"Cleopatra loved them." "Cassanova lived for them." "The quest for the ultimate aphrodisiac is as old as the human race itself." "Some search for nature's answer Others concoct the perfect pill..." "Love aids." "Don't buy it?" "Watch as we try it." ""Aphrodisiacs:" "Magic or Medicine?"" "Stephen Schneider, known to his friends as Schnitzy is a writer living in New York City." "At 49, he feels he is running against time." "I was seeing this great girl a ballroom dance instructor named Jamie, she taught me to tango and fox trot it was really quite cute and we were together 5 or 6 years and then a few years ago we broke up" "and I felt pretty bad I have to say for a few years" "I didn't feel much like seeing anybody, was eating donuts you know those crispy cream deals, it was bad and I was starting to look like Homer Simpson and I felt awful and I felt the pressure of you know my life moving on" "and the millennium coming forward and I thought, you know what, it's time to do something different and find another girl." "Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love inspired the word aphrodisiac." "Aphrodisiacs are things said to arouse or intensify sexual desire or performance." "For Schnitzy, it began with some advice from a friend." "I went up to my old college Ithaca college, saw my old friend Amy who I went to college with, long frizzy redhaired gal, burns candles, plays the dulcimer, just a whole different kind of person." "And she was already into these things aromatherapy and aphrodisiacs and she said "you'll feel better you can change your outlook you can change the way you physically feel, and physically perform and I said 'whoooa, OK and so Amy really turned me on to the whole" "aphrodisiac world." "From time immemorial people have done just about everything in pursuit of better sex..." "Cleopatra, it was said, drove Mark Antony out of his mind by mixing honey and almonds and applyingg the tantalizing paste to her most private parts." "Casanova was reputed to eat dozens of oysters a day and it is said he once seduced a vestal virgin by sliding an oyster from his lips to hers." "And the ancient sex manual the Kama Sutra, suggests milk and honey, enhanced with the testicles of a ram for a guaranteed night of passion." "The tradition of using libido enhancers may be over five thousand years old," "but is there any truth behind the folklore?" "Until the early 80's, most scientists had dismissed traditional aphrodisiacs as frauds." "But researchers are now finding that some do stimulate more than the imagination." "One popular substance that has been eaten, sniffed and smoked all because of its reputed aphrodisiac properties is the bark of Yohimbe a West African tree." "A series of studies found that Yohimbine, the active ingredient in Yohimbe did raise erections in men by increasing blood flow to the penis." "And with the Yohimbe you wanna take vitamin C -1000 milligrams to help in case you have a nauseous feeling." "It enhances the properties." "Oh, OK, whatever properties I can enhance, the better." "They say on the box that it will take 8 hours to work." "Eight hours?" "!" "So you have to brew it in the morning." "And how long does it last just so I git my timing down?" "I bought some Yohimbe in powdered form it's supposed to actually give you an erection for three days is what they say, uh you know I would have been happy with a couple of hours." "So I tried one form of it, a powdered form and basically" "I just got sick you know I was nauseous for two hours." "Yohimbe works in several different ways." "One of the ways is to increase circulation and the other way is to stimulate the nervous system." "It does however have some downsides in that it can stimulate heart rate, raise blood pressure and can make one feel a little anxious, nervous and even a little nauseous, so that, sometimes that may not be the most desirable effect" "that you want to have in an aphrodisiac." "So despite its availability as a prescription drug," "Yohimbine is not guaranteed to work and should only be used under the guidance of a physician." "Many of the herbal aphrodisiacs including Yohimbine work by increasing blood flow to the genitals." "When we're sexually stimulated by anything-physically mentally or chemically- the nervous system sends signals to the pelvic region the control center for the erection." "These signals prompt the blood vessels in the genitals to dilate, bringing in a rush of blood that inflates the erectile tissue." "The veins then close, preventing blood from flowing out of the organ." "The result... is an erection." "One popular aphrodisiac is Gingko." "It comes from the leaves and nuts of the oldest family of trees- the gingko tree, and has been used in Asia for centuries." "Schnitzy decided to give it a try." "I drank this gingko tea, I'm