Vital News
Spice Up Your Sex Life
Herbal aphrodisiacs can help lift your libido.
By Jessica Breen
After a stressful week at work or a demanding day with the kids, sex is usually the last thing on your mind. And lest you think it's different for your friends, consider this: According to recent statistics, 45 percent of married couples report having intimacy only one to three times a month, while 30 million American men suffer from performance issues and record numbers of women complain of low libido due to the demands of daily living.
If a low libido (and not just lack of time or interest) is keeping you from soul–satisfying sex, you might benefit from herbal aphrodisiacs or "hot plants," as Chris Kilham, an ethnobotanist at the University of Massachusetts, calls them. Kilham— known as the Medicine Hunter on his TV adventure series Medicine Trail—has gathered these libido lifters from jungles and forests in places like Peru, Ghana, and Malaysia. "Traditional cultures treat intimacy issues with plants from their own backyards," he explains. "These botanicals have worked for centuries, and now there's research to validate their efficacy." For example, the journal Urology published a study in 2000 that demonstrated orally administered maca (an herb) can enhance the sexual function of mice and rats.
To help couples get going, Kilham has created botanical supplements under the names Hot Plants for Her and Hot Plants for Him. He also wrote Hot Plants: Nature's Proven Sex Boosters for Men and Women (St. Martin's Press; 2004). The formulas in his supplements contain ingredients that either have a direct effect on sex drive or help reduce stress, which may help your libido recover on its own, including:
· Maca (Lepidium meyenii): This root–like vegetable, grown in the Peruvian highlands, is said to improve sexual stamina and produce more frequent and more powerful orgasms. Kilham also produces his own maca supplement called Maca Tru, available on his website (medicinehunter.com) and in health food stores.
·Golden Root (Rhodiola rosea): Found in the mountains of Europe and Asia, this plant works as an adaptogen in the body, which means it helps you cope with change and daily stress—a major cause of impaired sexual function, Kilham explains.
· Asian Ginseng (Panax ginseng): This staple of Traditional Chinese Medicine is also known as nature's Viagra, according to Kilham. In an erectile dysfunction study in Sao Paulo, Brazil, published in the Asian Journal of Andrology in 2007, men who took ginseng had a 42 percent improvement in erectile function compared to those who took a placebo.
· Horny Goatweed (Epimedium): Native to southern China and used for over 2,000 years in traditional Chinese medicine, horny goatweed's leaves are filled with compounds that act similarly to androgens, sex hormones that stimulate desire in men.
· Ashwaganda (Withania somnifera): Ayurveda's famous adaptogen, ashwaganda is India's most potent sex–enhancing plant. Women there have long used its libido–boosting properties.
Buying guide: Hot Plants for Him and Hot Plants for Her are available at Whole Foods, Vitamin Shoppe, and through the online retailer herbal–powers.com.
Dosage: Two capsules daily to maintain optimal sexual interest.
If a low libido (and not just lack of time or interest) is keeping you from soul–satisfying sex, you might benefit from herbal aphrodisiacs or "hot plants," as Chris Kilham, an ethnobotanist at the University of Massachusetts, calls them. Kilham— known as the Medicine Hunter on his TV adventure series Medicine Trail—has gathered these libido lifters from jungles and forests in places like Peru, Ghana, and Malaysia. "Traditional cultures treat intimacy issues with plants from their own backyards," he explains. "These botanicals have worked for centuries, and now there's research to validate their efficacy." For example, the journal Urology published a study in 2000 that demonstrated orally administered maca (an herb) can enhance the sexual function of mice and rats.
To help couples get going, Kilham has created botanical supplements under the names Hot Plants for Her and Hot Plants for Him. He also wrote Hot Plants: Nature's Proven Sex Boosters for Men and Women (St. Martin's Press; 2004). The formulas in his supplements contain ingredients that either have a direct effect on sex drive or help reduce stress, which may help your libido recover on its own, including:
· Maca (Lepidium meyenii): This root–like vegetable, grown in the Peruvian highlands, is said to improve sexual stamina and produce more frequent and more powerful orgasms. Kilham also produces his own maca supplement called Maca Tru, available on his website (medicinehunter.com) and in health food stores.
·Golden Root (Rhodiola rosea): Found in the mountains of Europe and Asia, this plant works as an adaptogen in the body, which means it helps you cope with change and daily stress—a major cause of impaired sexual function, Kilham explains.
· Asian Ginseng (Panax ginseng): This staple of Traditional Chinese Medicine is also known as nature's Viagra, according to Kilham. In an erectile dysfunction study in Sao Paulo, Brazil, published in the Asian Journal of Andrology in 2007, men who took ginseng had a 42 percent improvement in erectile function compared to those who took a placebo.
· Horny Goatweed (Epimedium): Native to southern China and used for over 2,000 years in traditional Chinese medicine, horny goatweed's leaves are filled with compounds that act similarly to androgens, sex hormones that stimulate desire in men.
· Ashwaganda (Withania somnifera): Ayurveda's famous adaptogen, ashwaganda is India's most potent sex–enhancing plant. Women there have long used its libido–boosting properties.
Buying guide: Hot Plants for Him and Hot Plants for Her are available at Whole Foods, Vitamin Shoppe, and through the online retailer herbal–powers.com.
Dosage: Two capsules daily to maintain optimal sexual interest.
