Joan Wilen and Lydia Wilen
Joan Wilen and Lydia Wilen are folk-remedy experts and home tipsters based in New York City. They have spent decades collecting “cures from the cupboard” and are authors of several books, including Secret Food Cures.
A healthy sex life is important. With the pressures of the modern world, and the distance that telecommunication allows, more and more people are finding it a challenge to maintain healthy relationships. Other times people are just busy and intimacy with your partner falls by the wayside. Natural remedies for sexual dysfunction can be helpful in rekindling the flame, even if it’s just going through an embarrassing invocation with your partner.
In the following excerpt from Secret Food Cures sisters Joan and Lydia Wilen share natural and folk remedies for sexual dysfunction.
During our appearances on dozens of radio and television shows, we have been asked many sex-related questions. As a result, we decided to give people what they want—more sex! That is, remedies for sexual dysfunctions and some fuel to help rev up the sex drive.
Researchers tell us that about 90% of the cases of decreased sexual ability are psychologically caused. Since a psychological placebo has been known to evoke a prize-winning performance, we’re including rituals, recipes, potions, lotions, charms and all kinds of passion-promoting spells.
For history buffs and for history in the buff, we culled the ancient Greek, Egyptian, Indian and Asian sex secrets that are still being used today.
So, if you did but don’t…should but won’t…can’t but want to…or do but don’t enjoy it—please read on. Help and newfound fun may be waiting.
Touching a man’s testicles before his orgasm is a wonderful way for a woman to greatly excite her lover. It also may hasten—as well as heighten— the orgasm.
NOTE: Touching the testicles just after orgasm is a no-no. It may give an unpleasant, almost painful sensation.
■ Recipe ■
Love Elixir
Ancient Teuton brides drank honey-beer for 30 days after their wedding ceremony. It was said to make the bride more sexually responsive. The custom of drinking honey-beer for a month, poetically referred to as a “moon,” is the way we got the term “honeymoon.”
Rather than go through the bother of preparing honey-beer the way they did way back when, herbalists simplified it to a tea made from hops and honey.
1 oz hops
1 pint water, boiled
1 tsp raw honey
Place the hops (available at health food stores) in a porcelain or Pyrex container. Pour the boiling water over the hops, cover and allow to stand for 15 minutes, then strain. Add the honey to a wineglass of the tea and drink it an hour before each meal. If you prefer warm hops and honey, heat the tea before drinking. Honey contains aspartic acid and vitamin E. Honey and hops contain traces of hormones. All these ingredients are said to stimulate female sexuality. We’ll drink to that!
WARNING: Diabetics and people with honey allergies should not use honey
• Add one teaspoon of sarsaparilla to one cup of just-boiled water and let it steep for five minutes. Strain and drink two cups a day.
While sarsaparilla tea may be helpful to a woman who wants to conceive, it should not be given to a man who wants to be potent. Sarsaparilla (available at health food stores) seems to inhibit the formation of sperm.
• Hundreds of years ago, witches wore necklaces of acorns to symbolize the fertile powers of nature. In some circles, it is still believed that by carrying an acorn you will promote sexual relations and conception.
• The ancient Japanese, masters of sensuality, invented Ben Wa Balls. Later, 18th-century French women referred to them as pommes d’amour (“love apples”). Doctors throughout the world have recommended them for their therapeutic value.
When these small brass (or sometimes gold-plated steel) balls are placed in the vagina, they create a stimulating sensation upon the vaginal-wall muscles. To keep the balls from falling out, the muscles have to be contracted. This exercise strengthens the vaginal muscles, supposedly giving a woman greater control over her orgasms.
NOTE: Make sure Ben Wa Balls have been thoroughly cleaned before inserting them in the vagina.
A strong vaginal muscle is also beneficial to pregnant women. They have more control over their bladders, and it’s said to make the birth process a little easier. A strong vaginal muscle also helps prevent incontinence.
You can also do Kegel exercises to strengthen these muscles.
• Have your favorite fragrance linger in the air and help set the mood for romance. Lightly spray your perfume on a lightbulb—one you plan to leave on. In cold weather, spray your radiator, too.
• Testosterone, the hormone that stimulates sexual desire, is at its lowest level in the human body at 11:00 p.m. It’s at its highest level at sunrise. (No wonder you may not want to make love during The Tonight Show.)
Instead, try getting up with the roosters, and maybe you and your mate will have something to crow about.
• Turkish women believe fenugreek tea makes them more attractive to men. Besides the sexual energy it may give them, the tea has a way of cleansing the system, sweetening the breath and helping eliminate perspiration odors.
• Men suffering from lack of desire and/or inability to perform have also turned to fenugreek tea with success.
Many men with sexual problems lack vitamin A. Fenugreek contains an oil that’s rich in vitamin A. Trimethylamine, another substance found in fenugreek, and currently being tested on men, acts as a sex hormone in frogs. Fenugreek is available at health food stores.
If you want to do your own testing, add two teaspoons of fenugreek seeds to a cup of just-boiled water. Let it steep for five minutes, stir and strain, then add honey and lemon to taste. Drink a cup a day and don’t be surprised if you get the urge to make love on a lily pad.
