Impotence/Erectile Dysfunction/ Sagging Libido
Get Your Old Self Back with Horny Goat Weed
LET’S BE CLEAR. Impotence has multiple causes. If you’re not turned on by your partner, if you’re depressed, or if you’ve got a ton of things on your mind, you may not be in the mood for love. It’s unlikely that any supplement on the planet is going to make you suddenly fall in lust with Miss Anderson in accounting, particularly if you can’t stand her to begin with. But if circulation or blood flow is an issue, there are some natural cures that may indeed give your sex life a boost.
Ever hear of Epimedium sagittatum? Me, either. But this herb, found throughout Asia and the Mediterranean, goes by another name in the United States, one you might recognize if you’ve thumbed through the ads in men’s magazines in the last few years: horny goat weed.
Legend has it that this plant got its nickname from a goat herder who happened to notice that his flock would graze on this herb and then get noticeably more, well, frisky. Also known as yin yang huo, epimedium has a long history in Chinese medicine as a tonic for the liver, joints, and kidneys. But in the United States, its principal use is as an aphrodisiac.
What Do the Chinese Know That We Don’t?
Horny goat weed is loaded with flavonoids, polysaccharides, sterols, and an alkaloid called magnaflorine, according to herbal medicine expert Chris Kilham, author of the Hot Plants: Nature’s Proven Sex Boosters for Men and Women. This time-tested aphrodisiac “increases libido in men and women, and improves erectile function in men,” Kilham says.
Kilham went to China to interview traditional Chinese medicine practitioners for the Discovery Channel, and was told by Diao Yuan Kuang, M.D., that horny goat weed “... gives you back your sexual strength.” Chinese doctors use it to treat erectile problems, boost libido, and recapture the sexual vitality of youth. Herb traders in China estimate that they sell more than 100 tons of the stuff every year.
Little research has been done on horny goat weed and libido, but it has a long history of successful use, and many health practitioners, not only in Asia, but over here, endorse it. “Epimedium is, in fact, likely to make you horny. Most users will notice a mild to moderate effect on the third or fourth day of use,” says Ray Sahelian, M.D., author of Natural Sex Boosters.
Kilham, who’s my go-to guy for exotic herbal products, recommends supplements that are standardized to a flavonoid called icarlin. Two to four 500 mg capsules per day should be enough to help with libido and heat up your sex life.
Maca, also known as “Peruvian ginseng,” has been used for sex enhancement since the time of the Incas. It’s actually a radish-shaped vegetable that grows well in the Andes Mountains. I first heard about maca when I interviewed a researcher on my New York radio show who found that feeding maca to rodents increased their spontaneous erections. (This study was published in the April 2000 issue of the medical journal Urology.) Maca root contains a chemical called p-methoxybenzyl isothiocyanate, which is reputed to have aphrodisiac qualities. (It also contains a bunch of chemicals found in other plants from the Brassica family (broccoli, cabbage, etc.), which are documented to be cancer preventive.)
Other research has demonstrated increased sexual activity in mice that are fed maca, though some of this research has been criticized because it was performed and sponsored by people marketing maca. But there’s been some human research as well, notably by G.F. Gonzales et al., published in the Asian Journal of Andrology. Men aged twenty-one to fifty-six received either a placebo, 1,500 mg of maca, or 3,000 mg of maca. Sperm count and semen volume were increased with maca at either dose.
Why the effects? Who knows? Maca contains two novel groups of compounds—macamides and macaenes, which may be responsible for its effects. Maca also contains the amino acid L-arginine (see below), which has been shown to increase sperm production and motility and is necessary for the creation of nitric oxide, a molecule that is necessary for erections. (More on nitric oxide in a moment.)
An interesting theory on maca and sexual activity has to do with the fact that maca contains high amounts of an amino acid called histidine. Histidine plays an often-overlooked role in both ejaculation and orgasm. It gets tricky here, but stay with me. The body uses histidine to produce histamine. High levels of histamine are often found in men who have premature ejaculation. (That’s one reason why a side effect of antihistamines is difficulty in achieving orgasm.) According to the Tropical Plant Database website, a prohistamine like maca might have exactly the opposite effect of an antihistamine. It might make it easier for men and women who have trouble reaching orgasm to achieve it.
Regardless of the science, the proof is in the pudding. Kilham, investigating maca in Peru on one of his frequent “Medicine Hunter” expeditions, asked a number of people why they used maca. “One woman stands out in my mind,” he says. “She smiled at my question and replied, ‘Well, for the sex, of course.’”
Then there’s L-arginine. Though no cure for impotence, L-arginine has a documented role in the body as a vasodilator, benefiting circulation and helping with endothelial dysfunction, a dysfunction of cells that line the inner surface of blood vessels. (Endothelial dysfunction is often a predictor of later vascular events like heart attacks and strokes.) What’s the connection to sexual performance? Simple: circulation.
“I’ve almost never seen a case of erectile dysfunction that didn’t also have a component of the other ED—endothelial dysfunction,” says Mark Houston, M.D. “They frequently go together.”
The claim for arginine as a natural treatment for erectile dysfunction is that it increases levels of another molecule in the body, the previous mentioned nitric oxide.
“No” Means “Yes” for Your Heart and Your Libido
Nitric oxide (abbreviation NO) was named “molecule of the year” by Science magazine in 1992. Its discovery led to the Nobel Prize in 1998 and has led to an explosion of research about it ever since. Briefly, this signaling molecule tells the arteries to “relax and expand,” which is why it’s so vital for healthy circulation. Viagra actually works because it improves nitric oxide signaling in the penis. (And no, I’m not making that up.)
The claim for arginine is that it increases NO in the body, but according to Nathan Bryan, Ph.D., of the School of Medicine of University of Texas Health Science Center (and co-author of The Nitrous Oxide Solution), we don’t break down arginine very well after the age of 40. Bryan suggests a better solution to increasing NO stores, which is a supplement called NEO 40 (available at www.neogenis.com).
Nitric oxide won’t turn you into a young Johnny Depp, but if circulation issues are stalling your libido, it might be the thing to get your engine going.