Tag: Moments

When I am asked by a man advancing in years what he can do to overcome erectile dysfunction, I reply with a counter question: Are you hypertensive and taking anti-hypertensive pharmaceutical drugs? Most of them reply that they are! I often ask this question because many anti-hypertensive drugs of pharmaceutical origin lower the heart rate to prevent the heart from overworking and injuring itself thereby, and a lowered heart rate means less blood pumped to the penis, and less blood delivery means reduced erection capacity which implies erectile dysfunction. The question which naturally follows when this explanation is made is: ‘what can I do to solve the problem?’ An Alternative Medicine practitioner is likely to advise that he continue to take his drugs, he simultaneously energise his heart and improve the health and function of his circulation system, he gradually reduce the dosages of the drugs as his blood pressure and the conditions of his heart and blood vessels improve. I would like to state from the onset that anti-hypertensive drugs are not the only or main culprits in erectile dysfunction problems. After all, there are men who are not hypertensive who cannot easily get themselves up and active in the other room, to the disgust of a flaming and roaring, waiting Juliet.

Mayo Clinic educates its patients that “male sexual arousal is a complex process that involves the brain, hormones, emotions, nerves, muscles and blood vessels.” It goes on to add that “erectile dysfunction can result from a problem with any of this” and that likewise, stress and mental health concerns can cause or worsen erectile dysfunction.

That isn’t all to this challenge, says Mayo Clinic. “Sometimes”, it adds, “a combination of physical and psychological issues causes erectile dysfunction. For instance, a minor physical condition that slows your sexual response might cause anxiety about maintaining an erection. The resulting anxiety can lead to or worsen erectile dysfunction.

“In most cases erectile dysfunction is caused by something physical. common causes include (1) heart disease (2) clogged blood vessels (atherosclerosis) (3) high cholesterol (4) high blood pressure (5) diabetes (6) obesity (7) metabolic syndrome, a condition involving increased blood pressure, high insulin levels, body fat around the waist (8) Parkinson’s disease (9) multiple sclerosis (10) Peyronies disease…development of scar tissue inside the penis (11) certain prescription medications (12) tobacco use (13) alcoholic and other forms of substance abuse (14) sleep disorders (15) treatment for prostate cancer or enlarged prostate (16) surgeries or injuries that affect the pelvic area or spinal cord.”

We may obtain enrichment of this information from www.emedicinehealth.com which says:

“To understand what causes erectile dysfunction or ED, it is important to first review how an erection occurs. For a man to have an erection, a complex process takes place within the body. “ONE: an erection involves the Central Nervous System, the Peripheral nervous system, psychological factors, local factors with the erection bodies or the penis itself as well as hormonal and vascular (blood flow or circulation) components.

“The penile process leading to an erection represents only a single component of a very complex process.

“TWO: Erection occurs in response to touch, smell, auditory or visual stimuli that trigger pathways to the brain. Information travels from the brain to the nerve centres at the base of the spine where primary nerve fibers connect to the penis and regulate blood flow during erection and afterwards.

“THREE: Sexual stimulation causes the release of chemicals from the nerve endings in the penis that trigger a series of events that ultimately cause muscle relaxation in the erection bodies of the penis. The smooth muscles in the erection bodies control the flow of blood into the penis. When the smooth muscles relax, the blood flow dramatically increases, and the erection bodies become full and rigid, resulting in an erection. Venous drainage channels are compressed and close up as the erection bodies enlarge.

“FOUR: Detumescence (the process by which the penis becomes flaccid) results when muscles-relaxing chemicals are no longer released.”

The pictures painted here is of a multiple simultaneous event which men take for granted until an untoward event occurs. This shows why ED solution proprietary blends in herbal medicine are designed to address as many of these questions as are possible to handle. It should also address the question of why they are sometimes expensive, why some provide an almost immediate response which fades out soon, and others work gently, sometime too slowly for impatient solution-seekers, but gradually unties the knots to eventually provide a more-lasting solution.

 

Solutions

A solution of ED will depend on the cause(s). Doctors see causes as either of psychological or physical organic origins. Psychological issues are straight-forward. A husband may not respond sexually to a wife he has caught red-handed in bed with his best friend. If a wife persistently tells her husband he is a cold fish, that is he is sexually inadequate, the fear of performance may impose ED on him. Couples may have other disturbing questions which they may resolve themselves or through a counsellor. Physical/organic disturbances relate to those described earlier which have to do with a malfunctioning of the “architectural” design of the body. I will discuss a few of the causes frequently observed in health food stores, based on the diagnoses of the doctors of help-seeking men.

 

Stress

We cannot avoid or avert stress. It is a feature of earthly life. A noise down the road may cause stress for some people. The thought of a new bill or the loss of a beloved one can send some people off their rockers. Our bodies are designed to withstand stress up to a certain limit. For this reason, our bodies produce stress hormones. When the stress level is too high and the adrenal glands cannot produce enough stress hormones to overcome the stress, the body will convert sex hormones to stress hormones. This may be the beginning of such discomfitures as libido loss and erectile dysfunction. According to www.peaktestosterone.com:

“One European study puts elevated psychological stress right alongside high blood pressure as a risk factor. Still other studies have shown that men with erectile dysfunction have higher reported stress levels. So, why would stress be a risk factor for erectile dysfunction? It turns out that stress attacks almost all the key pathways that would build an erection and is definitely one of your strongest enemies in the bedroom.  As you will see below, it attacks your erectile strength, both in the long and short terms:

“ONE: Testosterone. First of all, we have already covered how stress can whack testosterone. Remember: ‘Testosterone buildeth; cortisol takes away. Lower testosterone is certainly not going to help your erection and, if it gets low enough, can cause erectile issues. How? Low testosterone damages internal penile tissue, decreases nitric-oxide and can lead to arterial plaque-build-up in penile arteries.

“TWO: Penile arteries. There have been many studies showing that stress leads to heart disease and we all know that heart disease will directly affect your erectile strength.  How does stress do its damage? One set of researchers looked into this and found that chronic work stress led to poor lifestyle choices and behaviours such as smoking, excessive drinking, lack of exercise and metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is deadly to both heart and penis.

“THREE: Cortisol. The same study above found that chronic work stress led to an increased morning rise in cortisol. Other studies have made a similar finding. This is bad for erection, because elevated cortisol is associated with insulin resistance and decreased nitric-oxide.

