Do Aphrodisiacs and Pheromones Exist and Can They Help Us Stay Young? by Lorne Caplan
The subject has many detractors and supporters who contantly disagree on the basics of what causes people to feel affection for one abother. I’ve also touched on the contributing factors for anti-aging beauty that romance, passion and intimacy have and they too are real. I’ve also read all of the comments and can tell you unequivocally that there is no myth to aphrodisiac’s. They are very real indeed.
My own research into the matter began in 2002, when I met with a doctor name Peter Pugliese. He is an older gentleman who has spent the better part of his 80 plus years investigating and researching skin care and the various ingredients to resolve some of the common issues with aging skin such as wrinkles, uneven skin tone, poor skin tenacity, inflamed skin (rosacea) and the like. In his studies, he claimed to have discovered pheromones before the Athena Institute doctor (not a “real” doctor) Winnifred Cutler, who now claims to be the co-discoverer and shows her 30 year old picture on her website. He claims that she is still using the same product he sold her over 30 years ago.
Now whether this is true or not is hard to determine, but what can be easily tested are the pheromones in the solution that are available at Master & Mistress brand pheromone products.
Like many commenters on various threads, those individuals that are highly skeptical, suffering from depression, ADHD or other mood shifting and affecting disorder, will not feel much of an affect. Those who are also simply angry, have a poor disposition or otherwise are just plain unhappy, likewise will not benefit from pheromones. The reason is similar to the control group in any clinical test and the placebo percentage is set up specifically for that reason. up to 25-30% of clinical participants will have a reaction (in the positive) to any drug simply because of what they believe and that is a high hurdle for drugs to overcome when tested, despite having endpoints that are to meet or exceed current therapies on the market for an indication, be it a cancer or other disease state.
Now you see, I’m starting to get technical, because the question demands it. While I tend to like to keep conversations about romance, passion and intimacy light, yet informative, this group warrants the science behind the desire to debunk anything related to aphrodisiacs. So how many tests have been done?
The Monell Institute in PA has been involved in a direct or peripheral way for over three decades on this and related matters and it isn’t the only reputable one. The researchers have become go to men and some women (that’s the shame of it, since men don’t get the whole romance, passion and intimacy thing for the most part and we need more women in the smell and taste field) for the media in the United States and other countries eager to cover this topic. Needless to say, most have been highly reluctant to stake their jobs on the issue and constantly say more research is needed. Really?
There are hundreds of studies and white papers around the world that support the evidence that pheromones, food, herbs and the olfactory system do indeed affect how we as humans relate when introduced to certain external factors. The most powerful and least researched, of course, being that of scent.
One specific area that we find is still under dispute, is whether the organ that is primarily responsible for the heated activity of primates and other lower mammals before and during mating, the vomeronasal organ (VNO), is considered to be latent in humans by some, non-existent or active and important by others.
Regardless of if there is a VNO (and Dr. Pugliese for one is convinced it is active and relevant to any discussion on pheromones in humans) or whether anti-aging beauty can be affetcted or not, we do know that the sense of smell directly affects the limbic brain, that oldest part of the brain that is responsible for the fight or flight aspect of humans. It is also directly responsible for our feelings of lust, affection and is reactive to scent because we as humans do not process the information we receive from scent with the same preconceptions and screening with knowledge and attitudes, that we do when seeing, touching, hearing or tasting something. There is no adult telling us what’s good or bad. No sensor telling us no, we can’t watch that show. We simply feel. Emotions are elicited. We smell toast and it brings us back to our grandmothers kitchen on a summer vacation in the country. We catch the scent of burnt caramel and are almost brought to tears because the last time we smelled that, was the last time we saw our father alive. Or simply, the scent of tuberose and sandalwood enters our nose and our adrenaline starts to rise, our testosterone is pumping and the love hormones in our head start to ricochet because our lover from Greece on the last night of our European vacation had the same smell when he might have kissed us for the last time before we returned to the United States. The smell of sea water lapping up against the warm white sand of a Naxos beach playing over in our head while the late summer sun faded into a brilliant orange and red tapestry. Can feel do that? I would strongly suggest not ever!
You see, we know that the sense of smell is so powerful, which is why the fragrance industry has so guarded it’s secrets of emotional attraction. Pheromones have been around the human lab for over 50 years, or as long as the moth pheromone connection was made, but humans have a notoriously poor sense of smell versus our nearest cousins in the animal kingdom. That is the most curious and interesting of developments to have touched on pheromones in recent years.
