2 Drug-Free Ways to Improve Your Sexual Performance and Recovery Time

How to boost your drive, virility and recovery time naturally

Close to one-third of men report some form of sexual dysfunction, and the root of their problem can be physical or psychological in nature.

Conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, neurological disorders, hormonal imbalances, alcoholism and drug abuse can all cause problems with sexual function. Stress and anxiety may also result in a lowered sex drive or performance issues, as can certain medications, including antidepressants, blood pressure meds, antihistamines and acid-blocking drugs. And, of course, there is the issue of aging and the effect it has on your libido.

Tens of millions of men turn to drugs like Viagra, Cialis and Levitra for erectile dysfunction (ED), and the market for them now surpasses $5 billion a year.

Then there are the men who take the more natural route, using herbs or supplements such as DHEA, epimedium (more commonly known as horny goat weed), folic acid and vitamin E, ginkgo, ginseng, yohimbe, zinc or fenugreek seeds to boost their sex drive and performance.

In a new study, researchers looked at the ability of another herb, kaempferia parviflor (also known as krachai dam or black galingale), both alone and in combination with exercise, to see what effect it may have on sexual motivation and performance.

Kaempferia parviflor is a member of the ginger family that is native to Thailand, and it has traditionally been used there to treat things such as inflammation, diarrhea, vertigo and heart problems. It has also been thought to enhance male sexual activity and reproductive function, and research is emerging to back up those claims.

In the study at hand, 40 male rats were randomly assigned to four groups (10 in each). One group was given ethanol extract of kaempferia parviflor for four weeks, another performed treadmill running at a moderate intensity for four weeks, and the third group received both the extract and exercise training. Finally, there was a control group that received neither.

At the end of the four weeks, the researchers found that both kaempferia parviflor extract and the exercise training had measurable effects on the animals. Specifically, in all three treatment groups, the time it took for the male to initiate sex (an indicator of sexual motivation) and the time it took until ejaculation (an indicator of sexual performance) were significantly shortened in comparison to the control group.

However, when it came to what the authors termed “mounting frequency” (the number of mounts until ejaculation), only the exercise and the extract combined with exercise intervention groups saw an improvement. Both exercise groups also saw an increased number of ejaculations (another performance indicator) compared to the control and extract-only groups.

But the kaempferia parviflor treatment did decrease the amount of time between ejaculation and the next mount, i.e., the recovery period, when compared to the control.

As a side note, there was no indication that the exercise or the extract had an effect on fertility.

The authors concluded, “This study clearly showed that [kaempferia parviflor] or exercise training significantly enhanced aphrodisiac activity of male rats. Combined treatment with [kaempferia parviflor] and exercise had no additive effect.”

In other words, both treatments had an overall positive effect on sex drive and performance when looked at separately and combined, but combining them did not seem to make the results all that more, um, potent.

However, given that they affected different sexual indicators, it might make sense to consider both avenues.

When it comes to the exercise, the results may be due in part to an increase in serum testosterone. It could also be that the exercise training had direct or indirect effects on the brain and/or spinal neural circuits involved in sexual behavior.

As for the kaempferia parviflor, the authors hypothesize that the impact was related to an increase in blood flow to the reproductive organs as opposed to a change in testosterone levels. So in addition to sticking with a moderate intensity exercise program, you could try this herb to give your sex life a boost. It comes in extract or capsule form, and also as an herbal tea. Look for it in a dietary supplement store or a reliable online shop.