“FOUR: Visceral Fats. Cortisol and stress are also associated with increased visceral fat (“bear belly”, “gut”, “spare tyre”, etc), both of which are very-hand on erection. Visceral or abdominal fat is considered the most deadly form of body fat as it rapidly accelerates the risk for cardiovascular disease, stroke and Alzheimer’s disease just for starters.

“FIVE: Weight gain. Researchers recently found out that chronic psychological stress resulted in greater weight gain, especially in sensitive individuals. The reason? The study authors noted that stressed people eat excessively whether hungry or not. The old expression “comfort foot” is apparently a very real crutch that most lean on.

“SIX: Noradrenaline (Norepinephrine) one little known fact about the penis is the fact that one of the stress hormones, Nor-adrenaline, is actually responsible for keeping you limp. Afterall, you don’t want to walk around with an erection at your next staff meeting eh?  The job of nitric oxide is actually to overcome the effect of this stress hormone and relax your penile arteries enough to let blood to flow into the corpus cavernous for an erection to occur. However, too much stress and you are swimming upstream.” (The website has information on practical health solution).

Remedies for stress

Decades ago, Borage oil was popular for the revival of Adrenal glands weakened or burnt out by stress. So were the de-fatted Licorice DGL and Ginseng. Some therapists advise relocation from a stressor environment, even if it means taking a holiday, and sleep-enhancing foods and herbs and food supplements. To support restful sleep Valerian root and Vervain are good. So are Melatonin and Tryptophan. (Melatonin is not advisable for women who are trying to get pregnant).   Tryptophan can be obtained from banana. Another good anti-stress agent is German Chamomile herb. To improve testosterone production, work should begin with the testes. The testes of many men are in a state of atrophy because of a dietary deficiency of Vitamin E. Herbs such as Macca and Yohimbe support the production of hormones in men and women.

We cannot forget the combination of Vitamin C, Zinc and L-Arginine. This combination actually promotes production of more sperm and erectile function. Many proprietary formulae parade as many as 20 ingredients, or more. These usually include Ashwangada, Honey goat weed, Ginkgo biloba (for blood flow to the penis) and Horse chestnut (for the same purpose) some of these proprietary blends include LIBIDO TONIGHT and STEEL LIBIDO. They are virtually now extinct in the Nigerian market. The new market raves include African Black Ant and Robust Roots.

 

Hypertension

If anti-hypertensive pharmaceutical drugs are the cause of erectile dysfunction, they can be eased off with a gradual replacement with natural food supplements which, as an added advantage, have no side effects. Pharmaceutical drugs slow down the heart, reducing blood flow. Some doctors may give STATIN drugs to lower cholesterol blood levels if cholesterol is implicated in the hypertension. These drugs prevents the production of CoQ10 (Co Enzyme Q10) in the body. Yet the largest amount of CoQ10 is found in the heart. And, according to studies by Dr. Karl Folkers, the father of CoQ10 research, the heart begins to develop problems if its store of CoQ10 falls by as little as 25 percent. Yet statin anti-cholesterol pharmaceutical drugs block the production of CoQ10 while doing their job. Conversely, the addition of CoQ10 to the diet energies the heart, enabling it to cope with the stress it is confronted with, from which anti-hypertensive, anti-erection function drugs try to rescue it.  Many doctors in Nigeria do not know about CoQ10. But not all CoQ10 are CoQ10. By this I mean CoQ10 is in grades. The highest grade is UBIQUINOL. In Nigeria, it is common to find 100mg Ubiquinol. The one I have been taking lately is 300mg Ubiquinol which comes in addition, with Vitamin C (150mg), vitamin E (55i.u.) and Black Pepper (5mg). It is best taken with food with oil because it is best absorbed in an oil environment. Sometimes, I crush the tablets in the mouth and get it dissolved into 1 teaspoonful of Palm oil or one tablespoonful of coconut oil. 100mg is enough for mild hypertension, 200mg for serious cases and 300mg for conditions as bad as HIV and Cancer. It has been found that CoQ10 (Ubiquinol) helps the generation of energy. The heart never rests and is kept going by Ubiquinol. If the penis doesn’t get up, isn’t that because it is lazy and wouldn’t an infusion of energy help it?  From the website http://articles.mercola.com, we learn from biologist Risa Schulman Ph.D., a functional food expert:

“Ubiquinol is the reduced version of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) aka Ubiquinol. They are actually the same molecules. But when CoQ10 is reduced, it takes two electrons, which turn it into what we call Ubiquinol. In your body, this conversion occurs thousands of times every second inside your mitochondria “the engine” of each cell in which energy is produced.

“The reason it does this flipping back and forth between these two forms of the molecules is that this is part of the process that helps us to change our food into energy,” Schulman explains.

“This is very important to healthy functioning, and obviously important for all muscle, in particular your heart muscle which work hardest of all the muscles.”

“In addition to converting food into energy, Ubiquinol also has a number of additional functions. For starters, Ubiquinol is a lipid-soluble (fat-soluble) antioxidant, meaning it works in the lipid portions of your body such as your cell membranes.  It is one of the very few antioxidants that are fat soluble. Ubiquinol is also the only fat soluble anti-oxidant that is actually generated within your body and does not have to be ingested from your food.

“Ubiquinol production ramps up from early childhood up until your mid-to late 20s. By the time you hit age of 30, it begins to decline. Young people are able to use CoQ10 supplements quite well, but older people do better with Ubiquinol as it is more readily absorbed. According to Schulman, some people cannot convert CoQ10 at all to Ubiquinol in their bodies, and they definitely need to use Ubiquinol or they won’t get any of the benefits. If someone takes a CoQ10 supplement, the body very quickly will convert it to Ubiquinol because that is the preferred form. It will transport that CoQ10 through the blood, as Ubiquinol, into the tissues and eventually into the mitochondria,” she explains.

We can go on and on and on about Ubiquino. Let’s quickly recognise HAWTHORN BERRIES also for the heart, Lecithin to remove blockages of fat from the blood vessels, Vitamin E and Selenium for the same purpose, and Magnesium to remove Calcium infiltration of solf muscles of these vesself, which cause them to harden (arteriosclerosis) and elevate blood pressure. We cannot address today blockages in the liver and kidneys and other organs, all of which may elevate blood pressure.

