We've been having a love affair with Schisandra for some time now, ever heard of her?
One of the most revered anti-ageing herbs of the Taoist tonic system, Schisandra enters into all five major organs and twelve meridians, promoting radiance from within. Another one of the amazing benefits include its ability to enhance one's sexual function by:
- Getting you in the mood by supporting the nervous system
- Supporting erectile function
- Enhancing physical endurance, sensation and sensitivity
- Improving Water Qi to the sexual organs
- Supports sperm and egg quality
- Supports hormone regulation and ovulation
1. No Stress in the Bedroom
Most of us know that the number one killer of a rad s*x life is stress, and our HPA-axis has a lot to explain for this. When we feel stressed (either consciously or not) this has a cascading affect on our Central Nervous System (CNS) which in turn can impact a multitude of different hormones in the body that can impact your libido and sexual function. As a powerful adaptogenic herb, Schisandra can support stress adaptation and regulate our nervous system.
2. Get It Up
Schisandra offers great assistance to those suffering impotence and erectile dysfunction via its ability to dilate the blood vessels, thus helping men achieve erections and sustain them. We have an awesome podcast on male's sexual health (but ladies, tune in too, it's a goodie.) As a side note: our Deer Antler can also help with sexual energies and libido, ashwagandha is also super potent for men and their sexual performance.
3. Staying the Distance
Schisandra was used by hunters and nomads to improve endurance and reduce fatigue - aka to increase stamina and power. The Russian Army fed their soldiers a combination of schisandra, eleuthero and rhodiola to improve their resilience and performance, and Russian pilots took schisandra to enable them to withstand crazy altitudes. While it’s unlikely you’ll be having to hike for days on end through Siberia and Afghanistan, or fly high in the sky, maybe you can use your schisandra-stamina for having fun in the bedroom!
As an adaptogenic herb, Schisandra can help to improve endurance and stamina, whilst reducing fatigue. In Chinese Medicine, Schisandra is used to treat Premature Ejaculation. It is also known to increase warmth, sensation and sensitivity in female genital organs.
4. Get Those Waters Flowing
At different times in their cycle, postpartum and around menopause, women can experience vaginal dryness that inhibits their sexual function. Schisandra directly helps to reduce vaginal dryness by increasing the “Water Qi” in the sexual organs. Tune into our podcast episode with Kim Anami on Life-Changing Sex for more vaginal explorations. Schisandra's astringent action conserves sexual fluids until the appropriate time for release. (It does the same for men, too, by keeping their sperm free and floating in a sea of perfect sperm juice).
5. Improves Sperm and Egg Quality
Schisandra berries are high in antioxidants, which have been shown to help increase sperm motility and morphology, ejaculate volume, and sperm concentration as well as DNA integrity. Antioxidant intake is equally as important for women, as they help to protect a fertility egg from free radical damage as well as prevent premature ageing and dying.
6. The O Word - Oestrogen
The primary active constituents in schisandra are lignans. Lignans are a type of phytoestrogen that are found in a variety of plant foods. Bacteria in the human intestines convert lignans to lignan precursors which are known to have weak, but beneficial estrogenic activity within the body. These lignan precursors and the plant’s fibre attach to excess estrogen so it can be removed via the body’s systems of elimination. Basically the more toxic estrogens that are removed, the more balanced your sex hormones, and the more chance you have of your libido soaring! If you want to explore more about hormones and living long and vibrantly, check out this podcast episode 'Female Hormones', you're going to love it.
7. Ovulation Station
Schisandra is traditionally thought to be an ovulation inducer. This is most likely because Schisandra supports the HPA axis, which as we spoke about earlier, can support hormonal balance, which in this case would improve the most important hormones associated with fertility, and ovulation - Luteinizing hormone (LH); Follicule-Stimulating Hormone (FSH), and Oestrogen. The hormones that increase during the fertile window (just before ovulation) create a sexual boost. Good to know, right?
The standard Taoist prescription for schisandra is to take approx. 1 tsp every single day for three months and see what happens.
