Aphrodisiacs: What Are They, How Do They Work, and What Are the Side Effects?

Aphrodisiac is the general name given to natural foods, herbal mixtures, or synthetic substances claimed to stimulate sexual desire, increase libido, and enhance performance. The main effects of these products are to temporarily accelerate blood flow in the body and create psychological self-confidence by stimulating the nervous system. On the other hand, the side effects of uncontrolled aphrodisiac use include life-threatening consequences such as sudden blood pressure fluctuations, rhythm disorders, risk of heart attack, kidney failure, and stomach bleeding. In sexual health and erection problems, the real solution should not be sought in these dangerous supplements with uncertain contents, but in evidence-based, reliable, and permanent medical treatment protocols offered by modern urology.

Where Does the Mythological and Historical Origin of the Word Aphrodisiac Come From?

When we look at the historical process, we see that approaches aimed at increasing sexual power were shaped according to the cultural structures, belief systems, and limited level of medical knowledge of societies at that time. The origin of the word aphrodisiac goes back to Ancient Greek mythology and Aphrodite, the legendary goddess of love, beauty, and sexuality. According to mythology, Aphrodite, who was born from sea foam, brought passion and desire wherever she went. In later centuries, this term passed into French, then into medical literature and our language, and began to be used in its most basic definition to describe any food, drink, or substance believed to stimulate sexual instinct and increase pleasure and performance. The desire to improve sexual health, which directly affects people’s quality of life, is the greatest reason why this mythological word still maintains its popularity today.

How Has Aphrodisiac Use Evolved From the Past to the Present?

In ancient times and during the darkness of the Middle Ages, people wholeheartedly believed that unusually shaped plants and certain animal tissues found in nature miraculously increased sexual power. For centuries, these substances generally remained simple foods collected and consumed on their own. However, as time progressed, this innocent simplicity gave way to much more complex and sometimes extremely dangerous mixtures. For example, when medical history records are examined, it is seen that even in the 1930s, strong substances such as opium were widely used with the belief that they had aphrodisiac properties. Thanks to modern medicine, we now know very clearly that such narcotic substances actually slow down sexual functions by suppressing the nervous system. However, at that time, the extreme numbness and false sense of happiness people felt were completely misinterpreted as sexual arousal. The fact that even mandrake, which was used in the past to put patients to sleep during surgery, was consumed for this purpose is a striking detail showing how risky hearsay medical myths can be.

Do Natural Aphrodisiac Foods Really Increase Sexual Desire?

In our society and, in fact, throughout the world, there are very common beliefs that certain foods found in our kitchens instantly increase sexual desire and performance. The main reason these foods are accepted as aphrodisiacs is generally the positive contribution of the amino acids, minerals, and vitamins they contain to the body’s overall energy metabolism. Eating healthily certainly supports general health, but when viewed through a scientific lens, it is clearly seen that a large portion of the sudden increases in performance created by these foods are situations based entirely on the person’s psychological expectations, called the “placebo effect.” When a person consumes an expensive or legendary food, the brain automatically develops an expectation, releases happiness hormones, and the person performs better with this self-confidence. In reality, however, that food has not opened a blocked vessel or carried out cellular repair.

What Are the Most Commonly Known Traditional Natural Aphrodisiac Foods?

The popular natural aphrodisiac foods most frequently included on tables throughout history in the hope of increasing sexual performance are as follows:

• Chocolate
• Oysters
• Saffron
• Honey
• Strawberries
• Figs
• Hazelnuts

The reputation of the foods on this list is not entirely without basis, but their effects are indirect. For example, thanks to its special components, chocolate triggers the release of serotonin and endorphins, the happiness hormones in the brain. This improves the person’s mood and provides general relaxation. Oysters are a beneficial building block that supports testosterone production in the body with their high zinc content. While saffron contains powerful antioxidants, honey provides the body with quick energy through its B vitamins and natural sugar structure. Although regular consumption of all these foods may increase the sense of well-being and energy in a completely healthy individual, if there is a diagnosed vascular blockage, nerve damage, or chronic erection problem, it is physiologically impossible to treat these simply by eating chocolate or consuming honey.

What Are the Effects of Herbal Aphrodisiac Supplements on the Body?