not sure if it's a placebo effect or not but in my case I defimitely feel like Gingko helped rush blood to critical parts of my anatomy which paid off with a Fin Air stewardess." "In the last 30 years, 300 studies have given clinical evidence that Gingko can benefit the entire body in addition to having aphrodisiac qualities." "A German study of men with erectile dysfunction found that Gingko restored potency in half of them." "But how does it work?" "Ginkgo may work by stimulating the brain to release nitric oxide in the erectile tissue of both men and women." "This causes the blood vessles to widen, more blood flows in and we have an erection." "But the jury is still out on how safe and effective Gingko is." "It can have side effects such as headaches and shouldn't be taken with aspirin or by people suffering from heart disease." "Hundreds of millions of dollars a year are spent in the pursuit of pleasure and the ingredients of love potions come from all parts of the world." "Each culture finds its own aphrodisiacs, depending on what is locally available." "Desert plants have been used as libido enhancers for centuries." "It is said that North American Indian girls once combined ginseng with snake meat, gelatin and wild columbine then secretly added it to the meals of the young men they wanted as husbands." "One plant that has been used as an aphrodisiac in the Southwest is Damiana, a shrub native to North America." "Chemical analysis shows that it contains substances similar to caffeine that can increase sensitivity in the genitals." "It is also reputed to induce erotic dreams when drunk at bedtime, but Damiana has not been approved by the FD A, so its effectiveness remains anecdotal." "In Asia, there are countless substances believed to have aphrodisiac properties." "Many of these make their way across the globe." "One is a Chinese herb called Yin Ya Wo, otherwise known as Horny Goat Weed." "What's the deal with the Horny Goat Weed here from China?" "There's folklore information that says that Chinese goat-herders noticed that their male goats were acting, in quotes, randy..." "Randier than goats?" "Randier than the goats in other parts of the pasture and they found out they were eating a particular weed and the weed they named Horny Goats Weed." "And it worked for the Chinese shepherds?" "Well it worked for their goats I guess they started using it also." "Well, you know what I always say Joanne, what's good for Chinese goats is good for me." "So with all these love aids available, is there any way to figure out which ones will guarantee sexual pleasure?" "Researchers have made some progress by ruling out some legendary substances that can do more harm than good." "Spanish fly is perhaps one of the most well known so called love elixirs." "Made from the dried bodies of beetles it works by severely irritating the urinary tract, sending a rush of blood to the genitals." "Today, Spanish Fly is illegal in the US and the FD A warns that it is a poison that can cause death, a high price to pay for better sex." "But the quest for better sex is often costly." "In Asia, animal parts have been used for centuries." "The testicles of bulls and rams were once eaten in the hopes of becoming more verile." "And the phrase 'feeling horny' is said to come from the idea that animal head ornaments were considered aphrodisiacs." "Powdered rhinoceros horns are still used in Asia." "Even though there is no proof that they work as an aphrodisiac." "Although many traditional aphrodisiacs do not have the firm backing of science, some have enjoyed their positive effects." "But whether Yohimbe or Gingko can help your libido, may depend on whether you believe it will." "Really, the cool thing about this aphrodisiac thing honest to God I'm not positive that it really works but you think it works and it has actually made a change for me." "After Jamie I went for a couple of years and I was miserable then as I started eating oysters and drinking champagne and taking Gingko" "I started feeling better and I started meeting more women." "Coincidence?" "You know I don't know but recently I met this woman from Spain, Alehandra who was really quite great unfortunately she lives in Spain you know so all the oysters in the world aren't going to help 6,000 miles of ocean, so um I'm still looking." "Legend has it that seafood has been considered an aphrodisiac ever since the mythological Aphrodite was born from the sea." "But some say there's more to 'sexy' foods than just folklore..." "Hot, spicy, sweet, juicy, words that make you wonder if someone is describing a great meal or a great lover." "Since the beginning of time food has been inextricably linked to our sexuality." "Historically mating rituals involved having a meal or banquet before sex and even today the act of eating is so linked