A Closer Look at Herbal Love Potions
It’s easy to dismiss herbal aphrodisiacs and “all natural” cures for erectile dysfunction, which affects about 10 million men in the United States. With names like horny goat weed and headlines that scream “Be a Real Man Again!” and testimonials from geriatric Romeos who claim to have the newfound stamina of teenagers, many of these products practically beg for skepticism.
But last month a study published in the Journal of Urology found that an herbal preparation sold under the name BetterMan may prevent impotence in rats. A study with rats doesn’t necessarily mean it will work for men with erectile dysfunction, or ED, which is the inability to obtain or sustain an erection. The appearance of this promising report in a respected medical journal, however, does hint that the herbal aphrodisiacs and other love potions sold in health food stores and on the Internet may be worth a closer look.
Fair enough. Let’s start with BetterMan, which is a blend of 18 Chinese herbs. Researchers at UC San Francisco School of Medicine fed two dozen laboratory rats a high-cholesterol diet, which was designed to make them impotent. Sixteen of the creatures also received BetterMan in their drinking water, while the rest got plain water. After several months, the rats who drank the plain water developed ED. Yet, the rats that received BetterMan were still able to make rat whoopie.
However, says endocrinologist Richard F. Spark, author of “Sexual Health for Men” (Perseus, 2000), all that means is that “if you’re eating an unhealthful diet, then maybe this Chinese mixture will . . . protect you from developing erectile dysfunction. Especially if you’re a rodent.”
Spark, who was not involved in the study, says no one will know whether BetterMan benefits men with ED until the effect of the herbs is compared with that of placebo, or inactive, pills--in humans.
Another widely available product, called Herbal V, contains several ingredients, including an herb long used as an aphrodisiac, yohimbe. Before the introduction of Viagra in 1998, a prescription drug containing yohimbe’s active ingredient, yohimbine, was often prescribed to treat ED. Its success rate is modest, at best; many studies have found yohimbine to be no better than a sugar pill.
Yohimbe appears to work best for a select group of men--mainly those who have developed ED after taking antidepressant drugs, says Spark, a researcher at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Be aware that products containing the herb yohimbe--like all dietary supplements--aren’t closely regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, so their purity can’t be guaranteed.
Interestingly, one of the other main ingredients in Herbal V isn’t an herb at all, but the hormone androstenedione. “Andro” is also used in other nonprescription products marketed as aphrodisiacs and cures for ED. It has another alleged benefit, of course. Brawny St. Louis Cardinal slugger Mark McGwire made andro famous in 1998, when he said it helped him bulk up while pursuing Babe Ruth’s major league record for most home runs in a season.
As some men reach middle age, their testosterone levels drop off, which could result in a decreased sex drive. While doses of andro may cause modest increases in testosterone, a recent study found that taking the supplement had no effect on libido in healthy men. More troubling, another study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Assn., detected elevated levels of estrogen in men who took andro. That could lead to a decidedly unsexy side effect: gynecomastia, or saggy breasts.
Another naturally occurring hormone that’s sold as a dietary supplement, DHEA, showed benefits in a trial involving 40 men with ED. A larger study is needed, though, before anyone can say whether DHEA is a safe and effective choice for men who need a boost down under.
One ED-fighting dietary supplement you may start hearing about soon is arginine (pronounced ar-jih-NEEN). Your body uses this amino acid to form nitric oxide, which is needed to open blood vessels. Since an erection requires ample blood flow, scientists are studying whether overloading your system with arginine will open the blood-gates to your penis, as it were.
“It’s an intriguing concept,” says Spark. But while taking an oral arginine supplement raises blood levels of the amino acid, “you need the arginine increase in the corpora cavernosa of the penis,” Spark says, referring to the chambers that fill with blood to create an erection. And he’s not aware of any solid proof that can be done with arginine pills. In one study, middle-aged men with ED who took 1,500 milligrams of arginine per day gained no more hydraulic power than men taking placebos.
Locker room gurus insist that zinc and vitamin E are the keys to robust erections. As Spark points out, however, zinc supplements help men who are impotent only due to kidney disease, and the vitamin E theory is a myth based on a mangled interpretation of a rat study done in the 1920s. Many herbs, including ginseng and ginkgo, are touted as sexual stimulants. However, there is virtually no solid scientific evidence to recommend any of them.
Some herbs and other dietary supplements may offer benefits, but they can also cause side effects and worsen existing medical conditions. Men with high blood pressure, for instance, should avoid yohimbe. The best advice remains: See a physician if your love life is plagued by persistent power problems.
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Massachusetts freelance writer Timothy Gower is the author of “Staying at the Top of Your Game” (Avon Books, 1999). He can be reached by e-mail at tgower@mediaone.net. The Healthy Man runs the second Monday of the month.
