What is an aphrodisiac?
An aphrodisiac is a substance that is believed to increase sexual desire. The term comes from Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty. There are many different substances that are claimed to have aphrodisiac properties, including certain foods, herbs, and drugs. Some examples of substances that are sometimes claimed to have aphrodisiac properties include chocolate, oysters, ginseng, and Viagra.
However, the scientific evidence for the effectiveness of these substances as aphrodisiacs is often weak or inconclusive. It is important to note that the effects of aphrodisiacs can vary widely from person to person, and what works for one person may not work for another. Additionally, it is important to be cautious when using any substance for this purpose, as some may have negative side effects or interact with other medications.
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Natural aphrodisiacs
People have used herbs, trees, and shrubs from different parts of the world, including the Andes, Siberia, the Amazon rainforests, and China, for thousands of years to try and solve sexual or reproductive dysfunctions.
Now, in the “planetary village”, many of these traditional herbal aphrodisiacs, accompanied by the scrolls of Ethnobotany and in some cases by the results of clinical research, are outside our door. So, let’s see what three of them, considered among the safest, have to offer us.
Natural aphrodisiacs: What the science says?
Folkloric ‘tales’, autobiography, or primordial knowledge in need of more scientific investigation? The position of modern science is no longer “one piece” on the subject of selected “aphrodisiacs”. The fact is that human sexuality involves the body, mind, and soul, which makes clinical research into the action of these substances in humans an extremely difficult undertaking.
On the other hand, sexual and reproductive dysfunctions of any kind can be the result of serious physical and mental illnesses or side effects of drugs, and it is necessary to first examine them through a scientific eye. At the same time, some of the so-called “aphrodisiacs” can be ineffective and, in some cases, extremely toxic and dangerous.
It is not surprising, then, that usually scientists, in order not to endanger the public, but also not to leave the field free to charlatans, are generally cautious. However, there are not a few scientists who for years have been deriving information from Ethnobotany and Ethnopharmacology and, pressing on the primordial knowledge, conduct research that often leads them to refute this completely negative attitude.
1. Horny Goat Weed, Epimedium › Herbal Viagra
The news is fresh and comes from the very “stronghold” of Chemistry. In the monthly edition of the American Chemical Association (American Chemical Association). The results of the research conducted by the team of Professor Mario Dell’Agli of the University of Milan on the impressive effects against erectile dysfunction that have icariin.
The active ingredient in the Epimedium plant, which researchers believe has a good chance of becoming the foundation of a new formulation that will compete with sildenafil, the chemical active ingredient in Viagra. There is strong evidence that Epimedium has similar results without unwanted side effects (hot flashes, headaches, etc.). Epimedium or in ChineseYin Yang Huo, a herb that balances Yin and Yang, which in English is eloquently called Horny Goat Weed, is cultivated in several regions of Asia and Europe for cosmetic purposes.
While it is an endemic medicinal plant of southern China, where it is used as an aphrodisiac and the drug of choice to combat erectile dysfunction. Its action was discovered when the change in the behavior of animals that had grazed its leaves was observed.
For men and women
Its active substance, icariin, appears to bind to the SHGB enzyme. The levels of which naturally increase in men over 45 years of age and compete with the biological action of testosterone, preventing an erection. Icariin relaxes the body’s smooth muscles, thereby enhancing blood flow to the reproductive organs and especially the penis. In traditional Chinese medicine, the herb is administered to both sexes.
In men, in addition to erectile dysfunction, it is given to increase sperm count and for greater sexual satisfaction. While in women it is usually given to fight fatigue, but also hypertension that occurs after menopause. You can find Yin Yang Huo in leaf form for decoction or in capsules in shops that sell Chinese herbs.
- Dosage: You can make a decoction of 1-4 teaspoons of dried leaves in 1 cup of water and drink it daily for 2-3 weeks.
- Contraindications: Not recorded.
