Herbal Viagra natural alternative, do herbal viagra products work?

There are many products marketed as Herbal Viagra, and as with any product on the market, some work and others don't. Unfortunately, a few sellers of these products have added pharmaceutical agents like Viagra or some of the newer drugs to their products. In our opinion -- and we am quite certain of this, there are many herbs that have a positive influence on sex drive and sexual performance -- It's too bad that some bad apples are giving a tarnished name to the herbal industry.
    We disagree with the title of the article listed below. There are some Herbal Viagra pills that do work, such as Passion Rx. Most sex herbs will not work as effectively as Viagra for immediate genital swelling and erection, but over time, they can achieve great erectile function and, in addition, increase libido, sensation, and overall sexual stamina.

'Herbal' Viagra often no such thing
"Herbal" Viagra and other so-called natural alternatives for treating impotence advertised on the Internet and in men's magazines are often contaminated with real drugs and could kill those who take them, researchers said on Monday. They said the flood of e-mail spam touting alternatives to prescription erectile dysfunction drugs was a sign of how popular such products were, but the researchers suggested that governments monitor and regulate supplements more closely. "These are being marketed as being safe and natural products," said Dr. Neil Fleshner of Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, Canada. "It is plausible that deaths have occurred or could occur." Fleshner and colleagues bought seven "herbal" erectile dysfunction products to find out what was in them. Two contained significant levels of prescription phosphodiesterase inhibitors - sildenafil, sold by Pfizer under the brand name Viagra and tadalafil, Eli Lilly and Co's Cialis. "We think the implications of this are quite dramatic," Fleshner told a news conference. "Since these compounds are not natural, deliberate contamination of these products must be considered," added Fleshner, whose team presented the findings to a meeting of the American Urological Association in San Francisco. The erectile dysfunction drugs affect blood flow and can be deadly when taken with certain heart drugs containing nitrates. The researchers said they would continue efforts to get the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to more closely regulate "alternative" products.   
   Current law allows non-prescription supplements to be advertised so long as they do not make specific health claims, such as lowering cholesterol. However, the FDA does move to stop the marketing of products that contain prescription medicines. Dr. Ramesh Thurairaja and colleagues at the Bristol Royal Infirmary in Britain did a "Google" Internet search using the words "herbal" and "Viagra." "I actually picked up 160,000 hits last year," Thurairaja told a news conference. "Two weeks ago I typed the same two words in and got 690,000 hits." Many of the sites also touted penis enlargement products, Thurairaja noted. His team assessed the first 50 Web sites and found only 36 percent offered any advice on who should not use the products and just 21 percent listed potential side-effects. Only 21 percent offered information from someone with medical training and 24 percent clearly stated that their information was not to replace doctors' advice. "The commonest ingredients were yohimbe, ginseng and ginkgo biloba," Thurairaja said. "All these herbs have been previously investigated in the past and are known to have side effects such as skin reaction and cardiovascular disorders."

The following paragraphs are excerpts from Natural Sex Boosters by Ray Sahelian, M.D.

Men and Sex
In men, sexual dysfunction primarily takes the form of a decline in libido, and impotence. The 1992 National Institutes of Health (NIH) Conference on Impotence suggested “erectile dysfunction” (ED) as a more appropriate term for the inability to obtain and/or maintain penile erection sufficient for satisfactory sexual performance. ED is sometimes made worse by personal relationship issues. Male sexual dysfunction should be viewed as a chronic disease with medical, psychological, sociological, and behavioral components.
   Common medical causes of ED include chronic illness or the side effects of drugs. Additional risk factors for ED include cardiovascular disease, smoking, obesity, and high cholesterol. Less commonly, the problem is psychological. Physical causes are more common in older individuals whereas psychological causes are more common in the young. Erectile dysfunction does not have to be a part of getting older. It's true that as you get older, you may need more stimulation (such as stroking and touching) to achieve an erection. You might also need to wait more time between erections. But older men need not accept sexual dysfunction as a normal consequence of aging.

Are there any so-called foods that can be classified as aphrodisiacs?
To my knowledge, no particular food enhances sexuality or can be considered an aphrodisiac if the expectation is that results would be noticed within a brief period of time, such as hours. There are certain herbs, though, such as yohimbe, that I consider to be an aphrodisiac since the effects start within hours. It is possible, though, that certain foods, such as fish, could be considered to have an aphrodisiac nature in the long run since fish provide longed-chained fatty acids such as DHA and EPA found in fish oils. These fish oils could improve blood flow to the genital region and also have beneficial effects on seminal fluid and sperms.
   Chocolate has been considered an aphrodisiac. The Aztecs brewed cocoa like coffee, and although studies show chocolate to contain phenylethylamine or PEA, to my knowledge eating chocolate (and I have done much of it) does not have much of an influence on sexuality. We don't think chocolate is a true aphrodisiac.

Arginine does not work well as an " herbal Viagra "
Ashwagandha is not a good herbal Viagra alternative
Avena Sativa is a very weak herbal Viagra

How An Erection Happens
An erection is a complex event that occurs when blood rapidly flows into the penis and becomes trapped in its spongy chambers, called the corpora cavernosa. In addition to psychological and chemical components, an erection involves the neural, hormonal, and vascular systems.
   When visual or auditory stimuli of a sexual nature stimulate the brain, nerve impulses flow down the spinal cord where they stimulate activate parasympathetic nerve fibers, which go to the penis or clitoris and release acetylcholine. Acetylcholine helps cavernous smooth muscles (corpora cavernosa) to relax and as a result more blood flows to the penis. Touching the penis also stimulates the parasympathetic nerves. Usually, both mechanisms are at work to cause erections, but as people age, they derive less stimulation from the higher centers and need to rely more on direct penile or clitoral stimulation. In the young, higher centers of the brain are easily stimulated by fantasizing or thinking about sex, which seem to cause an erection or vaginal lubrication nearly at will. Another aging-related change is an increase in the refractory period, that is, the time from ejaculation to the next erection. This interval may range from several minutes in a young man to several days in a 90 year-old.
   When the penis is flaccid, the muscles of the corpora cavernosa are in a contracted state. This is maintained by the sympathetic nervous system using the chemical norepinephrine, which binds to alpha-1-adrenergic receptors. Yohimbine, a substance found in the African sex booster yohimbe, blocks these alpha-1-adrenergic receptors and prevents the contraction otherwise induced by norepinephrine. Erections now occur much easier since the corpora cavernosa are relaxed and blood can rapidly flow in. Nitric oxide is a chemical involved in erections. Nitric oxide (NO) is the most important chemical responsible for engorgement of sexual organs and erections.

Serotonin usually has an inhibitory effect, that is, too much serotonin decreases sexual drive and interest.