to the act of lovemaking, that sex therapists sometimes prescribe a romantic meal for two, as an effective form of foreplay." "Maria, she loves to eat, so I mean there is something I know" "I can be always giving her especially a good, I would say dinner." "And then comes the romance and the sex is where, I can use that and then lure her in." "Frank and Maria met in a Chicago mall two and a half years ago and the chemistry was instant." "Maria works as a bookkeeper and Frank drives a truck and for them, food is often the answer to keeping the flame alive." "He loves whipped cream and so do I, and strawberries and syrup, Oh, yes." "So we try to make it interesting because you know sometimes if you just do the same thing all the time it just doesn't work." "But historically the lure of food as an aphrodisiac has had a lot more to it than the sharing of a romantic meal." "We have historical books that tell us about the use of foods for example in the Kama Sutra, they describe a meal of eggs and onions with cardamom cinnamon, and nutmeg." "If you have that before you meet your lover, your chances of having a better experience are greater." "Before science began exploring how our bodies work, people followed a premise known as the Law of Similarities." "This dictated that what a food looked like determined how and where it could benefit the body." "So if a food looked like genitalia it was bound to be an erotic stimulant." "Legend has it that the Aztecs in ancient Mexico were so impressed with the anatomical likeness of the avocado that they named the food ahuacatl or testicle, and forbade village maidens to set one virginal toe outside while the fruit was being harvested." "Many of the aphrodisiac foods were just thought to be aphrodisiacs because of their appearances like bananas asparagus, carrots because of their phallic appearance." "But asparagus for example has very rich nutritional value, it has vitamin E, which is considered one of the sex hormone stimulants it's a vitamin that stimulates our hormonal production." "So it seems the ancients did get it right sometimes, because many of the foods that were considered aphrodisiacs actually have vitamins and minerals that are essential for a good sex life." "One of the most visually suggestive love foods is the oyster." "Said by some to look like testicles when in the shell and by others to blatantly suggest a woman's anatomy," "Oysters are also a good natural source of zinc, a mineral necessary for the production of testosterone, believed to be the sex drive hormone in men and women." "But, some argue that you would have to eat dozens of oysters for them to jump-start your libido." "Not all of the fabled foods' powers have to do with their vitamin and mineral content." "When it comes to being a hot-blooded lover, the chili pepper may hold the key." "The spicy substance in hot foods called capsaicin causes nerve endings to release substance P, a neurotransmitter that stimulates a burning sensation." "Our pulse is raised and we sweat more just as we do during sex." "Some believe that eating hot foods can also trigger the release of endorphins, body chemicals that give us a natural high." "And of course there is the ultimate lovers' gift -chocolate." "Used for centuries as an aphrodisiac part of its lure comes from its sensuous melting quality." "If you're talking about like sweets or something like that it would have to be like chocolate syrup." "You know because for one it's sweet, and it's, it's durable, you know I mean you can place it wherever you want you know, and then." "And you know the next place it's going is your mouth so it's like you get 1 and 2." "Chocolate contains a substance called Phenylethylamine which is a stimulant, it's considered the love chemical." "It gives one a sense of well being and excitement." "And that's thought to be a chemical it's very similar to the endorphins that our body produces that give us that natural high." "Some scientist believe this chemical in chocolate is broken down before it can 'turn us on', but others say it may be one of the reasons why lovers will be buyingg up to 36 million boxes of chocolate in the United States" "next Valentine's Day!" "The writer Dorothy Parker has become legendary for sayingg," ""I wish I could drink like a lady." "I can take one or two at the most." "Three I'm under the table." "Four I'm under the host!"" "Aside from the fact that a bit of alcohol reduces our inhibitions, some studies have found that alcohol actually raises testosterone levels in women but not in men." "But drinkers beware." "Too much alcohol, in both men and women, will put anyone's libido to sleep." "Chicago Classic Rock Station, CD94.7." "Hi, this is Dr. Alan Hirsch and we're looking for couples to volunteer for a test of kissing to see what odors and food tastes