There is no disputing the ability for body language to affect the way someone sees a potential partner or mate. We know that the eyes, ears and sense of touch all process the information received to suit the specific individual, yet, someone who knows how to stand just right, catch the eye of an unsuspecting man or women and saunter just slowly enough to cause the target individual to let their guard down, or their computer that is processing the information and is set-up most times to turn the suitor away, well, they are disarmed and that is the power of pheromones for the wearer and the disadvantage when the wearer comes close enough for the target to take in the top notes that they may like (remember the sandalwood). If they, the target don’t like the top-note, then no matter how smooth the suitor, it’s unlikely a union will be made this or any other night. However, if the scent is liked, watch out because things will heat up indeed.
The overwhelming evidence is that pheromones, herbs, foods or other supposed aphrodisiacs need to work in concert with scent in order to “work”. Yes, yohimbe does work, so too do many other herbs and plants, but the substantial marketing of so many items that don’t work, like **** Goat Weed plant, rhino horn, etc… dilutes the message of the naturopath or medicinal healer. The subject also tends to gather poo-poos from the medical community because they don’t feel love and sex are two subjects worth talking about when they, the Western medical community are busy dealing with so much more important things, like say, eczema… Enough said about the misconceptions and lack of understanding about aphrodisiacs.
We have also touched on another topic in this discussion which cannot be ignored and that is hormones. The great misconception and misunderstanding is that our sexuality and drive comes from our loins. Well those in the know understand that it comes from our head. The pituitary gland to be more precise. This super messaging computer sends out the lutenizing hormones that trigger the production of testosterone in men, other messages go out to spur on dopamine, that feel good drug related hormone that so messes with us. Don’t forget seratonin, oxytocin or adrenaline, which we need for stamina and the raw energy to complete the arduous task of love making. Don’t let anyone fool you, it does take stamina, energy and drive to get any amount of love-making tucked away in the memory book.
Hormones are essential to any aphrodisiac quotient and if the sense of smell is rocked by ylang-ylang, or vanilla or amber (all traditional aphrodisiacs), then so be it. Who can say it isn’t those scents if the individual is indeed effected? I contend that any expert would be hard pressed to say that an individuals pulse that starts to race, the sweat beading up on their brow and the tingling in their body are not real. Could they be fabricated by that individual? Yes, they most certainly can and are and that is the beauty of aphrodisiacs! If they work for someone, whether through a placebo affect (which is moot since a real reaction is no more placebo that a hammer to your toe) or through a chemical reaction in your brain. That chemical reaction, whether elicited by a dream or another chemical is real. It’s real because our hormones tell us they are. Because our brains master gland says we like the smell of that person and want them to come close to us and if we like that persons unique ****tail of scent, then all bets are off. eharmony.com be ****ed!
Chocolate, shrimp, avocado and other foods can also be linked to feelings of passion and there are many good reasons why. Now, we move away from that ancient of senses to the good ‘ol digestive tract that is so important to our overall health and performance. As you may know, our bodies can tell when we are lacking in certain nutrients. if we are dehydrated, we get thirsty. If we lack potassium, we crave a banana. If we feel sluggish, we grab the first bit of protein we can manage and this is also true for our libido. We can’t expect to have longevity in life or in love if we have low levels of healthy fatty acids and protein in our bodies, not to mention long lasting complex carbohydrates and that is what you find in the three food items I mentioned and many more foods that support healthy blood flow, maintenance and building of soft tissues and overall brain function (that is the fatty acid part folks. Since if you don’t have enough healthy fats in your diet, you aren’t likely going to have much love either.
Needless to say, I can go on and on about the subject of aphrodisiacs, but suffice it to say, it is a complex topic that is real and interlinked with many important elements of our daily lives that includes what we eat, what we smell and what our disposition is. if you can take away one aspect from this discussion, I would suggest that you focus on the powerful and unforgiving sense of smell. This is not to say it is the most important, just that it is the most immediate and reactive. Simply think of your current partner or a past partner. What do you think of when trying to think of intimacy with them (positive that is). I would hazard a guess that there smell and the desire to catch their scent comes into play at an important level. This isn’t simply the short lived top notes of the less than creative scents we’ve been inundated with by Paris Hilton and other wanna-be stars, but the classics, such as the original Joy by Jean Patou, or Channel No. 5 or your fathers cologne. Then mix in the unique scent (pheromones, that come from the bacterial reaction on the persons skin, enzymes and broken down hormones - pheromones come from hormones folks -) and you will be able to build a strong bond with that person for some time to come.
