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Top 5 Key Ingredients
Why
we recommend our Top 5 Ingredients:
Our team
determined which ingredients are
essential for male enhancement by
consulting with medical professionals,
herbalists and scientists. We’ve also
poured through in-depth medical research
on clinical trials for erection-inducing
herbs. What we found in comparing many
male enhancement products was that quite
a few make exaggerated claims as to the
effectiveness of their ingredients, and
some didn’t have any medical proof or
scientific research to support their
claims.
At the end of our lengthy evaluation of
herbal ingredients, we compiled a
shortlist of our Top 5 Recommended
ingredients for male enhancement. You
can read more about these key
ingredients and other supportive herbs
below.
To see how we rate our products using
our Top 5 Recommended ingredients,
please visit our
Ranking
Process page.
The Top 5 Key Ingredients:
- L-arginine
- Tongkat Ali
- Horny Goat Weed
- Tribulus Terrestris Extract
- C-nidium
Potentially dangerous ingredients:
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Warning: Watch out for brands
containing Yohimbe!
Yohimbe
– Yohimbe is flagged by
the FDA as an ingredient of
concern, and appears in many
male enhancement products. While
it does appear to have
beneficial effects with some
users, yohimbe can produce many
severe side effects such as
anxiety, hypertension, insomnia,
hallucinations, headaches,
dizziness, seizures and renal
failure. According to the Mayo
Clinic, this herb can be
dangerous if used in excessive
amounts. As the disparity
between an acceptable dose and a
toxic dose is narrow, we
recommend that you avoid taking
products containing yohimbe.
Some companies have reformulated
their products to exclude
yohimbe following customer
complaints. We aim to provide
you with the most up-to-date
information concerning male
enhancement products, so if you
know of a product that has
recently removed yohimbe from
its ingredient list, please
let us
know.
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L-arginine
–L-arginine is a protein amino acid
present in all life forms. It is
classified as a semi-essential or
conditionally essential amino acid.
Under normal circumstances, the body can
synthesize sufficient L-arginine to meet
physiological demands. But when it does
not, it can cause impotence. Like the
drug sildenafil citrate (present in
Viagra), L-arginine is thought to
enhance the action of nitric oxide,
which relaxes muscles surrounding the
blood vessels supplying the penis. The
difference is that sildenafil citrate
blocks an enzyme called PDE5 that
destroys nitric oxide, while L-arginine
promotes the production of more nitric
oxide in the body. L-arginine is
required to carry out the synthesis of
nitric oxide, which relaxes blood
vessels and allows more blood to flow
through the arteries, promoting
erections. Unlike Viagra, L-arginine
must be taken daily. People with genital
herpes should not take additional L-arginine
because it may aggravate their symptoms.
Click here to
read more about L-arginine.
[Back to top]
 Tongkat Ali –
Tongkat Ali (Eurycoma longifolia) is a
tree native to parts of Southeast Asia.
The root contains medicinal properties
and has been used in Malaysia for many
years to increase sexual desire, libido,
sexual performance, and to treat
erectile dysfunction. Extracts of E. longifolia are commonly used as a part
of traditional medicine. Some compounds
from E. longifolia are suspected
aphrodisiacs. Tongkat Ali was dubbed the
“Asian Viagra” by the New Sunday Times
in 1999. The British Journal of Medicine
also reported on it in 2003, noting that
it increased muscle size and strength.
Tongkat Ali is a scientifically studied
plant which contains a plethora of
beneficial compounds, including potent
protective antioxidants which inhibit
cellular aging. Some phytochemicals in
Tongkat Ali are anti-viral,
anti-malarial and anti-cancerous. Others
combat high blood pressure, and quell
dysentery. Quassinoids in the root prove
twice as potent as Aspirin for combating
fevers.
