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Panax ginseng
tonifies energy and blood to bolster general well-being.
Paeonia lactiflora (from the root of the red peony) helps dilate
blood vessels and invigorates the blood so that it moves more
easily, thus boosting erectile function.
All the other herbs are recorded in traditional Chinese medicine as
helping overcome sexual dysfunction by tonifying kidney yang,
producing many benefits. Combined, they boost energy generally.
Epimedium brevicornum, for instance, has traditionally been used
where kidney yang deficiency causes not only sexual dysfunction but
also frequent urination.
Its effectiveness in helping sexual dysfunction has long been known
and is reflected in its literal English translation,
‘licentious goat wort’. In the Chinese Herbal Medicine Materia
Medica*, a fifth century writer is quoted as saying:
‘Taking this herb makes people want to yin-yang. In northern
Sichuan, there are licentious goats that copulate about one hundred
times a day; they probably eat this wort, so it is called
licentious goat wort.’
*For further
reading about the herbs used in Male Power, recommended is the
Chinese Herbal Medicine Materia Medica, 3rd Edition, compiled and
translated by Dan Bensky, Steven Clavey and Erich Stöger, Eastland
Press
Inc, Seattle, US, 2004.
For an
introductory guide to Chinese traditional medical teaching –
yin-yang theory and particularly the role of the
kidneys in general health – see Chinese Acupuncture and
Moxibustion, Foreign Languages Press, Beijing
2004.
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