 

Many men know little or nothing about PEYRONIES but suffer from it in varying degrees, in extreme cases embarrassed to strip before a woman. Peyronies is curvature of the penis, which may sometimes be so curved that it presents like a bow from which an arrow can be fired, when it becomes erect. So embarrassed can it make a man become that he’d rather push in, limp, and then try to force erection within. Many women may not be able to tolerate the pain of the curvature and may wish to have nothing to do with such a man again. As I said in earlier parts of the series, Peyronies can be worse than erectile dysfunction and low sperm count, either in its effects or therapy. Although some medical researchers say the causes of Peyronies are unknown, others suggest the possibilities…1.Trauma 2. Scar tissue 3. Aging 4. Genetic predisposition 5. Connective tissue disorder

We obtain more information about Peyronies from www.healthline.com: “The main symptoms of Peyronie’s disease is the formation of flat scar tissue called plaque. This scar tissue can generally be flat through the skin. Plaque normally forms on the upper side of the penis, but may also occur on the bottom or side. Sometimes plaque goes all the way around the penis, causing a “wasting” or “bottleneck” deformity. Plaque may gather calcium and become very hard. Scar tissue may cause painful erection, soft erection or severe curvature. Scar tissue on a certain part of the penis reduces elasticity in that area. Plaque on the top of the penis may cause it to bend upwards during an erection. Plaque on the side may cause curvature towards that side. More than one plaque can cause complex curvatures. Curvature may make sexual penetration more difficult. Scar tissue may cause shrinkage or shortening of the penis.”

This website suggests that there is no cure for Peyronies’s disease and that, sometimes, it may disappear on its own. But it agrees it may be treatable. In the United States, the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) approved only one drug for dissolving excessive build-up of collagen, a structural protein which gives body structures their rigid forms. This drug is injected into the penis. Two other oral drugs are permitted. One is well known for the treatment of high blood pressure. The other breaks down fibrous tissue.

Men challenged with Peyronies’s must wonder if Mother Nature cannot deliver them of it. She can. But there are few scientific studies to back evidence that she does.  In 2001, a study published in BJU Intentional “concluded that Acetyl-L-Carnitine is significantly more effective and safer than Tamoxifen in treating acute and chronic Peyronie’s disease.” Acetyl L- Carnitine, acetylated form of L-Carnitine, is naturally produced in our bodies. These days, it comes as a dietary supplement from the health food store because we produce not enough of it as we age or because our diet does not produce enough of the basic ingredients from which the body makes it. In the body, Acetyl L-Carnitine breaks down to Carnitine which is then used to transport fat from the blood into the mitochondria, energy factories in the cells. It is an amino acid (protein-building block) found in most cells in the body after being produced in the liver and kidney. It is stored in the brain, skeletal muscles and sperm especially. Being an antioxidant in addition to the various roles it performs in the body, Acetyl- L Carnitine is used by Peyronies therapist to protect the penis tissue against the plaque damage and support the healing process. Leading Peyronies physicians who prescribe Acetyl- L-Carnitine give no more than 1000mg two times a day. On the other hand, TAMOXI FEN, a drug sold under the name NOLVADEX, is used for breast cancer therapy in men and women. Another help from Mother Nature may very well be Co-enzyme Q10 (CoQ10), an antioxidant always mentioned in this column for its capacity to energise the entire body, the heart in particular, and, through this, expand the body’s capacity not only to function properly but, also, to deal with all the problems which confront it. According to www.healthline.com: “Result of a 2010 study published in the International Journal of Impotence Research found that Co-enzyme Q10 supplements improve erectile function. They also reduced penile curvature in patients with early chronic Peyronies’s disease. Another area of interest for researchers is enzyme therapy. Many people say these enzymes, also called proteolytic enzymes, because they digest proteins, do not work as well as they are claimed they do, but there is, also, widespread acclaim for them. The three principal ones among them are: 1.Serrapeptase 2. Nattokinese and 3. Bromelain.

This column mentions them always when it comes to the dissolution of growths, including uterine fibroids. Serrapeptase was discovered in the cocoon of the silkworm. The cocoon is so tough, a lot of force, using a knife, cutlass or even an axe may be required to force it open. But when the silkworm is mature and ready to step into the world, it produces a secretion which melts down this hard shell as though it were ice melting in the tropical sun. Nattokinese melts clots in blood vessels and has proven useful in dissolving blockages in blood vessels which may cause elevated blood pressure (hypertension), strokes and heart attacks. Bromelain, chiefly found in the stem of pineapples, digests denatured and exogenous (foreign) protein.

The website www.the-bent-penis-website.com says: “Some new therapies of this type are enabling many people to safely and effectively reverse certain conditions and enjoy a more much higher degree of health and wellbeing. Because of this, systemic enzyme therapy (orally taken enzymes that reach the whole body) is now being tested on Peyronies’s disease, a penile bending or curving caused by scar tissue and or fibrous plaque. And even though the chemical tests are proving to be a failure for straightening erection, the products are being sold as if they are the greatest things on earth for Peyronies’s disease. The greatest benefit of this form of treatment in Peyronies’s disease has been shown to be pain relief. The three main items currently being recommended for dissolving fibrous tissue in Peyronies’s disease are 1. Serrapeptase 2. Nattokinese 3. Bromelain. These are all natural food substances. They have been used individually and together. “Proteolytic have been shown to be effective in reducing or relieving uterine fibroids, hardening of the arteries, rheumatoid arthritis, fibrocystic breast disease, Carpel tunnel syndrome, and pulmonary fibrosis. These conditions present similar fibrous tissue pathology. In scientific cycles, this is often sufficient clinical justification to use a treatment in related conditions. This is where the problem comes in for Peyronies’s disease sufferers. For pain relief, use of the substances as treatment seem to be as effective as Aspirin, Ibuprofen, other NSADs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) as well as steroids. The advantage to this is that they do not have the immuno suppressive and other possible dangerous side effects known to accompany the drugs. Enzymes used for systemic therapy are best taken between meals on an empty stomach. The reason is: They are digestants. They dissolve things. If you take them with meals, they would be mostly used up digesting the food and never make it into the bloodstream. But they should not be taken together with the type of medications mentioned above. They can intensify the strength of these medication and could potentially cause bleeding. In chemical tests, healing and pain relief using enzymes in many related conditions has shown improvement and diminish of pain 100 per cent faster than in the placebo-controlled group.”