will enhance arousal." "Just give us a call..." "Okay, so what I want you to do is put your head back, stick your tongue out that's good." "And kiss." "Maria and Frank are 2 of the 500 neurologist, Dr. Alan Hirsch has been testing." "Over the last five years he's worked to measure the effect of taste and smell on arousal." "I had heard that Dr. Hirsch uses food to enhance the sexual pleasures and stuff and so I was interested in that aspect of it because I thought that maybe we could bring something new into, you know, the bedroom." "I want you to rate how much you liked the kiss, or disliked it." "How sexy you thought it was, how much you liked the way his kiss tasted, how much you desire to have another kiss from him." "Okay." "We began to study using foods as aphrodisiacs because we found that when people lose their sense of smell or taste they develop sexual dysfunction." "So the connection became apparent." "Almost 100 years ago, Sigmund Freud said that in order for us to remain a civilized society we had to repress our sense of smell, otherwise we would walk around sexually excited all the time." "Dr. Hirsch has been testing this theory for over 10 years." "Up to 3,000 test subjects later he has found that certain food smells are so sexually exciting they actually increase penile and vaginal blood flow." "When we inhale an aroma odor molecules enter the nose and stimulate small hairs called cilia to send messages to the brain." "One part of the brain that receives these messages is the limbic system, often called the 'pleasure center'." "The signals then travel down to the spinal cord, and just like the food and herbal aphrodisiacs, cause blood to rush to the genitals." "The food smells Dr. Hirsch's studies found to have the greatest effect, aren't exactly foods we associate with a night of passion." "Of all the food smells he tested he found that Pumpkin pie was the way to a man's libido increasing penile blood flow by 40%, buttered popcorn came second increasing blood flow by 9%." "And the most arousing smell for women was the licorice candy" "Good  Plenty." "The curious thing Hirsch's study found is that all smells actually arouse men to some degree." "Women, who have a much more sensitive sense of smell, were more discerning." "What we found was some odors inhibited female sexual arousal, for example the smell of cherries had a negative effect, the smell of barbecue roasting meat and the smell of men's cologne all acted to inhibit female sexual arousal." "Despite Dr. Hirsch's studies, smell remains the most mysterious of all our senses and we are still not quite sure why these food smells affect our libidos." "But for Maria and Frank, the flavor and aroma defimitely enhanced the sensation." "I forgot about the people in the room." "It was just me and him, you know." "I didn't feel like, like it was a study." "It was just and, it made you it made me feel a little bit you know, wanting him a little more, and then having to stop when they said stop." "I'm like, oh, okay." "We can't do anything else." "Vitamins, minerals and a delicious aroma may enhance a night of passion, but the secret to the ultimate aphrodisiac may lie within the body itself." "The human body is forever surprising and delighting us" "and aside from the obvious lures of beauty and seduction, the body itself has its own powerful aphrodisiacs." "These come primarily in the form of two body chemicals- hormones and neurotransmitters." "The hormones testosterone and estrogen are mainly secreted by the sex glands, which form part of the endocrine system." "They are essential for our sex drives." "Some, neurotransmitters, like Norepinephrine and Dopamine are released primarily from the brain and send messages throughout our bodies." "They trigger our sensations of pleasure and arousal." "But when the body's natural love stimulants shut down, some people go in search of help." "Mike Albano, a 59-year-old computer technician for the stock market, classifies himself as a "Type A" personality." "He turned to Chinese medicine after his high-pressured work environment became too much to bear." "We live in a society today in New York City that's so fast paced, you have to make it today, you don't make it tomorrow." "It's what you do for me today that counts, not tomorrow." "So it's under a constant lot of pressure that you have to go through every day, and I was part of the rat race." "Mike was suffering from stress a condition that affects 75% of Americans." "I think if we look at the effects of stress on health and sexuality overall, stress is probably the most common cause of low libido." "Mike's lack of libido and general ill health began to have an impact on his 30-year marriage." "There was no communication, there was no closeness and stuff like that." "Performance weighed heavily on my