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Welcome to the world of aphrodisiacs! From natural sex aphrodisiacs to female libido enhancers, these intoxicating, magical substances are reputed to boost libidos and put us in the mood for romance and so much more. Join us as we take a bite out of the mystery of the most well-known aphrodisiacs. Hear what the experts have to say about these male and female libido enhancers, including the sights, sounds and scents from natural aphrodisiacs that electrify your sex life!

Aphrodisiacs: Love Potions or Poison?
Love potions or love poison? Find out what research, if any, is behind these alleged aphrodisiacs.

Dissecting Desire: The Science of Sex
Discover the chemical processes behind our sexual urges.

Sexual Dysfunctions and Sexual Performance
Find out what is being done to treat sexual dysfunction in men as well as women.

Food Aphrodisiacs That Affect the Libido
Certains foods may arouse us for their phallic resemblance, but there may be more to these foods than meets the eye.

Sexual Pheromones and Sexual Desire
Is your attraction to the opposite sex actually triggered by what scientists call a "smellprint?" Uncover the secret!

Exercise As An Aphrodisiac
Regular exercise can do more than get your body into shape. It can also increase your sex drive.

 

We have Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, to thank for the word "aphrodisiac" but since time immemorial, people have been in search of foods, formulas and functions meant to stimulate sexual desire and enhance performance.

From ram's testicles mixed with honey to ground rhino horn, the pursuit of aphrodisiacs has been an age-old quest with all the superstition and pseudo-science you could imagine, leading most scientists to dismiss aphrodisiacs as folklore. Until recently that is.

As medical science has given us a greater understanding of human sexuality and our own chemical processes that put us in the mood, research has uncovered how some well-known and not so well-known aphrodisiacs actually work with our body chemistry to lead to arousal and excitement.

To understand how certain foods, scents and even sounds can be aphrodisiacs, it helps to understand the chemical processes behind our sexual urges. It all starts with hormones. While estrogen is responsible for the development and function of female sexual organs, it's testosterone that powers the sex drive in both men and women.

Given the right balance of hormones, sexual stimuli passes to the limbic lobe of the brain, often called the "pleasure center," which sends signals via the nervous system to the pelvic region. Blood vessels in the genitals are prompted to dilate, admitting a rush of blood that inflates both male and female erectile tissues. Then, the vessels close off, preventing blood from flowing out of the area.

The result is an erection and all the other physical signs of sexual excitement. Simultaneously, neurotransmitters like norepinephrine and dopamine are released from the brain, sending messages of pleasure and arousal throughout our bodies.

Age, illness, stress or injury can all affect our body's ability to produce its own aphrodisiacs. When hormone levels drop, libido can lag and sexual dysfunction may develop.

Pharmaceutical "aphrodisiacs" like Viagra and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) are a modern response to the desire for desire, but science is uncovering how vitamins and minerals in foods, chemicals in ancient aphrodisiac herbs, and even exercise can initiate the chemical cascade leading to the excitement of sexual desire.

 

These days, many men and women who grew up believing a satisfying sex life is a birth right are discovering that aging and the stress of modern living can result in a weakened libido or physical problems with sexual performance. In these cases, even the most tried of aphrodisiacs may not work. Fortunately, modern pharmaceuticals have picked up where tradition leaves off.

Until recently, medical science regarded sexual dysfunction as a result of psychological or emotional problems. However, most cases of what's now known as erectile dysfunction are acknowledged to be physical in nature and treatable with drugs rather than psychotherapy. Likewise among women, the decline in estrogen levels leading to menopause can dampen desire, reduce vaginal lubrication, and make sex painful as sexual organs atrophy. Testosterone, the sex hormone responsible for driving libido in both men and women, also decreases with age, diminishing desire.

While none of this means that sexual dysfunction can't be psychological in nature, it's more the exception than the rule. The introduction of Viagra as a treatment for erectile dysfunction was a revolutionary advancement over the self-administered injections available earlier, with over 16 million prescriptions written since the drug's introduction.

While development of drugs to increase sexual function for women has lagged behind, companies are racing to make such products available, including estrogen rings and blood flow creams that enhance genital sensation. Even hormone replacement therapy doesn't rev up libido unless you add testosterone to the usual mix of estrogen and progesterone and more women are rediscovering sexual intimacy thanks to treatment with this universal sex hormone. Soon "his and her" Viagra could be the aphrodisiacs of the 21st century.

So the age-old quest for the ultimate aphrodisiac continues, fueled in large part by men and women who once knew sexual rapture and aren't ready to settle for anything less. But if it's oysters or asparagus, secret scents or step aerobics, or modern medicines — most people seem to agree that no one thing alone can replace the power of being in love.

 

Imagine an invisible, undetectable force that's powerful enough to override your sense of reason yet draws you to someone with an almost animal passion. These aren't Cupid's mythological arrows, but real shots of human pheromones. Scientists have been researching for years whether or not humans, like other animals, exude these secret scents, with attention focused on a small organ composed of two small pits a few centimeters up the nose.

Biologists describe pheromones as "smellprints" supposedly as unique to each of us as our fingerprints. Smell is the most primitive of human senses and, unlike sight and touch, travels a direct route to the brain's limbic lobe where it can provoke an emotional reaction that can, quite literally, be a turn-on.

There's no doubt that pheromones underlie sexual and other types of behavior in animals, but given the complex human psyche, can these invisible lust signals be all you need for love? The scientific verdict is pending, but an increasing body of evidence suggests that the chemistry of sexual attraction and arousal is more nature than nurture and quite beyond our control. Not so far-fetched a notion considering how often we speak — and sing — of sexual chemistry.

Love or lust — the question hasn't stopped the fragrance industry from attempting to cash in on the accumulating knowledge about pheromones by producing synthetic versions of these elusive chemicals. True, the new fragrances aren't billed as aphrodisiacs. Instead, they're advertised as mood-enhancers designed to help you relax and shed your inhibitions.

While there's absolutely no proof that they can deliver on any kind of erotic promise, the new pheromone perfumes are selling briskly, even to repeat customers. Which may prove, yet again, that when it comes to aphrodisiacs, nothing trumps the power of suggestion.