Chamomile

I’m pretty sure you think I’m kidding.

I’m not.

Everyone knows about chamomile’s sleep-inducing properties, though they are probably using it, if at all, in a rather minimal way. That is, making a chamomile tea is alright if you have a minor problem relaxing, but for full effectiveness, a couple capsules filled with the herb is going to be much more helpful. It doesn’t actually induce sleep, by the way, but works by relaxing the mind, giving the ability to sleep (and perhaps improving its quality) without bringing actual drowsiness. And unlike most drugs taken to help get to sleep, you don’t build up a resistance to it.

What most don’t know is that chamomile’s abilities go far beyond unwinding a person enough to get much-needed rest. For one thing, it’s been used for centuries as a digestive aid, and you’ll see it marketed that way here and there. More interestingly, the little flower turns out to be a strong antihistamine. I have heard that 700mg (2 of the usual capsules) is very effective against allergies ranging from hay fever to cats. It’s a good choice for those wanting to avoid the usual drugs which will almost certainly induce sleep whether you want to or not.

Chamomile

So what’s this got to do with aphrodisiacs? Well, something that can get out of hand, usually with age, and cause libido loss in both men and women is aromatase, an enzyme that allows the body to produce estrogen. In particular, it converts androgens into estrogens, and if you know anything about hormones you’ll understand how its excess can clobber a sex drive, among other things. In what can only be described as “estrogen poisoning,” too much of this particular good thing can contribute to a wide variety of ills, including breast cancer (in men and women), ovarian cancer, prostate and colon cancer, weight gain, and, in men, gynecomastia (literally, man boobs). As well as that side of the imbalance, converting too much of a body’s testosterone deprives it of that hormone’s needed actions. How then to restore balance? Enter the aromatase inhibitors.

Normal anti-aromatase drugs must of course be taken with caution: they are specific, synthesized, and highly concentrated. There are other aromatase inhibitors which are fully natural and are more or less incapable of excess due to the body simply not using more than it needs. For example, young women can take them without risking damage to their systems. Yes, chamomile is one of those testosterone protectors. Though it has high amounts of anti-aromatase agents, it mostly works to balance the body and is a fairly subtle thing to add to one’s regimen. Unless your T levels are pretty damaged, you probably won’t have a huge change in your mood, sex drive, or energy level from regularly taking chamomile – but you might prevent a variety of issues from ever happening.

And if you are lacking in testosterone, which is important to both sex’s sex drive, you may see some very interesting changes.

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