Horny goat weed is a name that will surely stick. I doubt anyone can forget this name easily. You might have seen pouches of it on the shelves of local bodega or gas station and thought to yourself – what could this be? Well, you finally have an answer to your question. This is a kind of herb but its one you definitely don’t want to smoke. It comes in bottles and pills and can be found on the shelves of vitamin stores. This herb has been in the market here in the US for decades and is often used as an aphrodisiac but did you know this can be one of the herbs for kidney disease that can help you deal with some unwanted side effects from dialysis.
Name Origin
This origin and history of this herb goes way back. As a matter of fact, it dates back to the 420-589 when the Chinese called it that in herbal supplement guides during their Southern and Northern dynasties.
There is a legend on this herb that claims that a Physician called Tao Hongjing started studying the herb after he was informed by a goat herder that it made the male goats overly active sexually. He observed the reaction each time his goats or sheep fed on that particular patch of grass. It made them a lot more excited thus making them have intercourse many more times than they normally would. This inspired the name he gave to it which was “Yin Yang Huo” which invariably translates to “licentious goat plant”
Licentious connotes promiscuous with no sexual manners – what we refer to as horny. When the American supplement companies harnessed this and tried to market it, they went with “Horny Goat Weed”, a name we would never forget.
What Does It Do?
The fact that it is usually placed next to the male enhancement pills coupled with the uncommon name given to it would naturally imply that it has one function. After the herder brought it to the attention of Tao Hongjing, he started prescribing it as a solution to patients with erectile dysfunction and he witnessed tremendous success.
An extract of the horny goat called Epimedium was used in a study on rats to ascertain how much credibility it has in its traditional use for erectile dysfunction and the result was published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology. Their conclusion was that there was enhanced sexual activity among the rats that the used the extract on.
Research by the University of Michigan Medical school notes that patients who had kidney failure and were being treated with kidney dialysis had an enhanced sex drive after taking the horny goat weed, making it a great herb for kidney disease. The major problem with this supplement is that it is yet to be proven to be safe because it is not regulated by the FDA and as such, isn’t really available for sale. That said, the claims on the label don’t have to be approved by the FDA so you may not be sure of the quantities of each component in the supplement. Similar to the growing weed strains, there are many different species of epimedium while most of them can and would improve your sex drive; some of them have other health benefits.
The horny goat weed is often assumed to be a supplement for men however; the sex drive of females too can be enhanced. It increases the libido and there is a preclinical proof that one of the extracts of this plant known as Icariin can help manage the loss of bone from osteoporosis and other menopause symptoms.
Final Hit: What Is Horny Goat Weed?
In summary, it is an unregulated eastern medicine that can help treat sexual problems, liver disease, heart disease, joint pain, bronchitis, osteoporosis and several other health complications. You don’t need this medicine if you don’t have any of the aforementioned health conditions. The fact that it has weed in the name doesn’t mean it is actually weed. If you thought this is something that can help you get high, don’t bother; this isn’t one of those things. Stick to what you know already.
