There's a 5000 year old Chinese handbook describing organic aphrodisiacs, there are also recipes in the Kama Sutra and Arab and European manuscripts from the middle ages.
Should we be open minded to these ancient solutions in an era of high tech medicines? Through out the ages people have tried hundreds if not thousands of different supplements to stimulate the sex drive. Only a few of their inventions have stood the test of time and are still used today.
If you were to make a list of all the supplements and other items that supposedly should have increased the libido that list might be a testament of our desperate search for a love potion.
Men and women have used all sorts of ingredients to stimulate their sex drives, heal impotency and make their husbands and wives more interested in making love.
Some supposed fixes have been donkey testicles, birds' intestines and of course penises of various animals like wolves, leopards and even hedgehogs. Onions, fruits and spices have also been favorites.
The Ancient World
The Greeks and Romans were very fond of an aphrodisiac named satyrion after the lustful satyrs of Greek mythology. It is made from a wild flower common to northern Eurasia called ragwort. Supposedly Hercules drank satyrion before deflowering his hosts 50 daughters.
There are many recipes for aphrodisiacs in old and ancient sex manuals. The oldest known manuals are the 5000 year old Chinese Handbooks of Sex, Su-Nui Ching.
The best known manual is the Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana which was most likely written between the first and sixth-century. Later works containing recipes for aphrodisiacs are Sheikh Nefzawi's The Perfumed Garden and the Spanish manual The Mirror of Coitus both from the fifteenth-century.
The Modern World
Some spices that have been thought to work wonders are cumin and coriander that are thought to have been used since Ancient Egypt. Chili pepper is also thought to be a potent aphrodisiac. You would need to experiment to figure out the correct amount to use but use too much and you are out of the game. Try chili-sauce with oysters for added effect.
Of course most of these aphrodisiacs do not have any scientific proof of being effective and will probably never be prescribed by a doctor. However, the mind is a powerful tool and as long as you can believe they work they have the possibility of being effective.
Being open minded is a helpful for studying the benefits of these ancient aphrodisiacs. Our forefathers were constantly searching for the correct mixture to increase the libido. Modern science has brought us some solutions but I still feel it's fascinating to explore these ancient rituals and their supposed effect.
