Extreme, Blue Bull Extreme, Boner Bears Honey, LOVION Chocolate with Ginseng for Men, Fantasy Aphrodisiac Chocolate, DTF Sexual Chocolate, Boner Bears Chocolate, Rhino Choco VIP and ilum Male Sexual Enhancement Chocolate.

The FDA itself makes an important point: its list covers only a small fraction of contaminated products that may be on the market. A product not appearing there does not mean it has been proven safe.

Sometimes the problem is not only between our legs

There is another part of this that matters just as much to me.

A lot of the time, we buy these things because we are insecure.

Will I stay hard? Will I last? Will I satisfy the other person? What if my body does not respond the way I want it to?

I just wrote about my own insecurities around penis size, so I do not find it strange that someone might want a little help before sex.

But sometimes maybe we need to talk about our insecurities before trying to medicate them.

That conversation may be with the person we are having sex with. It may be with a psychologist, sexologist or sex therapist. And if there really is a physical problem, a doctor can help figure out what is happening.

The answer may end up being Viagra, Cialis or another treatment.

Perfect.

But at least you will know what you are taking, how much you are taking and whether it can be combined with the other things already in your life.

I am not an expert

I am not a doctor, pharmacist, psychologist or sexologist.

I am someone who has been working in a sex shop for less than a month and started asking questions after seeing how many of these products we sell.

I try to get informed so I can inform others.

And the more I read, the more I think this is not about telling everyone, “Do not take anything.”

It is much simpler:

do not take something just because a nice-looking package says “natural.”

Ask what is in it. Look it up. If you use medications, find out whether there are interactions. And if the sexual problem is genuinely worrying you, talk to someone who can help you understand what is happening.

A honey, gummy or pill may be easier to buy.

But knowing what you are putting into your body seems much more important to me.

Correction note — October 1, 2026

The first version of this article said Zeus Plus “claims effects lasting up to 72 hours.” After reviewing the available presentations again, I found that wording had mixed up duration of effect with dosing intervals for different presentations. The 1600 mg capsule presentation says not to take more than one capsule within four days (96 hours), while some gummies use a 72-hour interval. Neither instruction, by itself, establishes that the effects last that long. I also removed LUZE Fit Intensity and Beauty 911 from the example list: they appear on FDA alert pages, but they were promoted for weight loss and were not good examples for a list focused on sexual-performance products.