mind, because I knew deep inside that I wasn't doing what I was supposed to be doing for my wife and for my lover." "And the desire was weaning, it was practically disappearing." "When the body itself loses its own capacity to stir the libido, aphrodisiacs often become more of a necessity." "Determined to get his body up and running again, Mike decided to try acupuncture." "He put his trust in the hands of Chinese herbalist and acupuncturist" "Adele Reising." "Oh good it looks so much better." "What I did for Michael was I started him with weekly acupuncture treatments to increase his overall energy." "And in the course of our therapy I asked him if he had low sex drive, and he said he did." "It's a question I commonly ask because it gives me information about the person, about their overall energy level and from a Chinese perspective their source energy." "Acupuncture is said to stimulate nerve paths, and some claim this causes the brain to release neurotransmitters which heighten desire." "Others believe acupuncture may also help blood flow." "How you doing Mike?" "Great, totally relaxed." "Good." "OK." "By promoting circulation through the use of acupuncture you can help with sex drive because part of what has to happen is the area has to be infused with blood in order for normal sexual function to occur, both for men and women." "According to Mike, weekly sessions of acupuncture and a combination of Chinese herbs including Ginseng have helped put him back on track." "From the very first session with Adele, I brought a list of medications I was taking and she went through them all and she had told me that one of the specific medications" "I was taking would have an adverse effect on my intimacy which I," "I totally was having." "And she said one of the benefits of acupuncture that it it flows with everything else and it would make everything come along better than what it was." "And it put the oomph back in to your life." "It put the oomph back, my oomph back with the oomph, oomph." "Our relationship is now more intimate, more enjoyable." "And we're able to get out and do some things, take a walk when we want to." "We're back to where we once were." "The intimacy has improved to the point where has heightened" "Yes, has heightened." "And we have the oneness back again." "Some of the body's most potent aphrodisiacs are our aromas not the obvious unpleasant smells like nervous sweat." "Rather, each person has a unique smell print made up of pheromones." "Pheromones are chemical substances released all over the body, but especially from the armpits, the genitals and under our hair." "We are surrounded by clouds of these molecules and leave trails of them as we walk." "Some of these signals smell some don't." "It is believed that they are picked up by the noses of other people, who are either consciously or unconsciously attracted to our smell." "Pheromones act in many ways for other animals as I guess what you'd call an aphrodisiac or at least as a sexual cue for an onset of sexual behavior." "They also do other things." "There are alarm pheromones, there are mating pheromones, of course there are courtship type pheromones, there are weaning or suckling pheromones, so they act in many sorts of ways." "Whether or not a pheromone could act as an aphrodisiac in humans" "I think is still a little bit of an open question." "Some studies show that there may be a link between pheromones and our sex drives." "In one double blind experiment young women were exposed to either pheromones or a placebo." "During the first three weeks of the test, 36 percent of those receiving the pheromones reported having weekly sex." "By the fourteenth week the number doubled!" "And researchers say it wasn't just the power of suggestion, as the group exposed to the placebo experienced no change." "But, if pheromones are the source of chemistry between two people who are instantly attracted to each other without knowing why, the perfumes and scents humans can detect could also be considered powerful aphrodisiacs." "Some believe that smell is the sense most closely linked to our sexuality." "Although sight and touch are also essential to our sex drive, their signals must pass through areas of the brain known as the thalamus and the cortex before reaching the limbic lobe." "Aromas however, send signals directly to the limbic lobe provoking a more powerful emotional reaction." "But what happens when we combine the lure of scent with the supposed power of pheromones?" "Perfumes are now being used not only to enhance the fragrance of the wearer but since the early 90's, companies have cashed in on the idea that pheromones help sell products." "One success story is Perceive, Avon's new pheromone perfume." "Out for only six months in 54 countries, this "mood enhancing" fragrance has become the