Horny goat weed is a powerful herb used for naturopathic healing and wellness. At the present time, there are over 15 identified types of horny goat weed. While it has been used for a long time as an herbal remedy for ailments and conditions in Chinese medicine, it is also widely and commonly used in the United States to help treat conditions and alleviate common problems and pain.
What Conditions Are Horny Goat Weed Used to Treat And Help?
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This powerful herb can be used to alleviate back, knee and joint pain. If you are suffering from mental or physical fatigue, horny goat weed extract can increase memory and improve focus, energy and cognitive function. It is also used to help treat heart disease and reduce high blood pressure. Bronchial and liver ailments and conditions have also shown improvement when undergoing a horny goat weed supplement treatment.
Men and women with certain bone conditions, like osteoarthritis and osteoporosis, also show marked changes when taking horny goat weed. Among the many varied uses for this amazing herb, the most common use is for the treatment of erectile dysfunction and involuntary ejaculation. In males and females, it is also commonly used to increase sexual desire and arousal.
What Does Horny Goat Weed Do?
The horny goat weed herb contains powerful chemicals and compounds that will increase blood flow; increased blood flow improves sexual function and arousal.
Horny goat weed extract also contains a significant amount of phytoestrogens which closely mimic the female estrogen hormone. These phytoestrogens help to minimize and prevent bone loss in postmenopausal women.
According to Web MD, some menopausal women who take specific types of horny goat weed extract for 24 months seem to decrease spine and hip bone loss.
Horny Goat Weed Benefits
- Strengthens the kidneys
- Increases libido and sexual function
- Slows, and prevents, bone loss
- Restores circulation
- Minimizes pain and inflammation stemming from: heart disease, osteoarthritis issues, liver conditions and HIV/AIDS
- Fights signs of aging from free radicals
- Normalizes cortisol levels
- Increases lean muscle mass
- Increases testosterone production
- Increases estrogen production
Horny Goat Weed Side Effects
Some types of horny goat weed are deemed as probably safe when taken for long periods of time on a recurring or daily basis. Other forms of horny goat weed are possibly unsafe when used for long periods of time or consumed in high doses.
- Long-term horny goat weed consumption can lead to these permanent side effects: spasms and severe breathing problems.
- Heart arrhythmia problems have been detected in products containing multiple ingredients; horny goat weed was a component of these products. It is unclear as to whether horny goat weed was the specific cause of the heart arrhythmia problems, but is is pertinent to mention.
- Some of the more common side effects of the long-term use of the potentially-unsafe horny goat weed supplement are: vomiting, dry mouth, dizziness, thirst and nosebleeds.
- Pregnant or nursing women should not take any form of horny goat weed.
- People with bleeding disorders should refrain from taking the horny goat weed supplement because it slows clotting, and it may even increase the risk of bleeding.
- Patients with uterine or breast cancer should not take horny goat weed; the supplement acts like estrogen and may make cancer grow or conditions worsen.
- If you already have low blood pressure, taking horny goat weed may cause your blood pressure to decrease to dangerously-low levels; this may lead to fainting.
- If you are recovering from surgery or have a scheduled procedure coming up, stop taking horny goat weed; it slows clotting and may actually increase the risk of bleeding during the surgery or while healing.
Drug Interactions
If you are taking medications for high or low blood pressure, horny goat weed will interfere with your prescription. Medications that slow blood clotting directly interfere with horny goat weed supplements, as well. Medications for treating certain HIV and AIDS symptoms may also interfere with horny goat weed. It is always best to discuss drug interactions with your doctor or pharmacist.
Even over-the-counter drugs like multivitamins, natural supplements and pain relief medications can interfere with prescription drugs and have an impact on their efficiency or increase the probability of experiencing side effects.
Horny Goat Weed Dosage
The appropriate daily dosage of horny goat weed depends on a number of factors and varies from person to person.
A person's gender, overall health and age are the primary factors to consider when determining dosage. However, there is not currently enough scientific data to support an appropriate range of dosage pertinent to horny goat weed.
Natural products are not closely monitored like prescription medications, so you should always follow the directions for recommended dosage carefully and enlist the health of a certified medical professional before using horny goat weed.
Horny Goat Weed Origin
There is an old Chinese legend that suggests that horny goat weed acquired its unique name after a keen Chinese goat herder noticed that his goats would become relatively frisky at certain times of the day. At first he was perplexed by the phenomenon. Upon closer inspection and with some extensive research, he found that the goats would become sexually aroused after consuming plants from a certain field.
There were 25 different species of horny goat plants in this particular field, and the name was then born. The main flavenoid responsible for the increase in blood flow and sexual arousal in horny goat weed is icariin.
Horny Goat's Roll In Sexual Health In Men And Women
Icariin is successful in transmitting nitric oxide, which delivers blood to the penis tissue. It also increases the circulation of testosterone around the body; this boosts libido and increases sperm production and quality of sperm. Horny goat weed is most commonly used to decrease and treat the occurrence of erectile dysfunction in men.
Icariin also decreases vaginal dryness and increases estrogen, while improving vaginal blood flow, much in the same way that the herb enhances male sexual function and libido. Testosterone is also an important hormone in the female body as well, although it is typically classified as a male hormone.
While the horny goat weed supplement offers a wide variety of uses, it is most commonly used for enhancing sexual performance and health. It increases libido and blood flow while increasing testosterone and estrogen production. It is a natural herb and comes in many different forms and strengths.
Many different pharmaceutical companies manufacture horny goat weed, and most companies market the product as a sexual-health aide, but research shows the herb offers a plethora of beneficial health-related perks for a variety of conditions, ailments, illnesses; it is also effective for pain management and reduces inflammation.
References:
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