Looking to set the mood with that special someone? Trying to get your crush to fall in love with you? You are not alone! For centuries, the myths about aphrodisiacs and love potions have been the subjects of great interest. The ancients wondered if special chemicals might improve their love luck. However, ancient medicine was not very well refined (think of taking Mercury in your health shake) and many substances have been wrongly classified as aphrodisiacs. Unfortunately, many of the old myths about aphrodisiacs are still alive today. To help sort out all of the confusion, this article will inform you about some of the claims that are out there, noting which substances might actually work.
As far as love potions go, most recipes turn out to be just plain phony. In fact, many potential mates may be frightened off if they find you have just spent a month waiting for the moon to be in the correct position to recite a love incantation. We would like to recommend that instead of using love spells to strengthen your relationship, you look at our section on communication in a relationship.
Most of the ancient aphrodisiacs such as bananas, celery, asparagus, mandrake, ground rhino horn, oysters, clams and bull testicles got their claim to fame by simply looking like a man's penis or testicles. However, food shape does not correlate with food function. If it did, we'd all be eating heart-shaped cookies to ward off heart disease. The FDA has not approved any substance as being an aphrodisiac.
Some so-called aphrodisiacs work indirectly. Chocolate is sometimes claimed to be an aphrodisiac, but it probably works by simply putting people in a good mood. Also, introducing food into sex can be a fun way to explore new experiences; so chocolate can work as a fun sex toy, but not a real aphrodisiac. Some aphrodisiacs such as nutmeg and alcohol have a sedative effect and decrease inhibitions. However, this does not actually enhance people's sexual experience, and drugs like these may cause difficulty maintaining erections or arousal.
The bark of the Yohmbine tree might be the only real aphrodisiac that increases sexual arousal. Unfortunately, its effects on brain chemistry actually dull the muscles in the pelvis making orgasm more difficult. Arousal without orgasm, what an odd trade-off!
What about modern medicine? Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra, are now commonly known drugs which enhances sexual performance in men with erectile difficulties (ED). See our article on the sexual response cycle for more information about how sexual arousal and penile erection work. ED drugs work by causing the arteries that go into the penis, allowing more blood to flow through them while the veins that release blood from the penis close down somewhat. This causes men and women to become physiologically aroused. However, women's desire is not strongly linked with arousal, and hence women may be aroused but still not want to have sex.
We strongly recommend that you do not waste your time and money on aphrodisiacs, since none of them has been proven useful. Instead, we encourage you to learn several methods for boosting your relationship! Here are the sexpert's aphrodisiacs. Learn how to communicate better and more lovingly: nothing makes for better sex than being able to ask for what you really want. Introduce variety: Safely try new positions, places, etc. Do fun things together outside of the bedroom: Include a mix of romantic, physically active, and fun activities. Eat healthy foods. Nothing dampens an erection like poor blood circulation.
© - Reproduced with permission of SexInfo, University of California at Santa Barbara, 2007.