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Behind Closed Doors | When is it our turn? That's a question I frequently hear from women wanting to know what they can do to revitalize their sex lives in the age of Viagra. The men - they have tons of options. What about us?
For many of these women, the answer has arrived in the form of a long-used botanical, fresh from the Amazon.
In an e-Alert I sent you last summer ("The Divine Secrets of the Clavo Huasca Sisterhood" 7/16/02) I told you about clavo huasca, a vine that grows wild in the Amazon rainforest and is traditionally used as a treatment for frigidity. Leslie Taylor, an HSI Panelist and board-certified naturopath who has spent years investigating herbal medications with shamans throughout Peru, used the vine bark to formulate a highly concentrated extract, which she named, naturally enough, Clavo Huasca.
Ms. Taylor provided HSI with a supply of Clavo Huasca to conduct an informal trial, and in that e-Alert last July I invited interested HSI members to volunteer. There were only two restrictions; we asked that subjects be over 50 years of age, and to have no known hormonal imbalance. Clavo Huasca has been shown to have very little effect on women who have low libido due to hormonal imbalance.
I thought we might receive a good response from the invitation, but to our surprise, well over three hundred women contacted us to volunteer. More interesting than that was to realize how many women are still sexually active and even starting new relationships in what you might call "retirement" years. Clearly, sexuality is one area from which not everyone is willing to retire.
In the end, thirty-eight women successfully completed the study. They each used Clavo Huasca for one month, while keeping a journal and submitting weekly reports.
When all the materials were completed and returned, we analyzed the results and found that responses were split right down the middle; 19 women experienced no changes, while 19 reported benefits. In the latter group, six said the benefits were slight, while 13 felt the formula significantly improved their sexual relations.
Previous to this study, Ms. Taylor had made it clear that Clavo Huasca simply doesn't work for everyone - primarily due to the hormonal imbalance consideration that I mentioned above. For many women, however, Clavo works wonders, and several of the comments we received reflect that.
An HSI member named Susan said, "I think I am more receptive toward sex and I do think about it more often…I am more inclined to daydream about sex and yes, I have started to think about romantic situations."
Another member, named Joan, had a somewhat more stimulating reaction. She said, "My thoughts about this product are very positive. More intense sex. Increased desire for sex. Orgasms that are very strong and last longer."
"WOW, I had a very erotic dream that was vivid and colorful," wrote a member named Alice. "The next day I had the best sex I have had in ages. Outstanding, great, wonderful."
Further comments, as reported in the upcoming HSI Members Alert (February, 2003), may have some members blushing. But it's important to note that besides enhancing sexuality, a number of women reported other positive benefits of Clavo Huasca - even when they didn't experience a change in libido. Women said they slept better, had a better attitude, and had more energy. And among all 38 women, none reported any adverse side effects.
A few of the subjects mentioned that they didn't enjoy the taste of Clavo Huasca, which is delivered in a liquid extract. We asked Ms. Taylor about that, and she recommended adding the liquid drops to juice, particularly cranberry juice, to mask the taste. For those like Joan and Alice, who apparently enjoy the full effects of Clavo Huasca, it would seem that a little bit of bad taste and a whole lot of cranberry juice might be a small price to pay in exchange for the very warm results.
For more information about Clavo Huasca (or to place an order) visit the web site for Raintree Nutrition, Inc., at rain-tree.com. And if you decide to try Clavo, I'd be very interested to hear further testimonials, so please write and tell all.
To Your Good Health,
Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute
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