 

PABA

About 10 years ago, PABA food supplement was popular among nutritional health therapies in Nigeria, especially because it was reported good for overcoming gray hair and vitiligo, discoloration of the skin. From www.peyronies-disease-help.com we learn:

“Para-Aminobenzoic acid, or PABA is a non-protein amino acid that is widely distributed in Nature. It can be a wonderful addition to your Peyronies’s disease treatment plan. Many years ago, when B vitamins were first being researched, PABA was referred to as Vitamin BX. We now know it is neither a Vitamin nor an essential vitamin nutrient for humans, since it is made in the body by beneficial bacteria found normally in the small intestine. PABA is used in the body to incorporate protein into living tissue as well as to reverse this process by breaking down protein. It is also used in formation of red blood cells, as well as an intermediary step in the manufacture of Folic acid in the intestine. PABA also assists in maintaining the health of your intestinal flora (the beneficial bacteria found in the intestine). It has been linked to hair growth as well as reversing the graying of hair, but this result seems to be inconclusive, except when there is significant B vitamin deficiency. People suffering from Vitiligo (over-pigmentation of skin) or without pigment in some spots have reported an improvement of that skin colouration after taking PABA supplementation. Para-Amino Benzoic Acid is also used in sun screen preparations since it can help protect the skin against ultraviolet radiation. Found in liver, kidney, Brewer’s yeast, molasses, whole grains, mushroom and spinach, PABA is also made by intestinal bacteria (FLORA). While most of the research done on peyronie’s treatment has been conducted with Potassium Para-Amino Benzoate (POTABA), this particular form of PABA frequently causes severe gastric distress, and for this reason it is a prescription medication. The most safe and less expensive PABA could be readily gotten without a prescription, and, hence, it is less expensive without sacrificing effectiveness of treatment.”

How does PABA affect Peyronies’s beneficially? The website reports: “PABA is reported to have an (anti- scar) effect in the body, and for this reason it is used to treat certain skin conditions in which fibrosis, inelasticity or thickening of the skin occurs. This is the reason PABA is a great Peyronie’s treatment. The reputed anti-fibrotic action of PABA may be done to its stimulation of increased oxygen uptake at the tissue levels, which enhances the oxygen-dependence monoamine oxidase activity that in turn prevents or causes regression of tissue fibrosis. Amino Benzoic Potassium is used medically to treat fibrosis, a condition in which the skin and underlying tissues thicken and become less flexible. This condition occurs in such diseases as Peyronie’s disease, dermatomyositis, morphea, scleroderma, and linear scleroderma.  It is also used to treat non-supporative inflammation that occurs in such disease as dermatomyositis, pemphigus, and again, Peyronie’s disease. It is likely because of the suspected quality of PABA that is reported by many to be effective in treatment of PD. Supporting this idea, from the world literature, we find reports of 2,552 cases treated with POTABA by 1996 that have shown improvement in 60 percent of the cases studied, with a range of improvement from 10 percent to 82 percent depending on the study, and a reported median failure rate of 40 percent. The wide variation of success (10 percent to 82 percent) in the review of the reflection of the wide variance of the PD process, once again confirming this is a very difficult condition to study and determine success rate.”

 

Low sperm count

There are far too many causes of low sperm count than this space can accommodate. I will address some of them briefly.

1. Consuming large amounts of sodium benzoate, a preservative in foods, with large amounts of vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) has been shown to damage the testes, affecting hormone and sperm production. At Babcock University in Ilisan, South-western Nigeria, experiments in this area feature regularly in the degree project of anatomy students. (One of such students is Adesina Musa Titilayo). But in moderate amounts both do not appear to damage the testes. It is not advisable to consume large amounts of Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) without alkalizers. That is why this column often suggests Alkaline Vitamin C. This comes with alkaline buffers such as Magnesium, Manganese, Iron, Selenium e.t.c.
2. Estrogenation. If a pregnant woman has too much of estrogen, a female hormone, and if the coming baby is a male, the excess estrogen may damage the sertoli cells of the foetal testes. These cells help to provide nurture for infant sperm cells. They are nick named “nurse or mother” cells of the testes by some people because of this. If hyper Estrogenation damages their population in the womb, there would be famine among sperm cells in the testes and, through natural selection and survival of the fittest, few sperm cells may survive, leading to low sperm count. Adult men may pick up more estrogen than is safe for their reproductive system from such sources as poultry egg, poultry birds (chickens and turkeys for example) and from cellophane wraps of water (pure water) or food. When cellophane is heated this helps to transfer Xenoestrogen from the cellophane to its contents.
3. Infections. Bacterial, viral and yeast infections may damage and kill sperm cells. If the tubes which deliver them to the penile shaft are infected, the possibility exists that scars may form and inflammation may occur in these tubes, making sperm delivery difficult.
4. Varicocele. This has to do with drainage problems in the testes. If non-return valves in the veins of the testes become incompetent, back flow of circulation occurs and the vein may become engorged. One way a Varicocele may cause low sperm count is by increasing testicular pressure. The testes cannot stand high temperature, which was why they descended from the body to their present location. Tight clothing affects them because of the high temperature it generates. These days, men wear boxer shorts to prevent over heating of the testes.
5. Poor diet. The sperm need an alkaline and anti-oxidant rich environment to thrive. The diet and bodies of many men are acid-forming and acidic respectively and the body is riddled with free radicals. A good diet will provide the testes with such food factors as vitamin E, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Zinc, Omega- fish oil. (Walnut, flax seeds, oily fish, chia seeds etc.), Lecithin, folic acid.
6. Electro pollution. Body cells operate on a certain electromagnetic wave length. Many electrical devices operate on a higher pitch, disrupting the rhythm of the cells. Cell phone kept in trouser pockets may do this. Ditto laptops placed on the lap. Ditto exposure to photocopying machines.
7. Zinc deficiency. About 80% of the zinc in a man’s body is stored in the prostate gland to provide nurture and anti-oxidant protection for the sperm. Over indulgence in sexual intercourse and frequent ejaculation cause zinc losses in the reproductive system, weak and unhealthy sperm, and low sperm count. That is why zinc food supplement in the diet helps to improve sperm count, especially when L-arginine is taken along with it.