number one selling perfume in Avon's history." "This is one of my customer Victoria's neighborhoods." "I typically come out here to deliver to her and then I might come through the neighborhood and see if I can't develop some more customers." "Oh right, let's see what we have here today." "I brought you that Perceive purse spray that you had ordered." "Yes, I need to freshen this up a little, get my mood going a little..." "Perceive's effect comes from synthetic pheromones said to be "mood-enhancing"." "These synthetic pheromones are meant to help relaxation reduce inhibitions and may enhance relationships with friends and lovers." "My relationship with my husband has even changed because I'm happier, I'm more self-confident," "I feel sexier and he's liking that you know." "Oh wait till you see what else I brought." "It's Perceive for Men." "You gotta be kidding." "Nope, nope" "Does it have that same thing?" "It has that pheromone thing happening, yup." "But some are skeptical about the effectiveness of pheromone perfumes" "The pheromone molecule that they contain or the supposed pheromone molecule that they contain, really has I think has not been tested rigorously or rigorously enough to really know whether it has any activity." "And then of course there's the issue as to whether it'll really do what you want it to do." "After all if you splash a pheromone on and it truly is a pheromone then your expectation is of course it'll attract all the beautiful people in the world who will desire you and want you." "But in fact it'll attract anybody with a nose." "While research into the effectiveness of pheromones continues, there is one part of the body believed to be the center of it all." "I think our brain is defimitely an aphrodisiac." "So many things go into our sexual response-what we smell what we see, what we hear." "Our brain is the main computer that will integrate and tell us what we're all feeling and these things will stimulate us sexually." "If our bodies themselves offer us the most powerful aphrodisiacs, from brain chemicals to natural scents, perhaps good overall health and fitness can help ensure sexual success." "In the last decade, health club membership in America has almost doubled." "But although tight abs and firm thighs may be pleasing to the eye, trying to attain a beautiful body might not be the only reason to have a good workout." "Researchers are finding that regular exercise leads to better sex." "One California study polled 8000 women nationwide." "Of those who did some type of aerobic activity regularly 40% were more easily aroused:" "31% had sex more often and 25% reached orgasm faster than women who didn't exercise." "But is this simply because exercise brings increased self-confidence or is exercise provoking any chemical reactions inside our bodies?" "A vigorous workout can contribute to a release of beta-endorphins also known as 'feel good opiates'." "Endorphins are primarily found in the pituitary gland in the brain and are distributed throughout the nervous system." "They are thought to be connected to our feelings of euphoria changes in appetite and the release of sex hormones that are essential to our sex drives." "Hello, welcome to the show." "We're here to challenge you today with some new ways of thinking about your sexuality, about intimacy about love and life." "Sex therapists Karen and Greg open up their New Jersey phone lines for their regional radio show 'Love Matters.'" "They counsel listeners whose love lives may need a little boost." "We have Maggie on the line" "Hi Greg, Hi Karen." "Hi Maggie, welcome to the show Tell us why you're calling." "I'm 32, I'm married with two kids." "And both my husband and I are really busy, we have demanding jobs and we have demanding home lives and now it's not that the spark is gone, but it's defimitely waning." "Greg has been a sex therapist for over 30 years and Karen for 15 years." "For them, sex has always been a priority." "10 years ago, Greg was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a progressive, disabling illness that affects nerve cells in the brain and spine." "Since I figured that MS was going to be time-consuming and energy consuming," "I had to get rid of everything that I figured was unimportant and save my time and energy for the things that were important- so I got rid of everything but sex." "Determined to keep their sex lives vibrant, and to be able to advise their patients and listeners on the latest libido enhancers," "Greg and Karen turned to exercise in their case, the eastern practice of Tantra." "Tantra for us becomes an exercise of both mind and body." "From the body standpoint, it helps us build the energy that we have, and it also helps us, release energy you know that goes into stress and it allows us to gain a relaxation and a joining then