Besides its various medicinal uses,
Tongkat Ali significantly boosts the sex
drive and performance of both men and
women by increasing testosterone levels
in the body. It is often used by body
builders for a performance boost and as
a muscle builder. But, because of the
potential to increase testosterone
levels, Tongkat Ali should not be used
by persons with breast or prostate
cancer, diabetes mellitus, heart
disease, kidney disease, liver disease
or sleep apnea. If you are taking
insulin, you should speak to your doctor
before taking Tongkat Ali as it may
decrease blood sugar levels.
[Back to top]
 Horny Goat Weed (Epimedium) –Epimedium
is a genus of sixty related plant
species that grown in Asia and parts of
Europe. It has shown aphrodisiac
qualities and can help combat impotence
in men. The Chinese refer to Epimedium
as “yin yang huo,” which has been
loosely translated as “licentious goat
plant,” bringing about its titillating
Western title of “Horny Goat Weed.” It
is grown both as an ornamental herb and
for medicinal purposes.
Studies on Epimedium have shown that it
may influence levels of
neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine,
serotonin and dopamine, and reduce
cortisol levels. The leaves of Horny
Goat Weed contain a variety of
flavinoids like icariin, and also
sterols and an alkaloid called
magnaflorine. It’s quite possible that
Horny Goat Weed influences several
aspects of sexual biochemistry. The
flavinoid icariin is known to help fight
erectile dysfunction.
Although over 15 active compounds have
been identified in Epimedium extracts,
many supplement companies use alcohol
extracts standardized only for high
levels of icariin. Although at least one
study has shown that icariin can protect
liver cells from various toxic
compounds, other studies have shown that
high-dose icariin treatments may be
associated with kidney and liver
toxicity. The traditional method of
Epimedium administration is via a hot
water concoction (tea), which presents a
very different profile of active
ingredients than the icariin-alcohol
extracts that are commonly used in
commercial products. There have been no
reports of adverse side-effects
associated with the traditional
preparation of Epimedium at the
suggested dosage (250-1,000 mg per day).
[Back to top]
 Tribulus Terrestris Extract –Tribulus
Terrestris is a flowering plant native
to parts of Europe, Africa, Asia, and
Australia. It has been used as a
traditional medicine to treat sexual
dysfunction and male infertility in
Europe and Asia for many decades before
science allowed for the extraction of
its active ingredient, protodioscin.
Many clinical studies performed by
universities and academic hospitals have
confirmed the herb’s beneficial effects.
These studies show that Tribulus helps
treat impotence caused by low
testosterone levels or an imbalance in
the body’s levels of sex hormones. The
active ingredient of Tribulus acts as a
precursor to these hormones and is
converted into its final form by the
body’s natural enzymes.
Other studies have suggested that
Tribulus also acts by increasing the
level of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)
in the body, a naturally-occurring
substance that is believed to be
important for a healthy sex drive.
[Back to top]
 Cnidium
– The herb Cnidium Monnier has been used
for over a thousand years as a sexual
enhancer because of its positive effect
on the libido. It grows in Asia and
Russia, and has been introduced to the
United States and Europe for
cultivation. It has been used as a
popular folk remedy in China for
millenia, with its effects first
recorded over 2,000 years ago.
Cnidium contains several active
compounds, including coumarins, osthol,
imperatorin, glucides and
hepatoprotective sesquiterpenes.
Preliminary studies show that some of
the compounds in Cnidium may have
anti-histamine, anti-itch, anti-fungal
and anti-bacterial effects, and an
influence on the pituitary-adrenocortex
axis. Additional studies on rodents show
that Cnidium may improve bone strength,
and studies involving rabbits showed
that the compound osthol, found in
Cnidium, was found to relax the corpus
cavernosa of the penis, which can
improve blood flow and erections.
Cnidium may also have anti-cancer
properties.
[Back to top]
Other supportive ingredients for male
enhancement
– There are several other herbs we
recommend for natural male enhancement,
including Ginkgo biloba, Ginseng,
Damiana, Muria Puama, Maca, and
Schizandra Berry. We recommend having at
least three of these six herbs in any
male enhancement product to complement
our Top 5 Recommended ingredients.
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