Sexual Enhancement Supplement Ingredient Guide: What You Need to Know

Executive Image International
11/18/09
Tags: sexual, ingredients, supplements, men, male, article

Chainsaw, Enzyte, Extenze, Newzair, Provacyl, just to name a few; in a market flooded with so many brands, the biggest advantage you the consumer have is product knowledge. While it is impossible to know and understand everything about every product, what you can know and understand are the basic essential ingredients and how they work. Knowing what ingredients make the supplement effective and why, allows you to make informed decisions when it comes to spending your hard earned money, and ensures you get the results you’re looking for from your sexual enhancer. This guide is intended to make that education process a little easier.

Effective sexual enhancement supplements contain ingredients that promote four essential tasks: strengthen and elevate libido, stimulate blood flow, enhance mental and physical energy, and boost testosterone. Key ingredients include: yohimbe, epimedium or, as it is more commonly referred to, horny goat weed, l-arginine, tribulus terrestris, ginseng, and ginkgo biloba supplements.

These essential ingredients fit into four main categories and ensure the effectiveness of your sexual enhancement supplements:

1) Aphrodisiac: strengthen and elevate sexual desire or libido

2) Vasodilator: stimulate blood flow to genital area to increase size, hardness, and sensation

3) Energy Enhancement: enhance mental and physical energy

4) Testosterone Booster: boost and maintain normal levels of testosterone

Let's examine what each ingredient does and how.

Yohimbe, for women and men, works as an aphrodisiac, vasodilator, and energy enhancer. For centuries West African tribes have been using the bark of a certain evergreen tree native to West Africa called yohimbe, for women as well as men, to promote rituals of love and war, alike. Before heading off to battle, tribesmen would make a tea from the shavings of the yohimbe bark, which would empower the warriors to become more fearless, more aggressive, while increasing their stamina and focus. As reproduction was also crucial to the tribe’s health, the tribesmen would again use the tea of the yohimbe to promote both sexual desire and performance. Now available beyond the confines of West Africa, yohimbe is extracted from the bark of the yohimbe tree and used in yohimbe capsules and sexual enhancement supplements. Modern research has shown that yohimbe, for women and men, aids in vasodilation. Yohimbe capsules or sexual enhancement supplements containing yohimbe work to dilate blood vessels, which increases blood flow to the genital area, enhancing size, hardness and sensation. Generally regarded as an aphrodisiac, yohimbe capsules as well as enhancement products containing yohimbe, for women and men, work to support and enhance the libido, elevating the levels of desire significantly. It has also been found that yohimbe, for women in particular, but for men as well, is highly effective in treating the symptoms of hyposexual disorder. The persistent lack of sexual desire linked with hyposexual disorders is more common among women, however, as it is sometimes a side effect of taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants it can also be found in men. Yohimbe capsules and sexual enhancement products containing yohimbe, for women and for men, have been successful in counteracting this side effect through its aphrodisiac properties.

Epimedium, as it is scientifically known, or horny goat weed as it is more commonly referred to, produces stimulation much like yohimbe as both an aphrodisiac and vasodilator. In fact, yohimbe and horny goat weed create a super team for sexual stimulation. While the phenomenon of Horny Goat Weed is relatively new to the western world, its existence and known benefits go back thousands of years. It is ancient Chinese legend that while tending to his herd, a shepherd began to notice an increase in the sexual activity of his goats after they would graze on a certain weed. This weed became known in China as yin yang huo, translated in English as “weed for the licentious goat,” or horny goat weed. Icariin, the active ingredient in horny goat weed, works as a vasodilator by increasing levels of nitric oxide in the blood stream which relaxes the smooth muscle that surrounds blood vessels. Relaxation of the smooth muscle is necessary in order for blood flow to engorge the genital area. For men, relaxation of the smooth muscle is necessary in order for an erection to occur. This relaxing or dilating of the blood vessels allows for increased blood flow to the genital area which, like yohimbe, enhances size, hardness, and sensation. Similar to the effects of yohimbe capsules, horny goat weed also acts as an aphrodisiac to support and enhance libido, genital sensation, and orgasm, which just goes to show that what is good for the flock can be good for you as well.