As stated earlier, this space cannot accommodate all the causes of low sperm count. The bodies of many men challenged with low sperm count are toxic and acidic. Such men need to detoxify themselves and alkalize their system. I once met with a young man who drank beer almost all the hours of the day that he was awake. His diet was nothing to write home about. His sperm count was terribly low. The sperm motility was terribly sluggish. The sperm cells gummed together (agglutinated) easily, suggesting there was not enough vitamin E in his testes. And the morphology?   The head of the sperm cell were excessively large and easily detach from the tail whenever the sperm cell try to swim. This man needed Zinc, L-arginine, Lecithin, Vitamin E, Selenium, Grape Seed Extract (GSE), Spirulina and Kale, to mention a few of male reproductive system enhancing food factors.

There is a church sermon video circulating in Nigeria which I’d like to quickly talk about before we come to matters, such as low sperm count, zero sperm count, and erectile dysfunction. This video reminds me of a woman who almost abandoned her marriage because the husband made their bedroom sexually inhospitable for her wellbeing. Anxious moments in the other room reminds me, also, of the report of a Nigeria woman in the United Kingdom who bore a wholly white child for her Nigerian husband who accepted this child as his because a DNA test confirmed the paternity as such. In Nigeria, this event would have wrecked their marriage and the wife would have become an outcast.

 

Sex

The pastor in the Church sermon video is an African American. He propagates the garden concept of marriage, an old ignoble idea which has long given way to ennobling thoughts and practices in the marriage institution. In the garden concept of marriage, the man is the sower, the woman the filed or the farm. The seeds the man sows are his sperm. The woman has no other sublime task in her life than too receive the sperm, continually bear children and populate the earth with the view of propagating her specie. This pastor is raw, and comes to me as a man who is twisting the Christian Scriptures around his fingers to justify and protect his own sexual weaknesses. Deep Christian thinkers will easily discover him. The weaklings, like the FIVE FOOLISH VIRGINS who had no oil in their lamps, would easily flow along with him, shouting Halleluyah, even when their spirits urged them to be cautious. For having no oil in the lamp means being in-alert inwardly, gullible, and being easy to take for a long, long ride. Who can mislead a wise person?

This pastor promotes sex to the level of the purpose of man’s existence on earth.

Accordingly, he tells the half-shocked, half-elated congregation that man “does not want sex, he needs it”. His message is directed to women in the congregation. He says sex becomes a “need” for a man because of the task he is given to populate this earth. As a result, he is loaded with “seed” and he does not run a “menstrual cycle” which will disturb him. He is meant to unload or shell these seeds “anytime, anywhere,” and, if possible, “anyhow”. The congregation appears shocked, and he appears to search for a means of carrying it along. He finds this means when he confronts the women. He says: “Christian women” do not understand this high task of a man when, as wives, they turn away sexually from their husbands. When a man comes to his woman for the upteenth time in one day, he says, she accuses him of having “a demon” in him which is turning him on. She rushes to her pastor to lodge a complaint, hoping he would call her husband to order. But she becomes deflated and disappointed when the pastor tells her that he, too, being a man, has the same demon in him, and, so, cannot advise her not to yield to her husband’s sexual advances, because, for him, they are a “need,” not a “want”. According to this thinking, it is women who “want” sex, men “need” it, to fulfill their high task in this world.

The congregation, still shocked and as if in a swoon, still does not respond.  So, the pastor pleads… “Help me on, help me on. Then the congregation comes alive, yelling Halleluyah, Halleluyah!!

The woman I mentioned earlier was a friend of my family in the 1980s. She said her husband would follow her anywhere in the house…kitchen, toilet, and living-room, just to have sex with her. The matter was not foreclosed even in the other room. He was like a sex maniac, like the husband of one newspaper executive of the 1990s who did not mind sleeping with his wife right before the children, once the instinct and the urge overtook him.

As I said earlier, a deep Christian thinker can easily punch holes in this pastor’s arguments. First, our Lord Jesus taught us that Marriages do not take place in heaven. He also gave us the Lord’s Prayer in which we plead… “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven”. If we pray that our earth reflect the Kingdom of God, and that His Will in Heaven be also done on earth, as there is no sex in heaven, why should it be the primary focus of earth-men and a problem to many men and women? Certainly, it is not the purpose of existence on earth but merely supportive of it. Did the Lord Jesus have a wife or a Child? His example should be enough guidance for us in all things, even when minions of the Darkness, of Lucifer, strive to derail us from the part which leads us homewards, capitalising on the weaknesses of the flesh we are still unable to cast aside. I am not saying sex is not important from the human species.

My spiritual faith teaches me that, like food, water, air and exercise, sex is a natural requirement of a “healthy” human body for certain reasons, but it should be indulged in under certain conditions. Thus, like all things that were instituted for mankind, sexual intercourse comes with its rules and regulations. Indulging in it outside these rules constitutes a sin. I am not here talking about adultery per se, which many people do not understand, from the origin of the world itself. Adultery is to adulterate. Adulteration means to make impure. So, when man add his own ideas of sex to the original, spiritual concept of sex, he has adulterated that original concept. It is like when you contaminate petrol with kerosene, you adulterate the petrol. It may well be a man and a woman who were once suited spiritually to be called husband and wife may have drifted so much apart in the course of their earthly wanderings and experiencing that, before the Laws of God on marriage, they are no longer husband and wife, even if all the legal papers on this earth say they still are. If under legal respectability they sleep with each other, they adulterate the concept of marriage and, therefore, commit adultery, spiritually speaking. It may well happen that a man from one marriage and a woman from another legally subsisting but sunken and failed marriage genurely fall in love in accordance with their Creator’s Will. Who on this earth can stand before these Laws and say they commit adultery? Our only concerns for them should be the need for them to ennoble and formalise their ways and means according to earthly dictates, if only to keep wagging tongues at bay. These should protect their legitimate desire to share their lives on earth as husband and wife. I must quickly return to the functions of sex in life of the earth man. By earth-man is meant the human spirit in an earth body. There is no doubt that sex helps to procreate the human specie on earth. Procreation affords an opportunity for human souls in the “beyond” wishing to come to this earth to do so. Remember it is said in the Christian scriptures that “I knew thee before I formed thee in thy mother’s womb.” Coming to this earth has a purpose. Besides this, procreation serves as an exchange of radiations between the genders. We should understand the subordinate role of sex to the purpose of existence on earth when we ask and successfully answer the question: why did we have to be on this earth? Another question is: did we come from somewhere to this earth? If we did, then there must be a reason for being here, procreation only helps us to come here to achieve that purpose… it cannot be the main reason we are here. We humans were “planted” on this earth in seed form, that is as human spirit seed germs. A semblance of this is the planting of mango or orange seeds in the earth soil. The mango and orange seeds sprouts, germinate, flower and fruit to fulfill the purpose of their creation. Human spirit seed germs are, likewise, to grow from spiritual unconsciousness to self-consciousness. Many people today are only conscious of their existence, like animals or ants, but are not self-conscious. In a state of self-consciousness, the being recognises not only self but also, its maker, other creatures, creation, the purpose of his existence in Creation, the laws which govern everything in creation and voluntarily fulfill these laws. One day, he would become “perfect” enough for its specie to be permitted to be a tool in the up building of creation.