When we go beyond everyday foods, we encounter herbs sold by herbalists or herbal aphrodisiac supplements marketed in capsule form with the direct promise of increasing sexual performance. Today, these products constitute an enormous market. When the mechanisms of action of these substances are examined, it is seen that some try to accelerate blood flow throughout the body, while others create an intense stimulating effect directly on the central nervous system. The basic logic of these supplements is to use active molecules in plants to relax vessel walls or continuously send an “act now” signal to the brain. However, this means a harsh external intervention in the body’s natural balance.

What Herbal Aphrodisiac Ingredients Are Commonly Encountered on the Market?

The traditional substances most commonly found on the labels of herbal mixtures or performance-enhancing supplements are as follows:

• Ginseng
• Maca root
• Yohimbine
• Epimedium
• Tribulus terrestris

Among these plants, for example, Ginseng attempts to act by triggering the release of a substance called nitric oxide in the body, which dilates blood vessels. Maca root is used more to support general energy and reproductive health. Yohimbine, which is of African origin, directly stimulates nerve endings in the body, accelerating heart rate and blood flow. However, there is a very serious and vital medical problem here: Precise milligram measurements are not performed at factory level in many of these herbal products. The lack of standardization in active ingredient ratios may cause one capsule to have no effect at all, while another capsule may contain a toxic level of substance capable of stopping the heart.

What Are the Harms of Aphrodisiac Use to Cardiovascular Health?

Unfortunately, there is an extremely dangerous and widespread misconception in our society; the belief that “everything natural is harmless and does not harm the body” puts the health of countless people at risk. Very powerful and uncontrolled pharmacological chemicals are mixed into a large portion of supposedly completely herbal aphrodisiac pastes or supplements purchased online or from unregulated environments in illegal production facilities.

These chemicals cause sudden and very severe fluctuations in blood pressure. Especially for individuals with a known or as yet undiagnosed heart condition, this situation is like carrying a ticking time bomb. These uncontrolled changes in heart rate, the sudden rise of blood pressure to dangerous levels, or its unexpected drop close to zero may cause myocardial infarction, which we call a heart attack, or bleeding in the brain vessels, resulting in paralysis in people with sensitive vascular structures. While the person only wants to achieve better sexual performance, they may suddenly find themselves in an intensive care unit.

What Are the Emergency Symptoms Caused by Dangerous Aphrodisiac Use?

The alarm signals given by the body after unconscious and uncontrolled aphrodisiac use, which require emergency medical intervention, are as follows:

• Severe headache
• Unexplained dizziness
• Feeling of tightness in the chest
• Heart palpitations
• Nausea
• Sudden blurred vision
• Intense facial flushing
• Shortness of breath

The reason these symptoms occur is that the body is exposed to excessive vasodilation or vasoconstriction at an unexpected moment. While these dangerous irregularities in blood flow to the brain cause headache and loss of balance, the high blood volume that the heart suddenly has to pump manifests itself as chest pain and palpitations. If any of these symptoms occur, no time should be lost and the nearest healthcare institution should be contacted.

How Does Unconscious Aphrodisiac Consumption Affect the Stomach and Kidneys?

In addition to vital organs such as the heart and brain, our digestive and excretory systems, which function like the smokestacks of the body, also suffer very severe damage from these uncontrolled aphrodisiacs. “Cantharidin,” or fly extract as it is commonly known, which is well known in medical history, gained fame as supposedly one of the strongest aphrodisiacs. However, this substance is actually an extremely irritating poison. Taking such substances virtually burns the sensitive mucosa lining the inner surface of the stomach and intestines, causing widespread tissue damage, severe stomach bleeding, and heavy blood in the urine.

In general, continuous use of uncontrolled herbal supplements disrupts stomach acid and creates digestive problems such as persistent diarrhea, burning, and bloating that ruin daily life. The much darker side of the issue is the burden on the kidneys and liver. Every unknown chemical or heavy metal entering the body goes to the liver and kidneys to be filtered. Especially in patients whose kidney functions are borderline, consuming such pastes or herbs may initiate an irreversible process leading to complete kidney failure and the patient being connected to a dialysis machine.

Do Aphrodisiac Substances Cause Psychological Dependence?

Although sexual performance-enhancing supplements or supposedly herbal aphrodisiacs sold on the market are unlikely to cause a direct physical withdrawal crisis like narcotic substances, there is a much more insidious danger they create: Psychological dependence. When an individual experiencing minor difficulties in their sexual life turns to such pills or pastes instead of undergoing a medical examination to solve the source of the problem and achieves partial success, a very strong and false conditioning develops in the brain.