of each other." "We think of it as building energy through breath through postures like yoga postures and that this energy that we build is part of our expression of loving of payingg attention to one another of increasing the joy and vitality in our love." "There are two distinct ways to apply exercise to sexuality." "The Western approach is to emphasize the physical by spending hours on the treadmill or lifting weights." "In the ancient cultures of the East however, it is more about the mind and body connection with a very strong focus on sex, so exercises such as Yoga and Tantra were developed." "Like some herbal aphrodisiacs Tantra and Yoga are said to help blood flow." "In yoga there are many exercises that because of the particular posture they will stimulate blood flow to certain organs." "And specific yoga exercises are geared towards improving the function of the ovaries the adrenal glands and the pituitary hypothalamus." "And it's the relationship of these organs together that helps our sexual function flow smoothly." "Aside from increasing blood flow to our sex glands, yoga also includes specific exercises that can be used to make sex better." "Some exercises help strengthen the muscles in the pelvic region, while others can help control orgasm and ejaculation." "Karen and Greg practice Tantra every week." "And although science has yet to prove that this type of exercise can directly stimulate the sex glands, many people like Karen and Greg find that regular Tantra does lead to better sex." "Stretching is really one of the best exercises that I can do because it allows me to be flexible." "And even with your MS, you're actually more flexible than I am which annoys me, but the Tantra exercises help us to build and keep sexual energy high." "For Karen and Greg, Tantra proved to be the answer to their sexual dreams, but for others, dance is a great sexual enhancer." "Throughout history, dance has been used in courtship rituals and often as a prelude to sex." "Indeed, dance often has the excitement, release and exhaustion characteristics of sexual climax." "Dance is defimitely an aphrodisiac." "Many of the Latin dances for example are very sensual and very sexual." "Many of the rituals involved in mating in various different civilizations involved dance." "For Karen and Greg, exercise has defimitely helped to enhance their sex lives, but sometimes, we need a prescription to perform." "Vast strides in medical technology have helped to make the issue of sexual performance a 21st century obsession." "While our quest for the perfect aphrodisiac continues, have we replaced the potions of the past with the pharmaceuticals of the future?" "Has the art of love become the art of science?" "In the United States it is estimated that over 58 million men and women may suffer from some form of sexual dysfunction." "The cause could be physical psychological or both but drug companies are competing to find a cure." "Perhaps one of the most well known pharmaceuticals today is Viagra." "To date over 16 million prescriptions for Viagra have been filled in the United States alone." "But Viagra is just the tip of the iceberg in the medical quest for sexual success." "Erection medication is so popular it is boasting over" "$880 million dollars of sales and new treatments continue to hit the market." "There is a myth that these medications will enhance and create super sexual beings, and I think that that's something that's a risk as well because we don't want to become too intercourse focused as a society." "We don't want to become too goal-oriented." "But to some, many of these drugs are nothing short of a miracle." "After Greg was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, he suffered from erectile dysfunction and had to face the reality that medical assistance was needed." "His doctor prescribed Caverject- the first prescription medication approved by the FD A for erectile dysfunction." "For Greg, this meant having an injection before sex." "Caverject and penile injection therapy is not scary at all." "Because I'm the one who used to pass out just at the mere thought of getting a shot, and this has never been a problem." "What's so neat about this is just how well it works and how quickly it works." "Not that, you know, spontaneity tends to be overrated but it's nice not to have to wait an hour." "OK." "And we load it in here..." "And put this on..." "You ready?" "Oh yeah." "That banana has no feeling whatsoever." "And the medicine gets delivered and it's wonderful, viola." "For over 15 years, the pharmaceutical industry has targeted erectile dysfunction in men." "But now, the race is on to find the magic formula for women." "We used to think that male erection problems were primarily psychologically, or emotionally based, and now we've come to learn that