Have there ever been any aphrodisiacs that have been proven to work?
Yohimbe, available for a relatively high price at health food stores, as well as GNC, usually contains a warning about being a sexual stimulant.
It might be just a hunch, but I don’t think it will make the person of your dreams suddenly fall madly in love with you, though.
No. Good studies have not shown yohimbine to be any more effective than placebo. Viagra allows men who have trouble getting erections for physiologic reasons to have a better chance of achieving them if they can ignore the side effects.
Qadgop, MD
If you are making love to a cow, you don’t need an aphrodisiac. The feel of that warm breath on your should should be enough for any man to get aroused…
Honesty.
Fun.
Silliness.
Reasonable hygeine.
Trust.
Electricity.
Chocolate, because we all believe it is.
Candles, ditto.
The right mindset.
Handcuffs. 
Sincerely,
Cartooniverse
I feel you wouldn’t steer us wrong, so the idea of making beautiful mooosic that is more bovine that sublime is tempting. And yet, the milk of human kindness doth flow even when one doesn’t hide.
No! Not the handcuffs again! Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh!
Actually, I thought testosterone (seriously) was a pretty effective aphrodisiac - of the chemical variety But the side effects of continual usage, as with any steroid, are pretty bad. Cartoonivere’s list is much safer - even the handcuffs.
Aphrodisiacs and diet plans.
If anyone had either that worked, you wouldn’t have to ask. Or advertise.
-Rue.
Oh, and Speleophile, testosterone only works if you have a deficiency. If you have enough to start with, adding more won’t make things “better”. (Adding more fuel to the tank won’t make the car run faster.)
Qadgop the Mercotan… Actually, for Viagra to be effective the man must first be able to achieve an erection. The drug then allows it to be sustained by keeping the blood vessels in the penis expanded.
But you are correct in that it is not really a sexual stimulant.
True, there must be no physiologic impediment to achieving the hydraulics of erection. But many men who had not had hemodynamically significant erections in years are able to achieve them on viagra. YMMV, depending on the underlying medical condition and its severity. Won’t work for psychogenic erectile dysfunction, tho. At least not better than placebo.
Power, money and fame have been known to work pretty reliably for men.
I was going to suggest pheromones. However, I did a search and checked quite a few sites to see if I could confirm what I’ve apparently heard and believed.
I found this comment: “Scientists have long known that odors and subliminal scents - sex attractants or pheromones - influence how animals develop, mate, bond, and nurture their offspring. Recently, scientists have discovered that human animals are no exception. Odors can accelerate puberty, control women’s menstrual cycles, and even influence sexual orientation. They help us tell lovers and family members from strangers and let mothers and infants bond. Odors affect how often we have sex, and with whom. They influence how the brain develops, what we remember, and how we learn. Odors are the spice of life.”
However later the site later goes on to say, "There are many fragrances that may contain either animal or putative human pheromones. Advertising for these “pheromone-containing” fragrances (or fragrance additives) typically contains “wild” claims. I am often asked which one works, or works BEST. My response: “there is no scientific data that supports any claim that a “pheromone-containing” fragrance or fragrance additive will act as an aphrodisiac.”
I suppose I shouldn’t be, but I was surprised that everything I located (including the above quotes) both wild and reasonable, was linked to a site for “selling” pheromones.
I did a couple of searches for more professionally oriented sites and to read the reports you have to join or pay for the report. So I don’t know how supportive science is of the above claims.
I took way too long way to say; I thought pheromones were an an aphrodisiac, but I can’t prove it. I can say that I’m fully aware that scent (among many other things) plays a role in what I find attractive. I’m not talking about fragances so much as the natural scent you find in a guys jacket or on his pillow. While body odor has unpleasant connotations, there are times when exertion reveals a scent that is in fact quite alluring.
Sexual benefits aside, nothing stirs me more deeply than the scent of my sons. From when they were first born to long after one of them died, I know their scent. Ok on preview, I see that the above comment looks odd. His clothes and shoes were stored in a plastic sealed truck. For many years his scent lingered among his things. When I longed to hold him, I settled for rummaging through his clothes, shoes and caps and catching a fleeting whiff of his lingering scent. Blind folded, in a room full of freshly bathed boys, I could locate mine. By the same token, in a room full of stinky boys just back from a campout I can tell by scent which laundry bag will be following him home.
His clothes and shoes were stored in a plastic sealed trunk, not truck.
Sorry for the follow-up post,
Abby
IANASTBIPOOTV (I am not a sex therapist, but I play one on TV). The reputed aphrodisiac effect of yohimbe comes from its effect on your blood pressure. According to Billup’s American Drug Index, Yohimbine Hydrochloride has no FDA sanctioned indications. The trade-named Yohimex is sold as an anti-impotence drug agent.