L-arginine benefits your sexual enhancement as a vasodilator, similarly to horny goat weed and yohimbe. For women, but most effectively when used by men for sexual enhancement, the amino acid l-arginine benefits vasodilation by aiding in the increase of nitric acid thereby dilating blood vessels and increasing blood flow to the genital area. L-arginine is particularly helpful to men looking for assistance with erectile dysfunction and impotence. Aside from its sexual worth, l-arginine benefits immune function as well; as it helps to rid the body of ammonia, a toxin poisonous to the body in large amounts. It should be said that like l-arginine, benefits of several of the ingredients listed here, range well beyond sexual enhancement; a side effect that isn't hard to get used to! The best sexual enhancement products value allover health. Feeling well is often the first step in feeling frisky.

Tribulus Terrestris Testosterone Booster helps enhance, as well as maintain normal levels of testosterone for both men and women. While testosterone is a known and accepted as a necessity for men, women often discount the hormone's worth to their own health. Though the hormone often brings about conceptions of muscle-bound, weightlifting she-males, the reality is that both men and women need and produce testosterone in their bodies. Testosterone is, after all, responsible for pumping up energy levels, fueling sexual desires, and helping to build muscles while burning fat in both women and men. Tribulus terrestris testosterone booster aids in the body's natural production of testosterone by reducing luteinizing hormone (LH) and estrogen, hormones which inhibit the production of usable testosterone. This is particularly important for women taking oral contraception, as it raises levels of LH and estrogen, as well as both men and women over the age of thirty, as it is at that age that levels of usable testosterone begin to diminish. It should be said that with the use of tribulus terrestris, testosterone levels natural to the body are boosted. Tribulus terrestris does not contain testosterone, but rather aids in the body's natural production of it, which works to increase and enhance libido and energy for women and men.

Ginseng and ginkgo biloba supplements are best known for their power as mental boosters; however, like l-arginine, horny goat weed, and yohimbe, for women and men, ginseng and ginkgo biloba supplements aid in vasodilation as well. Like the other vasodilators, ginseng and ginkgo biloba help to increase levels of nitric oxide which dilates blood vessels, allowing for increased blood flow to the genital area. But what separates ginseng and ginkgo biloba supplements from the other vasodilators are the role they play in enhancing cognitive function and concentration. As it is clear that sex is as much about the mental as it is about the physical, ginseng and ginkgo are extremely beneficial additions to your sexual enhancement supplement. For women especially, mental focus is essential in reaching climax. If a woman can't focus clearly it is likely she will be unable to orgasm. Though men can pretty easily "get in the zone" when it comes to sex, as natural multi-taskers, women sometimes find it hard to focus on one singular thing and be completely in the moment, without work, the kids, laundry, dinner, or dishes running through their head, putting up a road block to orgasm.. Ginseng and ginkgo biloba supplements enable women to get "in the zone" and focus singularly on the pleasure she is receiving at that moment, which in turn enables orgasm.

While this ingredient list is not all inclusive, it is definitely a great start for you on your road to finding the sexual enhancement supplement that is right for you. So remember, all enhancement products are not created equally, and it’s up to you to differentiate between the tidal wave of products available. It is important to know what ingredients go in the sexual enhancement supplement, in order to ensure its effectiveness. If the enhancement supplement you're looking at doesn't contain the ingredients discussed above, chances are you are looking at the wrong supplement. To be effective sexual enhancement supplements must contain aphrodisiacs, vasodilators, energy enhancers, and testosterone boosters. So, to ensure your plans for enhancement don't go limp do your research to make sure the enhancement supplement contains the ingredients to give you the sexual boost you want and deserve.