in fact most male erection problems are physical or organic, meaning that there is a medical basis for them." "And we are just now, we're 20 years behind the men, but we are just now beginning to realize that as far as female sexual function, there are in fact a significant number of medical and physiologic processes that can affect sexuality in women." "A recent study conducted by the University of Chicago found that over 40% of women in the United States may suffer from sexual dysfunction." "The result - drugs ranging from estrogen rings to blood flow creams that enhance genital sensation are being developed at a frenzied pace." "The best candidate for medication is a woman who was satisfied with her sexual response at one point in time, and now for whatever physical reason whether it be a pelvic surgery, or menopause or medication, is no longer able to respond as she once could." "This time of life has caused sexuality, the drive that is, to wane a little bit." "One could only imagine that women all over the world at my age are perhaps experiencing the same thing." "One could only imagine that even Sophia Loren must be you know going through this experience as well... 55 year old Petrina Wells is not alone in her concern." "In fact, it is estimated that over 24 million women around the world reach menopause every year." "With aging and menopause, women experience a variety of changes in their sexual function, being increased vaginal dryness increased pain with intercourse, changes in their ability to become aroused, difficulty achieving orgasm, and those changes are primarily due to the change in the hormones." "Unlike many menopausal women around the world who accept their waning sex drive in silence," "Petrina, set off to Canyon Ranch spa in Tucson, Arizona to consult women's health expert Dr. Lana Holstein." "I see so many women who have complaints like Petrina's." "They come in stating that they really are troubled and frustrated by their lack of desire." "They want an active sexual relationship with their partner." "They're in a good space in life." "And yet they're really feeling a lack of this sense vitality when it comes to their sexuality." "Do you feel like you're in menopause or mid life?" "Probably in the middle way through that." "Ok, and are you on any hormones now?" "I am, yes." "OK." "So are those like estrogen or progesterone?" "Has anyone talked to you about testosterone?" "Doctors have long been prescribing hormone replacement therapy for men suffering from impotence and women going through menopause, but today testosterone is the one that pharmaceutical companies are targeting as the next best libido prescription." "If you don't have any testosterone I think you do have trouble accessing your level of sexual interest or desire, so from my point of view, it is a very important aphrodisiac if you will." "In other words, it's a substance that we need to have in our body in order to access that want that desire." "In the age-old aphrodisiac quest modern medicine is finally offering some alternatives." "If you're talking about an aphrodisiac or an agent for lust it is testosterone." "And um, we're just in the very beginning, early phases of understanding the role of testosterone in women, but that is the hormone of desire in both men and women." "For Petrina, the testosterone treatment may offer her the opportunity for many more years of passion with her partner Rusty," "and she will need to follow-up with her doctor to monitor the effects of the medication." "But be it pharmeceuticals or age old aphrodisiacs, the goal remains the same." "I think its part of our human nature to keep searching for something better and as we discover more substances, we'll probably learn so much more about our physiology and be able to discover newer and greater things that will turn us on." "So while our quest for passion continues, most people seem to agree, that no plant, potion or pill alone can promise satisfaction." "Perhaps the ultimate aphrodisiac is love itself." "All of this aphrodisiac stuff of course we're talking about lust you know, if you will, my goal and I think most people's goal is actually love, and to the degree that lust gets you to love" "and then enhances love, hey you know" " I'm all for that." "The best aphrodisiac is the decision to be erotic, and knowing yourself well enough to know what kind of stimulation what kind of circumstances, what kind of conditions you need to have met in your own life to be turned on." "You're talking about sex." "So, if somebody feels that they want something, that aphrodisiac is probably going to heighten that sexual thing," "But for the moment I think." "But the thing is, if you got love love is gonna keep that memory all the time." "The ultimate aphrodisiac is love and being with Mike." "You betchya."