# Do vegetarians have better sex? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 31, 2009, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegetarians-have-better-sex/483850 "2009-01-31T10:47:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fake_Tales_of_San_Francisco)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegetarians-have-better-sex/483850/1 "2009-01-31T10:47:53Z")
Being British, living out in the country in Australia, I’d not really come into contact with PETA until recently. I checked out one of their adverts, apparently airing during the Super Bowl thingyamabob on youtube [here](http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=5GJiIXn87BQ&feature=related) and the bold assertion it presents got me thinking. I would like to know what studies show this? Have there been any serious studies into vegeterian love making? (And by that, I don’t mean sticking cucumbers where they don’t belong). I imagine it would be very difficult to study this kind of thing properly. Well, perhaps a better question would be, what is it about meat that would make you a worse lover? I’ve heard steak can make certain ‘juices’ taste not so great, but neither me or my girlfriend can really tell the difference… :dubious: So, I’m looking for the facts! (Sorry if there’s already a similar thread floating around) ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegetarians-have-better-sex/483850/2 "2009-01-31T11:02:58Z")
Figure that vegetarians are likely to be more liberal–hence less likely to be uptight about sex–and you’ve got your statistic. I don’t know if there actually is such a study, but the result sounds likely. Correlation, however, doesn’t mean causation. On the other hand, vegetarians fart more. ---
**Author:** ![chromaticity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@chromaticity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chromaticity)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegetarians-have-better-sex/483850/3 "2009-01-31T11:48:12Z")
Personal experience from having been in both sides of the fence: Doesn’t make any difference. Besides “better sex” is highly subjective. Also, PETA uses all sort of propaganda to push their agenda. I agree with their message somewhat, but don’t like the way they go about enforcing it. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegetarians-have-better-sex/483850/4 "2009-01-31T12:18:40Z")
Slate ran a piece on this saying in effect “doubtful”: [Do vegetarians really have better sex?](http://www.slate.com/id/2210092/?from=rss) I spent more time on PETA’s worthless website than I ever plan on doing again, and I can’t find a technical paper, published study, or even a list of citations. Mostly I can find the same old “McDonalds is teh Bush / leather shoes == Jewish skin lamps / every paramecium deserves respect” horseshit I can get on the SDMB (but without pop-ups). For a bit more sanity I searched Google Scholar, JSTOR, Pubmed, and I must be using the wrong search terms or something, but I’m not finding these groundbreaking studies. I am finding some references to an interview from USA Today back in 1998…I’d be interested if folks here, especially the PETA members on this board, can point me to what these authoritative studies claimed by PETA are. (Other sources claim it’s all a chain of cause and effect from a study that lower BMI (since vegetarians do seem to have lower BMI values) is linked to better sex life, but IIRC there was a serious problem with causality. That is, whether thinner people were having better sex because they were considered more attractive in general, or because they had a biological change.) ---
**Author:** ![Casserole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b77776/32.png) [@Casserole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casserole)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegetarians-have-better-sex/483850/5 "2009-01-31T16:10:10Z")
Lawsuit? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dre2xl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/34f0e0/32.png) [@dre2xl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dre2xl)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegetarians-have-better-sex/483850/6 "2009-01-31T16:13:18Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Figure that vegetarians are likely to be more liberal–hence less likely to be uptight about sex–and you’ve got your statistic. It’s not that simple. Traditional fundamentalist Christianity encourages oodles of sex. [http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2008-11-25/the-christian-sexual-awakening/](http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2008-11-25/the-christian-sexual-awakening/) Republicans also happier with sex lives than Democrats: [Primetime Live Poll: More Republicans Satisfied With Sex Lives Than Democrats - ABC News](http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/News/story?id=180291) ---
**Author:** ![CaerieD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@CaerieD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaerieD)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegetarians-have-better-sex/483850/7 "2009-01-31T16:42:15Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Figure that vegetarians are likely to be more liberal–hence less likely to be uptight about sex–and you’ve got your statistic IME, all the really kinky people I know came from conservative backgrounds, so I’m not so sure about that as a potential link. Now, there _are_ studies that link a larger amount of certain vegetables in the diet leading to better health in certain areas that would be connected with your sex life. Such as [tomatoes](http://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/20031104/tomatoes-prostate-cancer-fighter) lowering the risks of prostate cancer. It has been found that high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes can all cause [impotence](http://www.drmirkin.com/men/M127.htm). These conditions can, **in some cases** , be associated with a diet poor in vegetables and high in meat. Essentially, healthy people are more likely to be _capable_ of having sex. But being a vegetarian doesn’t automatically make you healthier, nor does eating meat automatically make you less healthy. ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegetarians-have-better-sex/483850/8 "2009-01-31T16:45:06Z")
Just a rough generalized hypothesis: Healthy people have better sex lives. Vegetarians are healthier than average. Therefore, vegetarians have better than average sex lives. My opinion is that anyone who watches what they eat with a view to a balanced diet and nutrition, etc. will be healthier than average. In general vegetarians are more likely to do this because the are concerned about avoiding the dead-flesh. That is, I don’t think the health benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle is because they avoid meat but because they are generally watching their overall diet. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegetarians-have-better-sex/483850/9 "2009-01-31T19:02:31Z")