The subject “exchange of radiation” is not the subject for today. Nevertheless, I will attempt a brief explanation. The Afro- American Pastor’s Bible says somewhere that “I knew thee before I formed thee in thy mother’s  womb. That means we came to this earth from somewhere. As I already sought to establish. In the course of the journey to the earth, each person chose the direction of service or work to be engaged in, in Creation. Certain work is better carried out by the female gender. Certain work required the male. Thus, the gender separation occurred according to the decision made. As a man, whatever essence I did not require withdrew from me. I am, therefore, a splitting of the human species. I would always have a sensing of the need for that which has left me.  This I may obtain in work relationship with the female gender or, better still, in marriage with one member of this human sub specie who is most compactible with my nature and compliments it. Thus, we speak about homogeneity and complementarity for the stability of marriage. Even among the element, this law subsists because it bears the unswerving, eternal Will of the Creator. The water molecule can split into Hydrogen and oxygen atoms. Hydrogen and Oxygen have affinity for each other, and uniting under certain conditions of pressure and temperature, will become water molecules again. The same goes for Sodium Chloride or Potassium Sulphate… for everything.

The spiritual condition for sex between the genders is a tough one. Both souls must be complementary and their must have been, between them, an inward or spiritual process, tending towards physical union, that is marriage. The way we engage in sex nowadays falls short of this condition and it does not arise from the yearning of the healthy body. For many humans, the body is diseased. It has been sexually overstimulated and sex has become a plaque, not a blessing. In the 1990s, I reared all sorts of animals…pigs, rabbits, chickens, name them. The females of these animals never agreed to be mated by the males unless they were on “heat” during particular period of their menstrual cycle. In converse, look at the female human today. She has broken this rule. Yet, her body, like the male’s, is descended from the animal and is meant to be the most ennobled of all animal bodies. When a pastor adds salt to this “injury” by preaching that she yield to sex “everywhere, anytime”, he is urging her to devolve below the level of the animal. This is one of the games Lucifer plays with man to make him continue to have a free fall farther away from salvation. Just look at a tree or plant. The root system represents the male factor. It secures the plant and brings it sustenance from the soil. The aerial parts bring fragrance, flower and fruit, a female function. Among the spiritual specie, the female is more connected to the home, paradise, the male more to the word of matter. Lucifer urged women to get involved with earthly matters. Remember Lot’s wife? Thus, she forgot about the home. Once she forgot about paradise, mankind’s connection with home became severed. A first sign of that severance is that high value from home no longer adorn earthly activities. So, everything is now upside down. Only the person who seriously bestirs himself inwardly today can have a faint idea that paradise really exists. The struggle homewards must, therefore, become harder with woman, as guide, lost to Lucifer. Marriage or motherhood is not the highest calling of earth-woman. It is a duty to bring mankind back home in paradise. Marriage or motherhood only supports this venture because it provides the opportunity to love other beings. Therefore, we should never dance to sonorous music without first checking the fingers on the strings of the harp. The congregation which hilariously screams Halleluyah when a pastor massages the sexual ego is a careless and stupid congregation. Anyway, a follower will always find a leader at his or her own level.

 

Chimeras

I am aware of only a few cases of men who still cohabit peacefully with their wives in the other room after they had good reasons to doubt the paternity of a child or children and DNA tests stand solidly behind them. In Nigeria, we tend to over trust the DNA technology, and this must have caused emotional disturbances in many homes. What is emerging in the DNA market now is that some people have more than one DNA. The hair may present a DNA different from that of the skin. So, if you test hair samples of father and child for DNA correlation, and there is a disagreement, does that mean the son is not the child of the father? The stories told in www.independent.co.uk/news/scinece/human-chimera answer this question:

“The condition can mean people aren’t genetic mothers of children they have given birth to, and that people can have two different blood types. Doctors are finding more and more instances of human chimeras –a condition that may affect far more people than we realise. Human chimerism hit the headline this week after it was revealed that a man had failed a paternity test because he had the condition – which meant that the genetic father of his child was his unborn twin. The condition occurs when one unborn child absorbs the calls of another miscarried sibling in the womb, leading to the surviving person taking some of the genes of their “ghost” twin. That can lead to strange results in the DNA of people that have the condition –but it can often go completely unnoticed.

“Another example involved Karen Keegan, a woman from Boston in the U.S. who had a different set of genes in her blood cells and her ovaries. Her children were not genetically hers- and the real genetic mother was a twin sister that was never born. In the case of the Washington man reported this week, different genes were found in his cheek-where the saliva in the test was taken from-and sperm. That meant that he was excluded from a paternity test, but a DNA-based ancestory check showed that was the child’s uncle. But many people who have the condition will never take a paternity test or their children, or find out through other means. That is likely to mean that many people could have the condition and never know.”

From www.iol.co.za/lifestyle/family/baby we learn of a couple who thought their child was made from a donor’s sperm. Their newborn son’s blood did not match the father’s or the mother’s.

“The mother became pregnant through artificial insemination,” says the website, “so, it only makes sense that the fertility clinic had made a terrible mistake and used the wrong sperm sample. Except staff at the clinic told them that the 34-year-old father was the only white man who had donated sperm at the facility on the day the child, who appeared white, was conceived, buzzed reports.

“In some ways, though, the couple was right. Their child did bear the DNA of another man… but he wasn’t quite a stranger, at least in biological terms. The DNA matched that of the father’s unborn twin, essentially making the man the biological uncle of his wife’s child. The couple was understandably confused when they received this explanation from genetic testing company 23andMe and barrister Starr, a Stanford university geneticist who runs the “Ask a geneticist” blog on which the new parents first posed the query.”

These stories should make Nigerian fathers and mothers take matters easy when paternity issues arise and the resort for a resolution of them in DNA testing.

