Chinese Herbal Medicine For Erectile Dysfunction (ED)
For men, there are few issues that are more difficult to seek help for than erectile dysfunction (or ‘impotence’ to use an older term) and yet it’s a very common condition. Around 40% of men will suffer with it at age 40, which rises to 70% at age 70.
Research On Herbs For ED
Chinese herbal medicine has been used for thousands of years to help with sexual problems for men and women, and yet it’s an area without all that many scientific studies. But there are a few.
For instance…
A study published in the Shanghai Journal Of Chinese Medicine by Dr Qian looked at the Chinese herbal treatment of erectile dysfunction in 100 men. 71 cases were completely cured, 23 had good results and only 6 had no results, for an overall amelioration rate of 94%.
And a study by Yin et al in The Journal Of Practical Chinese Internal Medicine had similar results. Out of 274 cases, 85% were cured, with good results in another 12% and only 3% with no results.
Classical Chinese Medicine For ED
I hope that there are more studies in the future, because this is an area that Chinese medicine can really be effective.
My teacher Dr Feng in Beijing is a men’s health specialist, and I have been fortunate to spend some time with him in his clinics, and have seen first hand how effective Chinese Medicine can be for erectile dysfunction and other areas of men’s health.
In my own Bristol clinic I use Dr. Feng’s methods to treat ED, and have found them to be extremely effective. The herbs used are different for each individual, but tend to focus on strengthening and warming at a deep level – in Chinese Medicine terms this can be called tonifying the Yang.
This can increase the sexual energy, benefit erectile dysfunction, and also restore low libido.
At the same time, there are often psychological aspects to ED, for instance performance anxiety or sometimes depression. In this case, herbs are chosen to address the pschological as the same time as the physical.
It is essential to always address the entire ‘pattern’ of symptoms to have the best effect possible. That’s the strength of the Chinese herbal treatment of ED (and, for that matter, everything else!)
It is common in China (and, sometimes, here in the UK too) for men to ‘self prescribe’ warming Yang herbs such as Siberian Ginseng or the brilliantly named Horny Goat Weed in an attempt to treat themselves, but this is rarely effective and can have definite side-effects – this is because they aren’t addressing the complete pattern.
As always, the aim to is to strengthen and regulate the body so that normal functioning is restored – so there shouldn’t be any need to continue taking herbs once everything is working well again.
Click for more information about my Bristol Chinese Herb Clinic
