Treating Erectile Dysfunction with The Smell of the Horse
Withania somnifera, aka “Indian Ginseng” or “winter cherry,” is a small evergreen plant native to Southeast Asia. The Sanskrit name ashwagandha means, literally, “smell of the horse”—apparently the roots stink when they’re fresh. Really stink.
Just to be clear, this article has nothing to do with livestock. We want to talk about ashwagandha, instead. It’s a traditional treatment for stress, insomnia, anxiety, and—our focus today—male organs that aren’t quite standing at attention.
Are We Seriously Talking About Alternative Medicine?
First things first: are traditional herbal remedies for real?
That’s complicated. The label “alternative medicine” separates the broadly accepted dominant practices of Western medicine from, essentially, all other medical, therapeutic, and healing traditions (which is where the name alternative medicine comes from, it’s the alternative). It’s a label that can be both a valuable warning and a stigma. That makes it useful—if you avoid alternative medicine, then to some extent you should know what you’re getting (medical care that’s monitored by familiar institutions). Embrace it, on the other hand, and results may vary more (for better or for worse) than with Western medicine standards.
But it also means erasing, or at least blurring, other possible distinctions. Some of what we call alternative medicine is pure quackery, either fraudulent or just flat-out discredited. But other alternative medical options are both effective and reliable, existing as viable options that just need to be understood or that have subtle, whole-body effects that are a little harder to study.
Grannus is a strong proponent of holistic and integrative approaches to medicine and, more broadly, to overall well-being. For an open-minded, clear-eyed assessment of the many available options check out our overview of holistic approaches.
Consider traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), a lineage of medical practice that predates Hippocrates (the “first, do no harm” guy). Some of TCM is seamlessly integrated into modern medicine, like the use of certain herbs with known chemical effects. Ephedra, for instance, is used to treat bronchial asthma; Panax ginseng is a mild immune system booster.
Other components of TCM, like acupuncture and some kinds of massage, are on the fringes of standard medicine, while other TCM ideas have simply been discarded as part of modernization.
Meditation is as effective a treatment for anxiety as any known drug, whereas homeopathy is just a way to make medicine less effective. Meditation is a viable, valuable alternative treatment. Homeopathy, well…to quote the British government, there is “no scientifically plausible way that homeopathy can prevent diseases.” (Also the dude who created it thought coffee caused a ton of diseases. Deeply uncool.)
So…Back to Dick Pills…
Right, okay. This article is supposed to be about ashwagandha, and we’re almost there.
The detour about acupuncture and stuff was because ashwagandha is in that same nebulous territory: it belongs to the tradition of Ayurveda, a millennia-old set of beliefs that combines some great ideas (individualized treatment!) with some outdated ones (the universe is made of five elements).
The smell of the horse is a common Ayurvedic treatment, putting it in the same category as other well-known herbal remedies like echinacea. The NIH lists it as a low-risk, mild herbal treatment option to help with stress and sleep. Like many herbal remedies, it’s hard to tell exactly what it does: ashwagandha roots contain more than 40 chemicals that have some biological impact. The general consensus is that it’s a mild immune system booster that reduces inflammation. It’s also good for athletic performance, with consistent use improving lung capacity and muscle strength.
And…yeah, it’s good for penises. Taking ashwagandha every day makes men feel better overall, improves their satisfaction with their sex lives, and boosts the amount of testosterone and DHEA-S (another male sex hormone) in their blood by double-digit percentages.
Another study replicated the finding on testosterone, and confirmed that ashwagandha relieves the symptoms of erectile dysfunction (ED). Again, we’re talking about daily use over 8+ weeks, but the size of the effect was remarkable. Pun intended.
Importantly, this is only for physical causes of ED. Sometimes erectile dysfunction has what’s called a “psychogenic” origin, meaning it’s basically about mind health. The smell of the horse doesn’t help with that particular version of the problem—it’s a treatment that affects hormones and sexual function directly.
Wrap-Up
The take-home point from these studies is that a mild, generally healthy herbal treatment can work wonders for erectile dysfunction. That’s important both because traditional drugs like Viagra can be difficult to use due to things like potential interactions with other medications, and because ED often brings with it a range of feelings from potentially awkward conversations with your physician to feelings of shame. It doesn’t need to—and this particular treatment is safe, simple, and easy to get.
Score a win for the alternatives.