Apologies, gentlemen, low sperm count and peyronie’s and damaged testes and erectile dysfunction, all problems in the other room, have to wait another day.

Congratulation, grace gratitude miracle! If that name sounds somewhat “somehow”, I will explain in a short while how it came about. Grace Gratitude Miracle, back home from hospital last week, a nine-hour surgery behind her and a shock to many people that she is still alive, about five surgeons brought out about four huge growths from her body but discovered no problem where most of her problems had been thought to be … inside the womb. I will oblige no more details. Grace Miracle Gratitude replaced her original names. The new names were given by her doctors, one after the other, to express their recognitions in her case that doctors only try their best… it is God Who actually heals! Before I got the news of her return home last Wednesday, I had been undecided about which foot to put forward ahead of the other in this part of the series. Should I begin with men’s or women’s troubles in the other room? The news of her home-coming lit up the way!

In respect of this woman, I will mention only one of the multifarious serious challenges which threatened her life but which was resolved not by the surgeon’s knives or pharmaceutical medications. For it is one of the challenges I mentioned in the first part of this series could cause embarrassing situations in the bedroom. Years ago, a retired director-general in Lagos State discussed with me the condition of her daughter whose husband left home on account of her endometrial bleeding. Men are not as tough as they make women think they are when it comes to the sight of blood or of life separating from the physical human earth casing we call the body.

This woman had abandoned a lucrative manager’s job for about six months by the time I visited her at home, on her mother’s invitation, to oblige her moral support in her battle to live. Her body suddenly discharged large spurts of blood from the vagina, and her mother would go for the mop, air fresheners. She had to be transfused with blood many times, while the doctors thought of blasting the ovaries. This was to minimise the production of estrogen, the female hormone, which was thought to be fuelling her condition, endometriosis. In Alternative medicines, the ovaries, like the testes in men with prostate cancer, are spared with the use of phytoestrogen herbs. These are estrogen containing herbs. If you wonder if it is not illogical to add estrogen to a fire ignited by excess estrogen, an answer may come from the Nigerian adage that “It is the child of fire that we send to put out a fire”. the logic is this: The plant estrogen is about five per cent the activity rate of human estrogen. Plant estrogen is preferred by the cells when human estrogen becomes too harsh for them, as in estrogenation, a situation in which estrogen outstrips its safe and natural ratio in the estrogen-progesterone ratio. Human estrogen has three fractions: estradiol, estrone and Estriol.

Estriol is the friendliest among them. In many women with estrogen problems, estradiol and estrone fractions may have outstepped their bounds in the estrogen mix. When the cells take up plant estrogen.  There estrogen receptors lock out human estrogen and this is sent to the liver to be broken down into their building blocks. That is why, in the management of conditions such as this, the liver ought to be strengthened with hepatic herbs to be able to perform this function. Hepatic herbs include Milk thistle, Jerusalem artichoke and many bitter principles. After the liver would have done its job of breaking down the unwanted estrogen, fiber is needed in the diet to wrap out the fragments and excrete them through the stool.

Many fertility herbs for women also support the balancing of the estrogen profile, whether in relation to progesterone or among the three estrogen fractions. Some of these include Vitex, Blue Cohosh, False Unicorn root and True unicorn root. To help ease the bleeding, Shepherd’s purse is often used. Apple Cider Vinegar works as well, as Cyril Scolt described in his small book on this product. The Nigerian market used to offer a proprietary product for balancing or normalising estrogen blood levels called PHYTOESTROGEN. I should not forget to mention that, in the management of this condition, the challenged person needs to constantly top up iron levels of the blood as lots of iron is lost in the bleeding. Jobelyn, the Nigerian antioxidant blood rejuvenating formulae, can be helpful. So are the green gifts of Mother Nature for this purpose… the chlorophyll-containing Spirulina, Chlorella, Wheatgrass, Barleygrass, Alfalfa and, of course, liquid chlorophyll. These column often emphasises these greens, based especially on the work of four researchers who won the Nobel Prize for showing that the chlorophyll in green plants and the heamoglobin or red pigments of the human blood have the same structure except for their central binding atoms. This structure is carbon-Hydrogen-Nitrogen-Oxygen.

In chlorophyII, magnesium holds them together, in heamoglobin, iron does. Thus, when we take green drinks, we supply the bloodstream with raw materials to recharge or renew itself, and the body replaces the Magnesium in ChlorophyII with iron to form heamoglobin. As a result, this column once wrote: LET’S DRINK GREEN, THE EARTH IS NOT GREEN FOR THE FUN OF IT.

There are many hypothesis about what causes endometriosis. This is a condition in which the endometrium grows outside its natural habitat, the lining of the womb. A fertilised egg attaches itself to this lining and grows into a baby. If there is no fertilised egg during the period of menstruation, the womb discards the endometrium and flushes it out with menstrual blood.

Some doctors believe retrograde menstruation is a cause of endometriosis. Retrograde menstruation is incomplete menstrual discharge. They say the menstrual blood not expelled builds up upstream and, one day, causes these troubles. Other doctors believe a flat worm called Faciolopsis causes the havoc. Their hypothesis is that the egg of Faciolopsis often times survive cooking of the animal intestine which we call “Round-about” in  Nigeria. Faciolopsis lives in the intestine of animals. If a person is unlucky to consume the eggs and they survive his or her digestive system, they may find their way into any tissue via the blood circulation. A Faciolopsis may travel from the uterus to the fallopian tube, dragging endometrial cells along into the abdominal cavity where endometriosis can develop, or anywhere else in the body, becoming most troublesome during the peak of menstruation when estrogen charges it with power. In the uterus and in the vagina, they cause excessive bleeding.

In the heat of her many troubles, our friend, Mrs. Grace Gratitude Miracle was bleeding severely from the vagina. I advised she see her gyneacologist. A scan discovered that the endometrial plate was about 36mm thick against a normal of about 3.5mm. Everyone around her was alarmed. Could this be a cancer in the works? One of her friends gave her Longrich brand menstrual pads which were “heavy duty” absorbents, absorbing about twice the capacity of most conventional menstrual pads. In addition, she was given Longrich panty liners.

Both pads are designed to kill germs, oxygenate the vagina and uterus, freshening them up thereby resolving, as the producers claim, and resolve even some questions in the fallopian tubes. This woman fought bravely. From abroad, she got the anti-cancer Zeolite and Graviola leaf, stem and bark powder. She took her greens faithfully. Used five pads every day to take the blood. Her iron and potassium blood levels went down. Vitamin K, either pharmaceutical preparations or in the greens, did not appear to help. But we cannot rule out various contributions they would have made towards the resolution of this problem.

