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Lifterforlife said:From the Well Journal.....good reading.
Viagra's success has stimulated the market for a host of herbal products and nutritional supplements promising to deliver equal or greater vigor than Viagra itself. The over-the-counter marketplace is filled with products that contain ingredients like yohimbe extract, avena sativa, L-arginine, saw palmetto, tibulus terrestris, ginseng and even the aptly named horny-goat weed.
The question is: Do they actually work?
"The judicious answer is that we don't know," said Dr. Barnaby Barratt, president-elect of the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists and director of the Midwest Institute of Sexology, based in Detroit, MI. While he said there is "very good reason to believe that some of these products do work for some people some of the time," there are "far too few scientifically-conducted studies, so we have negligible data." While the jury may be out on the effectiveness of these elixirs of love, there is little doubt that many men are likely to be looking for a pick-me-up as they age.
In a survey conducted by the American Urological Association, erection difficulties were reported by 19% of men in their 50s and 39% of men aged 60 and older. Eighty percent of cases result either from such physical conditions as hormonal imbalances, heart disease, diabetes, neurological disorders, nutritional or lifestyle issues, according to medical research. The balance of cases is attributed to stress, depression, anxiety or relationship problems.
Despite the open atmosphere created by the Viagra phenomenon, the American Foundation for Urologic Disease estimates that fewer than 10% of men are getting treatment.
Although Viagra is the No. 1 prescription taken for erectile dysfunction, it has risks ranging from nosebleeds to death. Its use is discouraged for men who have high blood pressure or heart problems.
For those seeking a non-prescription alternative to their problems, the choices are numerous -- and sometimes bewildering.
There are herbs that "mimic" the response Viagra provides, "but the effect is not as pronounced as Viagra," says Mark Blumenthal, a spokesman for the American Botannical Society, a trade group representing herbal manufacturers. "There's no herb singly that has the same properties" as the prescription drug, "with the possible exception of yohimbe," says Mr. Blumenthal. But Mr. Blumenthal said there haven't been good clinical studies on it, even though it has long enjoyed a reputation as an aphrodisiac.
Mr. Blumenthal says ginseng and yohimbe, which are contained in many products, are known to stimulate the release of nitric oxide in the body, which in turn can increase peripheral blood flow, including to the genitals. The proof of a product's efficacy, says Mr. Blumenthal "would be whether men buy it the second time."
Another ingredient that often shows up in OTC aphrodisiacs is L-arginine, an amino acid that has been shown to increase blood flow. One company reports that 88% of men in a study conducted by a physician in Hawaii reported "better erections" after taking an L-arginine-based product fortified with ginseng and gingko biloba. The same product also is being tested on women, and preliminary data suggests that three-fourths of those patients reported improved sexual desire, while 52% reported more frequent orgasms.