Over time, the person begins to believe that without using these supportive substances, they will never be able to engage in successful sexual activity, perform adequately, or avoid disappointing their partner. This deep loss of self-confidence makes the condition called “performance anxiety,” meaning fear of failure in medical terminology, permanent. The stressed brain releases large amounts of adrenaline. Adrenaline is the body’s fight-or-flight hormone; to survive, it draws blood away from the reproductive organs and pumps it into the muscles. In other words, even if the person is physically completely healthy, they begin to experience a real erection problem solely because of the intense stress and adrenaline they feel because they have not taken the supplement. This creates a terrible vicious cycle that condemns the individual to buying these substances for life.

What Are the Reliable Aphrodisiac Alternatives Used in Modern Medicine?

Modern urology, advancing in the light of science, completely rejects the dangerous and trial-and-error-based use of aphrodisiacs in the treatment of erectile dysfunction. Instead, it applies pharmacological treatments whose mechanisms of action in the body are clearly known at the cellular level, have undergone clinical testing, and have proven reliability.

We can liken the erection mechanism to a type of hydraulic system. When the brain sends the arousal signal, nitric oxide is released into the area through the nerves. This substance acts as a key that enables the vessels to dilate, and the area fills with high-pressure blood. Special medications called phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE5i), which are the first-line treatment of modern medicine, come into play at this point. By biochemically strengthening this nitric oxide pathway naturally produced by the body, they enable the vessels to dilate in a much healthier and longer-lasting way. They do not mask the problem; they directly support the correct functioning of the physiological mechanism.

Which Active Drug Ingredients Are Used in Current Erectile Dysfunction Treatment?

The reliable active ingredients used by prescription in modern medicine that safely support sexual functions are as follows:

• Sildenafil
• Tadalafil
• Vardenafil
• Avanafil

These active ingredients offer different advantages according to the patient’s lifestyle and health condition. For example, sildenafil is taken approximately one hour before intercourse and is absorbed very quickly and takes effect when there are no heavy, fatty foods in the stomach. The tadalafil molecule, on the other hand, remains in the body for much longer and may be effective for up to 36 hours, offering the patient a more natural and spontaneous sexual life without having to plan the time. Newer-generation molecules such as avanafil have a very rapid onset within only half an hour and show a more selective effect. However, these medications should absolutely not be taken on the advice of friends or acquaintances; because their use together with nitrate-containing heart medications may cause fatal drops in blood pressure, they must be used under a doctor’s supervision.

Unlike Aphrodisiacs, How Does ESWT Shock Wave Therapy Offer a Permanent Solution?

Urological treatments are not limited to methods that condemn a person to lifelong medication use. Regenerative medicine, meaning tissue-renewing medicine, which has emerged with advancing technology, can reach the root cause of the problem and provide permanent physiological repair. One of the greatest revolutions in this field is Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy, known briefly as ESWT.

ESWT is an extremely innovative method that triggers the formation of new capillaries in the tissue, which we call “angiogenesis” in medical terminology, by using very low-intensity, precise, and focused sound waves applied externally. We can compare our vessels to a city’s water network; over the years, the inside of these pipes becomes blocked or their walls harden due to cholesterol, aging, or diabetes. The sound waves sent by ESWT create small micro-level vibrations in this vascular structure, awakening dormant stem cells in the area. Our body perceives these vibrations as a repair signal and initiates an intense influx of repair cells to the area. While the inside of old vessels is cleaned, brand-new capillary networks are formed. Thus, blood flow to the tissue improves naturally and permanently, just as it was in the years of youth.

What Are the Most Important Advantages ESWT Treatment Offers Patients?

The most basic features of modern shock wave therapy that improve patients’ quality of life compared to traditional methods are as follows:

• Painlessness
• Permanence
• Reliability
• Speed
• Comfort

To explain these advantages a little further; no surgical incision is made, no needle is used, and no anesthesia is administered during the procedure, so it is a completely painless process. There is no need for hospitalization, each session lasts only about 20 minutes, and afterward the patient can get up, walk immediately, and return to normal life. Since the new vascular structure formed after the procedure is entirely created from the person’s own cells, the improvement achieved is permanent rather than daily, unlike medications.