On a hunch, I suggested sensitive plant, also called Touch-Me-Not Plant. It is an astringent for stopping bleeding among its other various uses. I cannot say with certainty that this plant resolved the naughty question. But I can say with certainty that, before she went to hospital, the bleeding had long ceased, and that the doctors found nothing wrong with her uterus, vagina, cervix or ovaries. In fact, a new scan showed that the endometrial plate had settled from about 36mm to about 3.6mm against a ceiling normal of 3.5mm.

The surgery extracted four large growths from the stomach and intestine and from the abdominal cavity. She told me each was about the size of a medium-sized watermelon fruit. Before we move on to consider at least one of the embarrassing situations for men in the other room, I would like to present the Touch-Me-Not herb as the herb of the week.

 

Touch me not

The signature tune of a medicinal plant reveals its healing secret or power. The plant we call “sensitive plant” or Touch-me-not is an astringent herb. Astringent means it tightens up or closes up. When I was a boy, children of my age played with this plant. We thought of it as a woman and sang in Yoruba: pa’tan re mo, oko re mbo. This means “close your lap, your husband is coming” the leaves of this plant respond to stimuli by folding. In Yoruba herbal practice, closing of the lap suggests that the herb will tighten the vagina and prevent bleeding there from.

The website www.wildturmeric.net/2015/08 mimosa, pudica shows this herb is well recognised in many cultures. It says: Mimosa pudica, also called Touch-me-not plant/sensitive plant in English, is called Thotta chinnugi in Tamil and Lajanu in Hindi. The plant is covered in thorns with beautiful pink flowers and small green leaves droop when touched. It is a plant that is found commonly in many countries and here in our farm it grows in abundance. It is considered a weed and can be commonly found in waste lands. I used to be fascinated with Touch-me-not plant when I was younger and more so now after knowing about its wonderful uses.

When I was a kid, I used to love touching the leaves and watch it close, and I used to keep on looking for it open again. I have never thought much of the medicinal value of the plant when I was growing up. Few years back, one of our farm workers was collecting the plant from the farm, and when I inquired about it, she replied that she was collecting it for treating diarrhea. It was the first time I heard about the medicinal use of Touch-me-not plant. The more I came to know of its wonderful uses and benefits, my fascination and respect for this plant has now grown over the years. It has been used for piles, dysentery, as a poultice and for treating wounds. Since it is a very popular plant, extensive studies have been done on the plant scientifically, proving many of the remedies it is used in. The last time we had rains, many of Mimosa Pudica plants in the farm had beautiful pink flowers, and I happily pictured them. I have tried my best to compile all the medicinal uses of Mimosa Pudica that have been scientifically proven below.”

The website summarises them as “Ten Amazing benefits and medicinal uses of Mimosa Pudica/Touch-me-not plant/sensitive plant”. These include wound healing, anti-venom, piles, ulcers, diarrhea, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, liver protecting, anti-microbial, anti-fungal and anti-viral. There is one serious contra-indication, though. It is anti-fertility. Thus, a woman who would like to become pregnant should avoid taking it.

I will report a few of the 10 benefits, in the words of the website. In respect of wound healing, it says:

“Traditionally, the leaf extract made by grinding the leaves with little water and extracting the juice is used for treating wounds. This remedy has been found proven scientifically now! For the body, both methanolic and water extract were used in three different concentrations (0.5%, 1% and 2%) in a basic ointment base. The ointment contains 2% of both methanolic and water extract showed significant wound healing activity.”

This may make it good for the peptic ulcer and vagina ulcerations from vaginosis (bacterial infections) which may make the other room nightmarish for women.

As an ulcer remedy, the website says:

“Another very important study on Mimosa Pudica was its effect on ulcers. The study done on rats with artificially-induced ulcers proved that 100mg of ethanol extract very effectively reduced the ulcer”.

Because it is astringent, this herb is reported to help piles. Many women, perhaps more women than men, suffer from piles. An astringent remedy causes nerves to contract. The contraction makes the muscles they control to also contract. Contraction of nerves and muscles close apertures, thereby reducing the possibility of leakage, of bleeding or of excessive bleeding. In extruded piles, the contraction of nerves and muscles should cause a correction of the prolapsed veins. About piles and sensitive plant, the website says:

“Mimosa Pudica is very good for treating bleeding piles and has been used as a remedy for many, many years. For the remedy, crush the leaves into a fine paste and apply as a poultice, it would greatly ease the burning and bleeding. This is due to its amazing wound-healing properties.”

Another website, www.beautyandgroomingtips.com, corroborates these healing properties and offers more, including the stoppage of excessive uterus bleeding, cure for Herpes Zoaster a Viral infection, for which Red Marine Algae is also a good antidote, and, among other conditions still, uterine prolapse. Uterine prolapse occurrence is growing in number among the younger generation of Nigerian women. The uterus exists in the pelvis region as the abode of the fetus which, in nine months, would be born as a bouncing baby to the delight of its parents, the mother in particulars.  The uterus is held in place by muscles and ligaments which need to be well nurtured in the years before and during childbearing, and after. Pregnancy is a heavy load which stretches or overstretches these muscles and ligaments. The diet of most women today is poor, nutritionally speaking.

So, the uterine muscles and ligaments become weakened before their term. There are four stages of uterine prolapse which, in activities of the other room, can be embarrassing to both men and women. Men are not as physically strong as women. Which man would want to cut a pathway through a thicket and would not flee if, as he cuts it open this minute, the bush regrows the next, as if magically?

The website www.emdicinehealth.com explains the four stages of uterine prolapse: “(in the first degree), the cervix descends downward into the vagina. Second degree… the cervix comes down to the opening of the vagina. Third degree… the cervix is out of the vagina. The fourth degree… the entire uterus is outside the vagina. This condition is also called procidential this is caused by weakness in all of the supporting ligaments.“

Which man can stand this? Women who wish to use sensitive plant to support their uterine muscles and ligaments should beware that, like Balsam pear (ejinrin, Yoruba) it is anti-fertility. Apologies men, that women took all the time. It would soon be time to talk about low sperm count, erectile dysfunction and Peyronies, that condition in which the penis may curve like a bow, an embarrassing view in the bedroom.