Sexual Functioning
Male sexual difficulties involve getting or keeping an erection, ejaculating too rapidly, having difficulty reaching orgasm, or failing to impregnate a woman after regular unprotected sex (see “Fertility and Infertility,” below). Most men experience these problems at some time or another, but if a problem is chronic, a man (and his partner) will want some answers.
In the United States, roughly half of all men over fifty — as many as 30 million individuals — have some degree of erectile dysfunction, or ED (also called impotence). ED is the repeated inability to get or keep an erection firm enough for sexual intercourse, and chronic ED affects about one in five American men.
Erectile dysfunction can be caused by many things, including age (it's fairly common in men over sixty-five) and the use of some drugs (including depression and blood pressure medications). It's also associated with obesity, smoking, and high cholesterol, as well as certain diseases (as many as 80 percent of diabetic men develop ED).
Conventional treatments for ED most often include the prescription drugs sildenafil citrate (Viagra), vardenafil (Levitra), and tadalafil (Cialis). Another option is the drug alprostadil (Caverject), which you inject directly into your penis or insert, in pellet form, into your urethra. Doctors also prescribe mechanical vacuum devices and, in some cases, will surgically implant a prosthetic. Needless to say, each of these options has its own set of drawbacks and potential side effects. For example, sildenafil has been associated with serious cardiovascular and nervous system problems and priapism (prolonged, painful erections), as well as more minor side effects such as headache and excessive sweating.
Two other common sexual difficulties in men include premature ejaculation and low libido. Premature ejaculation happens when a man reaches orgasm during intercourse sooner than he or his partner wishes. Low libido is a case of lower-than-normal (or lower-than-desired) sex drive. Both are caused most often by psychological stress or anxiety.
Herbal remedies for ED, ejaculation problems, and low libido include:
• Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng) |
This is a classic remedy for impotence. Modern studies show that Asian ginseng extracts can improve symptoms of ED. |
• Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) |
Ginkgo is known to improve circulation throughout the body, which might help with ED (it also contains the amino acid arginine, which can help relieve impotence). Ginkgo extracts also can reduce the sexual side effects of certain antidepressant drugs. |
• Kava (Piper methysticum) |
Kava root can be used to increase sex drive. It's been shown to directly affect brain chemistry, instilling a sense of well being and alleviating the anxiety that can lead to sexual dysfunction. |
• Maca (Lepidium meyenii) |
Extracts of this hardy Peruvian plant have been proven to increase sexual desire in otherwise healthy men. |
• Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster) |
Pine bark extracts can improve sexual functioning in men with ED. |
• Yohimbe (Pausinystalia yohimbe) |
Research has shown that extracts of the bark of this African evergreen are effective treatments for male sexual dysfunction and impotence and can treat ED that's caused by structural, circulatory, and psychological problems. |
