A Magazine, a Supplement and a Teenage Experiment
I was a restless teenager when I read an article in Omni magazine that changed my life. The article said that if you took lecithin supplements it would increase the intensity of your orgasms and quantity of emissions. I tried it out on myself just as fast as my feet would carry me to the local health food store. I found that just like the article said it increased the intensity of my orgasms like nothing I had previously experienced.
Was it just the lecithin? Or was it puberty and a placebo effect? I’ve searched all the scientific literature since and not found any later research to support it, and my self-testing may have been a placebo effect. But I was hooked into the subject matter and awakened to the possibility that herbs and dietary supplements can affect things. And I still keep some lecithin in my store cupboard.
I later went to university and studied biochemistry. I never worked in the field afterwards but my fascination continued. The Bachelor of Science degree served a useful purpose though. It taught me about scientific methods and about how to search for things in the scientific literature. Which I carried on doing. In fact for my book on herbal aphrodisiacs I checked nearly 800 research papers and fewer than seven mentioned orgasm intensity.
But I carry on experimenting on myself even now that I’m a happily married sixty-something.
Decades of Wandering, Watching and Trying Things
I’m always on the lookout for new things. In every aspect of my life. I’ve worked and lived in other countries at certain times of my life; mainly America and China but also in Eastern Europe a little bit. America is interesting because of the wider range of things you can buy on supermarket shelves and over the counter at pharmacies. I spent about six months in China where Traditional Chinese Medicine is much more mainstream and there are herbalist supply shops in abundance. For five years I did my best to learn Mandarin so that I had a better idea what I was buying.
Probably my most important general key take-away is that the quality makes a lot of difference. I tried Tribulus terrestris that I bought from a small, back-street independent herbalist in Sheffield, England, and it definitely had some effect on me. It made my semen become noticeably, extremely thick. Something was happening! But when I purchased cheap tablets from a random on line supplier they had no effect. Key point here: if at first you don’t succeed try a different supplier.
And St John’s Wort, although it is a proven antidepressant, it causes reduced libido, delayed orgasm and erectile dysfunction. It definitely does something but it’s not useful in a sexual sense.
I found that caffeine taken just before intimacy can help in the short term but it contributes to poor sleep. And for example, a study by the University of Chicago in 2011 found that just one week of sleeping less than five hours per night reduced testosterone in young men by the same amount as aging 10 to 15 years.
The TCM Turning Point
In the early 2000s I was going through a period of low libido for whatever reason. I decided to consult a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). They gave me acupuncture three times a week and various herbs in rotation. Oh my! The results were too intense to put down to a possible placebo effect. I felt like if sex became an Olympic sport… What followed was the most sexually active few years of my life.
If you’re considering TCM, the quality of the practitioner matters enormously. I was fortunate enough to find an exceptional one in Chorlton-cum-Hardy.
A systematic review published in 2021, and at least two subsequent analyses support this. Acupuncture alone improves sexual dysfunction across the range of symptoms; desire, libido and erectile dysfunction. It also relieves the negative sexual side effects of SSRI antidepressants.
When the Personal Became the Professional
After my experience with TCM I experimented with other herbal aphrodisiacs. Chinese medicine in the UK is not cheap so I was curious as to whether there was anything more affordable and accessible.
I read a lot and tried out dozens of herbs and supplements. (Top tip: Damiana and pumpkin seeds but more of that in another blog). I resolved then to write a book on the subject but in my usual fashion it took me almost two decades to put pen to paper.
I have to admit that in some cases I’ve just looked at the online summary of the studies and research papers because the full papers have been paywalled. I’m not rich so I can’t afford to look at all of them but the key information is always in the summary.
But this blog is where I share all of the stuff that I personally find fascinating. And one or two serious warnings.
What You’ll Find Here
The blog is where I share what I’ve actually found. Honest assessments of research and personal experiments including the failures. Plus the occasional serious warning.
There are a couple of things coming up that I’m particularly looking forward to writing about. Damiana and pumpkins seeds for a start. And a deep dive into why stress is probably the single biggest libido killer that most people never address directly.
So there’s no miracle cures or silver bullets. But if you’re curious, sceptical and willing to experiment carefully, ,you’re in exactly the right place.
Takeaway
Let curiosity be your starting point and scepticism be your guardrails. If a sixty-something who has been paying close attention to this subject for most of his adult life can still find new things worth trying, so can you.
Citations
- Almadhoun MK, Abdelhady R. Effect of St. John’s Wort on Male Sexual and Reproductive Health: A Narrative Review. Biomedicines. 2023;11(10):2800.
- Leproult R, Van Cauter E. Effect of 1 week of sleep restriction on testosterone levels in young healthy men. JAMA. 2011;305(21):2173-2174.
- Abdi F, Alimoradi Z, Haqi P, Mahdizad F. Does acupuncture improve sexual dysfunction? A systematic review. Journal of Complementary and Integrative Medicine. 2023;20(1):1-11.
- Ning S, Liu S, Chen X, Wang J. Acupuncture modification treatment for female sexual dysfunction: A meta-analysis. European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology. 2023;291:29-33.
- Khamba B, Aucoin M, Lytle M, et al. Efficacy of acupuncture treatment of sexual dysfunction secondary to antidepressants. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 2013;19(11):862-869.
The content on this site is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified doctor before starting any supplement, particularly if you are taking prescription medication.
The Desire Dispatch
Once a week I share something I’m currently thinking about, experimenting with, or reading in the research. It’s personal, it’s unfiltered, and it contains things that don’t make it into the blog. Free to subscribe.