# Aphrodisiacs **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 9, 2001, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphrodisiacs/71863 "2001-07-09T18:47:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e19adc/32.png) [@McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphrodisiacs/71863/1 "2001-07-09T18:47:27Z")
Have there ever been any aphrodisiacs that have been proven to work? ---
**Author:** ![gwar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/96bed5/32.png) [@gwar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwar)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphrodisiacs/71863/2 "2001-07-09T22:07:20Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphrodisiacs/71863/3 "2001-07-09T23:12:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by McMurphy \* > \*\*Have there ever been any aphrodisiacs that have been proven to work? \*\* 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 ---
**Author:** ![heembo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f6c823/32.png) [@heembo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heembo)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphrodisiacs/71863/4 "2001-07-09T23:34:11Z")
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… ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphrodisiacs/71863/5 "2001-07-10T00:42:53Z")
Honesty. Fun. Silliness. Reasonable hygeine. Trust. Electricity. Chocolate, because we all believe it is. Candles, ditto. The right mindset. Handcuffs. 😉 Sincerely, Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphrodisiacs/71863/6 "2001-07-10T00:44:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by heembo \* > \*\*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… \*\* 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. 😃 😃 ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphrodisiacs/71863/7 "2001-07-10T00:58:52Z")
> [@](#): > > A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel reviewed 15 alleged aphrodisiacs in 1982, including gotu kola, ginseng, licorice, sarsaparilla, cantharides (Spanish fly), nux vomica, Pega Palo, strychnine (!), and yohimbine. The panel declared there was “no substantive evidence whatever to support the claims of aphrodisiac action attributed to these ingredients.” > [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_208.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_208.html) ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphrodisiacs/71863/8 "2001-07-10T01:00:03Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Cartooniverse_: > > Honesty. > Fun. > Silliness. > Reasonable hygeine. > Trust. > Electricity. > Chocolate, because we all believe it is. > Candles, ditto. > The right mindset. > **Handcuffs.** No! Not the handcuffs again! Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh! ---
**Author:** ![Speleophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@Speleophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speleophile)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphrodisiacs/71863/9 "2001-07-10T05:01:26Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Rue\_DeDay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/41988e/32.png) [@Rue\_DeDay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rue_DeDay)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphrodisiacs/71863/10 "2001-07-10T11:13:32Z")
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.) ---
**Author:** ![Diver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@Diver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diver)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphrodisiacs/71863/11 "2001-07-10T14:41:56Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphrodisiacs/71863/12 "2001-07-10T15:29:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diver \* > \*\*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. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphrodisiacs/71863/13 "2001-07-10T23:39:22Z")
Power, money and fame have been known to work pretty reliably for men. ---
**Author:** ![AbbySthrnAccent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@AbbySthrnAccent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AbbySthrnAccent)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2001, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphrodisiacs/71863/14 "2001-07-11T04:19:11Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![AbbySthrnAccent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@AbbySthrnAccent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AbbySthrnAccent)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2001, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphrodisiacs/71863/15 "2001-07-11T04:32:08Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by AbbySthrnAccent > \*…His clothes and shoes were stored in a plastic sealed truck. \* His clothes and shoes were stored in a plastic sealed **trunk** , not truck. Sorry for the follow-up post, Abby ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2001, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aphrodisiacs/71863/16 "2001-07-11T11:15:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gwar \* > \*\*Yohimbe, available for a relatively high price at health food stores, as well as GNC, usually contains a warning about being a sexual stimulant. > \*\* 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.