How Is an Aphrodisiac Effect Achieved Naturally with the P-Shot (PRP) Procedure?

Another tremendous innovation offered by regenerative urology is the P-Shot (Priapus Shot), or PRP application in general terms, which eliminates the need for the patient to seek an external chemical substance and uses the healing power entirely within their own blood. It is based on the principle of achieving the tissue rejuvenation that those legendary aphrodisiacs sought in nature attempt to provide by using our body’s own biological repair kit.

The procedure is quite simple; a small amount of blood is taken from the patient’s arm just as if having a blood test. This blood is separated by spinning it at high speeds in special and advanced devices. Our aim is to obtain the “platelet” portion, which consists of the blood’s clotting cells and contains an incredibly high concentration of growth factors. Platelets are those miraculous cells that, for example, rush to the area when we cut our finger, stop the bleeding, and enable new skin formation. This precious golden liquid cell cocktail obtained is injected into the target area with very fine needles. These cells entering the tissue become active immediately, greatly increase collagen production, repair weakened nerve endings, and renew capillaries. Since it is completely 100% natural, the possibility of the body rejecting these cells or developing an allergic reaction is zero.

How Do Hormonal Balance and Testosterone Deficiency Disrupt Sexual Life?

It does not matter how perfect a car’s engine is or how strong its hoses are; if there is no fuel in the tank, that car will not run. The basic fuel in our body that ensures sexual functions work smoothly is testosterone, known as the male hormone. Even if the person has a completely healthy vascular structure physically, if the testosterone levels that activate the sexual arousal center in the brain are insufficient, sexual desire called libido and the capacity for erection decline to the lowest level.

Advancing age, intense stress, unhealthy nutrition, excess weight, or genetic factors may slow down the body’s testosterone production factory. We call this condition hypogonadism in medical terminology. When there is a hormonal deficiency, even if you consume the world’s most expensive herbal aphrodisiacs or open the vessels going to the muscles, the system will not work. Because the center that will give the command is shut down due to lack of fuel. The solution to this problem lies not in pastes taken without guidance, but in measuring hormone levels in the blood with very fine adjustments and carefully monitoring their replacement when deficient.

What Symptoms Does Testosterone Deficiency Cause in the Body?

In addition to sexual dysfunction and lack of desire, the other main symptoms caused by testosterone deficiency on general body health are as follows:

• Chronic fatigue
• Depressive mood
• Decrease in muscle mass
• Osteoporosis
• Forgetfulness
• Concentration problems
• Abdominal fat accumulation

As a result of detailed blood tests performed under a doctor’s supervision, which must be carried out early in the morning on an empty stomach in order to provide accurate results, Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) is initiated if deemed appropriate for the patient. The deficient hormone is slowly and safely restored to the body through injections, skin gels, or special patches. When the hormones become balanced, the person feels as if they have been reborn not only in their sexual life but also in their mood, energy, and physical strength.

Why Should Direct Medical Treatment Be Chosen Instead of Searching for Aphrodisiacs?

When we look at all these mechanisms from a broad perspective, we can clearly see that the functional disorders we experience in our sexual lives are never merely isolated problems. We know that one of the finest vascular networks in our body is found in our reproductive organs. If there is a slowdown in sexual functions, this is usually the first serious warning signal our body gives us. Years before a blockage forms in the large vessels going to the heart, these thin vessels begin to become blocked first.

Therefore, in the event of a problem, turning to unidentified aphrodisiac herbs, pastes with concealed contents, or supplements taken on the advice of friends in the hope of saving the moment is a major mistake. Such products do not offer health; on the contrary, they sell the risk of kidney failure, liver damage, or heart attack. Real health cannot be achieved through hearsay myths. The most correct and safest action is to completely set aside feelings of shame and hesitation and consult a specialist physician.

Frequently Asked Questions

Prof. Dr. Berkan Reşorlu

Prof. Dr. Berkan Reşorlu, born in Ankara in 1979, completed his medical education at Ankara University between 1997 and 2003, and his specialization in urology at Ankara University Faculty of Medicine between 2003 and 2008. Academically, he received the title of associate professor in 2013 and professor in 2022.

He has conducted extensive case series studies in the field of endoscopic stone surgery, contributed surgeries performed on children under the age of 1 to the literature, and has gained international recognition with his stone scoring system and experimental surgical models.