If everyone were a vegetarian, animals would have better sex lives . . . in the sense that they would have lives, and presumably sex. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegetarians-have-better-sex/483850/10 "2009-01-31T19:12:26Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > If everyone were a vegetarian, animals would have better sex lives . . . in the sense that they would have lives, and presumably sex. Well, other than that many of them would not be alive if we were all vegetarian. However, I find it hard to believe that anyone can believe there is better sex without the eating of sausage or fish tacos. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegetarians-have-better-sex/483850/11 "2009-01-31T19:21:13Z")
> [@kidchameleon](#): > > I find it hard to believe that anyone can believe there is better sex without the eating of sausage or fish tacos. 🆒 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegetarians-have-better-sex/483850/12 "2009-01-31T19:41:57Z")
What I’d heard was that a meat and fish diet, and certain vegetables, or more specifically, vegetarian friendly condiments, like wasabi, or soy sauce, cause certain, urm, bodily-fluids-of-the-sort-that-get-tasted-during-your-favorite-sexual-practice™ to be less, palatable, than other, better, vegan choices, would, for flavoring. Urm. Or something. I think we all see where I’m going with this. And maybe, from that little love-life hint, the whole, vegans have better sex sprang up. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegetarians-have-better-sex/483850/13 "2009-01-31T21:39:00Z")
It has to be false. It’s obviously more fun to have sex with a sheep than with a tomato. ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegetarians-have-better-sex/483850/14 "2009-02-01T02:30:33Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > It has to be false. It’s obviously more fun to have sex with a sheep than with a tomato. …unless you’re the hard-boiled detective type. ---
**Author:** ![ivn1188](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e480ec/32.png) [@ivn1188](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivn1188)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegetarians-have-better-sex/483850/15 "2009-02-01T03:04:26Z")
> [@tim-n-va](#): > > Just a rough generalized hypothesis: > > Healthy people have better sex lives. Vegetarians are healthier than average. Therefore, vegetarians have better than average sex lives. > > My opinion is that anyone who watches what they eat with a view to a balanced diet and nutrition, etc. will be healthier than average. In general vegetarians are more likely to do this because the are concerned about avoiding the dead-flesh. That is, I don’t think the health benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle is because they avoid meat but because they are generally watching their overall diet. There is also the fact that vegetarianism/veganism skew toward young and wealthy, both of which are highly correlated with good health. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegetarians-have-better-sex/483850/16 "2009-02-01T03:22:37Z")
While no _general_ conclusions can be drawn from the ad itself, I think it’s certainly possible that the women in the ad itself have better than average sex. On an unrelated note, I shall be in my bunk. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegetarians-have-better-sex/483850/17 "2009-02-01T03:30:13Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > It has to be false. It’s obviously more fun to have sex with a sheep than with a tomato. But surely a woman would have more sexual fun with a cucumber than with a rack of baby back ribs. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegetarians-have-better-sex/483850/18 "2009-02-01T15:27:08Z")
> [@kidchameleon](#): > > Well, other than that many of them would not be alive if we were all vegetarian. Don’t let this sort of faulty logic persuade you that you’re doing farmed animals any favors. ---
**Author:** ![ivn1188](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e480ec/32.png) [@ivn1188](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivn1188)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegetarians-have-better-sex/483850/19 "2009-02-01T19:18:35Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > Don’t let this sort of faulty logic persuade you that you’re doing farmed animals any favors. That’s not faulty logic. If we were all vegetarians, we would not raise as many animals. The question of doing them any favors kind of depends on your ethical beliefs. Utilitarianism might find that being a vegetarian is immoral, if your farm animals are happy animals like they have in California. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegetarians-have-better-sex/483850/20 "2009-02-01T20:25:58Z")
PETA’s [press release](http://www.peta.org/mc/NewsItem.asp?id=12555) simply states: > [@](#): > > Undulating bodies aside, why do vegetarians make better lovers? For one thing, vegetarians are, on average, fitter and slimmer than meat eaters. Also, heart disease and obesity–both linked to meat consumption–can slow someone down so much that sex can give them a coronary. And the consumption of meat and dairy products is linked to impotence: The cholesterol and saturated fats in meat and other animal products restrict the flow of blood to all the body’s vital organs–not just to the heart. All in all, it seems to be more a case of _healthy_ people make better lovers, not vegetarians per se. Nothing in particular about vegetables make you better in the sack and nothing in particular about eating animal products in moderation would be detrimental. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-vegetarians-have-better-sex/483850.md?page=2)