• Bake the meat of a dozen clams for about two hours at 400º F. When the clam meat is dark and hard, take it out of the oven, let it cool and pulverize it to a powder, either in a blender or with a mortar and pestle. Take 1 ⁄2 teaspoon of the clam powder with water, two hours before bedtime, for one week. This Japanese remedy is supposed to restore sexual vitality.
We heard about a married couple whose idea of “sexual compatibility” is for both of them to get a headache at the same time.
They’re the ones who asked us to include aphrodisiacs. The word itself means “any form of sexual stimulation.” It was derived from the name of Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of Love, who earned her title by having one husband and five lovers, including that handsome Greek guy Adonis. But enough about her!
After much research, we’ve come up with a list of foods said to have aphrodisiacal effects. At the top of the list is, believe it or not, celery. Eat it every day.
Of course, we’ve all heard about eating oysters. Do eat them! But beware of contaminated sources! And always make sure they are thoroughly cooked to reduce the risk of foodborne illness. Oysters contain zinc and, like pumpkin seeds, are said to be wonderful for male genitalia.
The list continues with peaches, honey, parsley, cayenne pepper, bran cereals and truffles. In fact, the 19th-century French general and emperor Napoleon Bonaparte credited truffles for his ability to sire a son.
Here are remedies that you and your mate can try to add new vigor and uninhibited sensuality to your love life.
• Many Native Americans use ginseng as an aphrodisiac. The Chinese also use ginseng. This herb should be taken sparingly, about 1 ⁄4 teaspoon twice a month. It is said to stimulate the endocrine system and be a source of male hormones. Ginseng has also been said to help men who have had a sterility problem.
• Contrary to what we’ve been led to believe about cold showers, they might help stimulate sexual desire. Every day for about two months, take a cold shower or cold sitz bath and notice a rejuvenated you.
• To improve sexual potency, do this yoga exercise before breakfast and before bedtime— sit on the floor with your back straight, head up and feet crossed in front of you. Tighten all the muscles in the genital area, including the anus. Count to 20, then relax and count to 20 again. Repeat this procedure five times in a row, twice each day.
• The English have a commercial preparation called “Tonic for Happy Lovers.” The recipe used to make it consists of one ounce of licorice root mixed with two teaspoons of crushed fennel seeds (both of which you should be able to get at a health food store) and two cups of water. Bring the mixture to a boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer slowly for 20 minutes. After it has cooled, strain it and bottle it.
Dose: Take one to three tablespoons twice a day.
CAUTION: Do not take licorice root if you have high blood pressure or kidney problems. It can cause renal failure.
Ancient mystics used “curses” as a positive way to reverse the negative flow of physical manifestations. In other words, if you’re not hot to trot, Curses!
The secret of success lies in the emotional charge behind the incantation as you repeat it morning, noon and right before bedtime. Here’s one to try…
Eros and Psyche, Cupid and Venus, restore
to me passion and vitality.
Mars and Jupiter, Ares and Zeus, instill in
me strength and force.
Lusty waters and penetrating winds, renew
my vigor, my capacity, my joy.
Cursed be weakness, cursed be shyness,
Cursed be impotence, cursed be frigidity,
Cursed be all that parts me and thee!
• To get in the mood, prepare a warm bath to which you’ve added two drops of jasmine oil, two drops of ylang-ylang oil and eight drops of sandalwood oil. These essential oils are natural, organic substances that work in harmony with the natural forces of the body. Health food stores carry these “oils of olé”! You might want to save water by bathing together.
• Fruits beginning with the letter “p” are said to be especially good for increasing potency in men and enhancing sexual energy in women. The fruits we recommend are peaches, plums, pears, pineapple, papayas, persimmons and bananas—uh, pananas.
• Stir a pinch of ground coriander seeds into a glass of fine red wine while repeating this chant with your partner…
Warm and caring heart
Let us never be apart.
Each of you should sip the wine from the same glass, taking turns. When the wine is all gone, your love should be here to stay.
• Add two tablespoons of unrefined oatmeal and 1 ⁄2 cup of raisins to one quart of water and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat, cover tightly and simmer slowly for 45 minutes. Remove from heat and strain. Add the juice of two lemons and stir in honey to taste. Refrigerate the mixture. Drink two cups a day—one before breakfast and another an hour before bedtime.
Oatmeal is rich in vitamin E. Is that where “sow wild oats” comes from?
• According to a gem therapist we know, wearing turquoise is supposed to increase the wearer’s sexual drive.
• This is an updated recipe of an ancient Druid formula. Sex therapists who prescribe it believe that taking it on a regular basis can generate a hearty sexual appetite.
Mix the following ingredients in a blender for several seconds—two level tablespoons of skim milk powder and water (according to the skim milk instructions), 1 ⁄4 teaspoon of powdered ginger, 1 ⁄8 teaspoon of powdered cinnamon, two tablespoons of raw honey and a dash of lemon juice, plus any fresh fruit or pure fruit juice you care to add.
Blend and pour into a glass. It’s a great drink to have “before the games begin.”
WARNING: Diabetics and people with honey allergies should not use honey.
