Rhodiola And Rhaponticum For Your Love Life

Two researchers at the Carl Gustav Carus Akademie in Hamburg, Germany tested an over the counter rhodiola supplement called Vigaro (a combination of rhodiola with vitamins and minerals) as a tonic for people aged 50 to 90. They found taking the product for 90 days objectively reduced:

Even for 89-year-old users of the herb, "lust for life," including interest in sex, increased after using the herb. The researchers noted that the best results were obtained when the rhodiola product was used just after breakfast, rather than later in the day. The effects of the herb were noteworthy for both men and women.

 

Experts in herbal medicine, however, recommend using both rhodiola and rhaponticum when the objective is to rejuvenate energy and enjoyment in life. Rhaponticum is a Russian member of the sunflower family. It grows in alpine meadows during the brief, warm summers of southern Siberia. This plant famously contains the plant steroid 20-hydroxyecdysterone, which has some unusual effects on inflammation. 

 

In molting animals, like insects and crabs, it can stop the inflammation that powers the molting process. In humans, it can stop ordinary aches and pains. 

 

The effects of rhaponticum are especially noticeable in the sex lives of male users. The herb increases interest in sex, and it also increases the volume of semen production. It increases the number of viable sperm, so using the herb increases the likelihood of pregnancy during unprotected male-female vaginal intercourse. 

 

In Russia, rhaponticum teas are used as part of the treatment of alcoholism, especially when chronic depression is a comorbidity. Out patients are encouraged to drink rhaponticum tea four to five times a day. One physician noted sustained sobriety in patients who had been persuaded to take the tea, over two years in nine patients, a full year in 11 patients, and six months in eight more. These results were accomplished with the herb alone. The doctor discontinued the experiment so his clinic could offer the full spectrum of treatments available for the disease.

A daily dose of rhodiola extract is 300 mg, provided the product has been standardized to contain 1 percent salidroside and 2 to 3 percent rosavins. It's hard to find the tea outside of Russia and the Central Asian republics, but 4 or 5 teaspoons (20 to 25 grams) of the processed herb in tea would also be acceptable.

 

For rhaponticum, you'll get the most reliable results from products that list a standardized amount of 20-hydroxyecdysone on the label. The dosage will vary from brand to brand, but you need to be getting 20 mg of this chemical every day from whatever amount of the product you take.