2. Maca › The power of the Incas
Lepidium meyenii, as maca is scientifically called, looks like a radish. It is cultivated as a widely used vegetable in the highlands of the Andes, especially in Peru, as it is rich in nutritional components. But it is also considered valuable for its medicinal, tonic, and not only its action.
The locals learned the Incas about maca, which they revered so highly that they provided large amounts of it as a tribute to the Spanish invaders. Additionally, their warriors never went to battle without first eating a lot of maca, which they believed gave them courage. strength, endurance, and energy.
In traditional Peruvian medicine, dried maca root is considered effective in treating sexual and reproductive dysfunctions, boosting the immune system, and treating anemia, cycle disorders, and menopause.
What did the research show?
University research was conducted on rodents in the 1960s and 1970s in Peru and China with maca powder. And the extract confirmed the beliefs surrounding its aphrodisiac properties in terms of frequency of intercourse, time to erection, and increased sperm quantity. Later, a placebo-controlled scientific study of 57 healthy men aged 21 to 56 showed that those who took 1.5 g. or 3 gr. maca a day and were asked after 4, 8, and 12 weeks. They found an increase in sexual desire and at the same time a significant improvement in their mental mood compared to the control group, with no change in sex hormone levels observed.
However, the effect of maca has not been scientifically investigated in men with erectile dysfunction or infertility.
- Dosage: Put 1-3 teaspoons of maca powder in 1 glass of water, hot or cold, milk or juice. You can even add it to various foods such as yogurt, breakfast cereals, etc. Maca powder, to make a decoction. You will find them in shops that carry foreign herbs and in capsules in large pharmacies with herbal remedies.
- Contraindications: Not recorded.
3. Muira puama Or marapuama
In South America, the so-called “fertility wood” was primarily used to stimulate libido and sexual function. But it was also used as an anti-depressant, sedative, memory enhancer, enhancer of the nervous system and brain function, analgesic, antihypertensive, cycle regulator, and regulator of gastrointestinal function.
The Latin name for this small Amazonian tree was known to the tribes of the AmazonMuira Puama has long been listed as a remedy for dysentery and impotence in the British Herbal Pharmacopoeia, where it is still listed. However, it should not be mistaken for another species of tree from Brazil with the Latin name Liriosma ovata.
Herbal Aphrodisiacs
Aristotle advised Alexander the Great not to allow his soldiers to drink mint tea during battles to avoid sexual arousal. Although he himself appreciated the effect of beans, which today have proven to be the richest natural source of L-dopa, an amino acid that elevates dopamine levels in the body.
Aphrodisiac qualities have occasionally been attributed to asparagus and artichokes because of their shape and nutritional value. Also cocoa, because of the tryptophan, it contains and because of its historical scarcity. To cinnamon because of its aroma and heating effect. To hot peppers because they stimulate arousal similar to that of love; and to arugula, cumin, dill, and parsley because they are thought to be high in phytoestrogens. Finally, there are probably fewer plants on the list of non-aphrodisiacs.
Dynamic effect
Scientists in the countries of the West, but also in South America, began to investigate the aphrodisiac properties of Muira Puama as early as 1920. Since then, various clinical types of research confirm the medicinal properties of the plant, which are attributed to its complex components (alkaloids, phytosterols, essential oils, resins, etc.), and there is extensive relevant international literature.
In studies done in France on men suffering from decreased sexual desire and erectile dysfunction, the “dynamic effect” of the plant was positive in 62% and 51% respectively. Today, both men and women use the plant as an aphrodisiac as well as for its numerous medicinal benefits throughout South America, the USA, as well as in a number of European nations, including France and Germany.
- Dosage: If you want to try it, you will boil for 15 minutes on low heat 1 teaspoon of shavings from the trunk and/or roots of the plant in 1 cup of water. You can drink 1/2 or 1 cup every day. However, you will also find it in capsules or in mixtures with other herbs.
- Contraindications: Not recorded.
