Cynthia Bors

An anonymous and old piece of conventional wisdom states: “If your wife is old and your member exhausted, resort to the humble onion.” How convenient it would be if a simple onion could save a blighted bed session. Edibles such as onions are referred to as aphrodisiacs, which are substances that increase sexual desire or potency through ingestion due to physiological and psychogenic effects.

Aphrodisiacs are naturally occurring, which means that substances created in a laboratory, like Viagra, are not considered aphrodisiacs.1 However, to date, there are no scientifically proven aphrodisiacs. While this may seem like a dead end, I have decided to look more closely and research the reasoning behind this determination. Does the scientific rejection mean that aphrodisiacs do not exist, or is there a fault in the research method?

I have found that aphrodisiacs have been culturally created over history and their functioning is largely dependent upon the influence and interconnectedness of the body, mind and environment. Furthermore, aphrodisiacs reveal the mistake of science in treating the body mechanically.

First, it is important to explain the purpose and history of aphrodisiacs. Aphrodisiacs were initially intended to seduce people into producing more offspring and to increase sexual pleasure and stamina.2 The earliest known aphrodisiac recipe was written by the Egyptians in 1700 BC and involved leaves of Christ’s Thorn, thorny acacia, and honey to, “cool the vessel, to stiffen the softness.”3 In Mesopotamia, cuneiform writing was discovered that related to an effective inebriating beverage that was used as an aphrodisiac in rituals.4 Additionally, in ancient China, the use of ginseng wine as an aphrodisiac was written on Oracle Bones.5 Thus, aphrodisiacs are not a newly discovered phenomenon, but rather, one that has existed since the beginning of recorded time.

Laws Defining Aphrodisiacs