29 Jan, 2010

Every time someone mentions the word “sex”, I feel the desire to yawn uncontrollably. Clearly, I need help – and that help will be an aphrodisiac.Apparently, there’s a range of herbs, vitamins and foods that are supposed to rev up your libido, so I start my search for “love drugs” on the web.

Horny herbs

The first one I find is probably the most famed of aphrodisiacs – a version of Spanish fly. Be warned that real Spanish fly can be dangerous, so a blend like the one you’ll find on aphrodisiacsforher.com.au is a much safer bet. It contains a mix of herbs, including Chinese hibiscus, samiana, saw palmetto and passion flower, as well as homeopathic Spanish fly, and is meant to increase skin sensitivity, stamina and orgasmic sensation. It costs $49.95 for 15ml.

The night it arrives, in a little vial discreetly posted as a hair enhancer, I mix it with juice and recklessly down the lot. My boyfriend, Stu, reports that I’m an unbridled, insatiable love goddess (I do seem hornier and more willing to try some of the more tricky Kama Sutra positions).

The following night, I’m ready to try a few libido boosters from in2herbs.cart.net.au and happyhighherbs.com. The first site sells a Clavo Huasca Extract, $39.26 for 60ml, which is reputed to “spice up your love life”. However, In2herbs’ Mike Thorman says the extract, which comes in liquid form, is supposed to be taken daily to build up sexual vitality, so I’m still waiting to see if it works.

HappyHighHerbs’ Ray Thorpe also sells a variety of feelgood herbal remedies, but recommends Muira Puama, $12 for 50g, and Damiana, $9 for 50g. The first is a tonic for the central nervous system and, apparently, a stimulant for the imagination. The second, which he sells as a kidney tonic, I prepare as a tea to sip as I receive a sensual massage.

“Herbs can’t claim to make you feel sexier, [they] just boost feelings of wellbeing,” says Thorpe. But the results are blissful. I feel relaxed and Stu’s libido is rock hard and willing. He’s been on his own herbal enhancer, Viril-X, $49.95 for 60 capsules, an over-the-counter sex-drive medication. It contains muira puama, tribulus, gingko biloba and Korean ginseng, and is supposed to boost arousal and stamina.

When he’s finished those, we’re going to try Naturopathica Horny Goat Weed for Men, $39.95 for 30 tablets. Horny Goat Weed is an Asian herb, also known as “natural Viagra”.

Drug therapy

Of course, the real Viagra racks up millions of dollars in sales each year and, apart from certain social drugs, like pot or alcohol, which release inhibitions, it’s the only aphrodisiac medical science recognises. A glass of champagne is supposed to increase circulation through the peripheral blood vessels, such as those in the penis, while green chartreuse is said to contain essential oils that slightly stimulate the bladder and pelvic regions.

Tequila is also high on the alcoholic aphrodisiac list, according to Dr Glenn Wilson, author of The Sensual Touch: A Guide To More Erotic Lovemaking (Carroll & Graf, $31.50), while, in Mexico, damiana liqueur has long been used as an arouser.

Erotic foods

The symbolic connection between figs, bananas, asparagus and mussels, and the male and female sex organs is pretty obvious. And what about chocolate? Apparently, it contains phenylethylamine, a chemical thought to be involved in feelings of passion. I decide to serve it for dessert.

I also go to a gourmet grocer for some very pheromonal truffles, at $525 for 100g. Strong smells coming from body fluids, like saliva, genital secretions and sweat, all contain pheromones – subconscious turn-ons. Truffles way too expensive? Mangoes and persimmons are reputed to arouse sexual desires.

Virile vitamins

Certain foods score doubly high on the erotic scale because they’re loaded with vitamins and minerals crucial to sexual pep. [17th-century Venetian womaniser] Casanova is reported to have eaten up to 50 oysters every morning for breakfast. This seafood delicacy is packed with zinc – linked with natural chemical histamine – which boosts ejaculation in men.

B vitamins are also necessary for sex-hormone production, so eating a banana isn’t just an interaction with a phallic-shaped fruit; it’s vitamin therapy. Load up on wholegrains, rich in B vitamins, and, dare I say, Vegemite – a top source of these essential nutrients.

By the time Stu arrives for an erotic dinner, I’m fairly sizzling and so is the meal. Somewhere between the oysters and the mango, we find ourselves in the bedroom – where we stay for three days. Whether the herbs, vitamins and food has helped make us hornier is debatable, but just spending all that time thinking about sex is enough to light a slow-burning, toe-tingling fire.

As Dr Sally Cockburn, resident sex expert on Nine Network’s Today, says, the brain is the biggest sex organ. “It’s fair to say that aphrodisiacs have been around for as long as mankind.” But if your brain isn’t stimulated, “it doesn’t matter what you do”.

By Helen Hawkes