Gone off sex?
Natural remedies can help

With 40 years' experience as a naturopath, osteopath and acupuncturist, Michael van Straten answers your health worries.

If you'd rather have a cup of tea than a night of passion, don't worry - nature may have the answer. Over the centuries honey, asparagus, figs, bananas, leeks, caviar, mushrooms, herbs and hot spices have been regarded as aphrodisiacs. Chocolate also works, as it contains theobromine that makes you feel happy and romantic. Zinc, selenium, chromium, vitamins A, B, C and E are all important for sexual function too, so make sure you're eating lots of wheatgerm, oats, sesame and pumpkin seeds - all good for your libido.

Tried and tested

There are hundreds of products, potions, nibbles and pills on the market which claim to boost your sex drive. We put a few to the test.

Horny goat weed
Tested by: Rosie, 24, a hairdresser from Grantham.
My boyfriend and I got engaged recently and are really in love, but sometimes I'm on my feet for 18 hours a day, dealing with difficult customers, which can stop me feeling sexy. I've read that horny goat weed is a natural aphrodisiac but, as a hairdresser, I was suspicious as many "natural" and "herbal" hair products are mostly chemicals. I tried it, though. Afer nine weeks my boyfriend has been surprised by how sexy I've become. He says it's all in the mind, but I feel great.
MICHAEL SAYS:
Horny goat weed is an extract of several different members of a plant family growing at high altitudes. It's an ancient Chinese aphrodisiac - like Viagra for both sexes. It stimulates, triggers and increases sexual desire.

Sensual massage oil
Tested by: Tracy, 24, a beauty therapist student from Dagenham.
I met a guy at college that I really fancied, but for some reason he just couldn't turn me on enough to have sex. I decided to try a bottle of Cocoa and Vanilla Sensual Massage Oil. I don't usually like being massaged but "wow" is all I can say! It was the best sex I've ever had, and we're still together.
MICHAEL SAYS:
Many women have problems being touched. Lack of non-sexual physical contact makes appropriate sexual touching hard. Massage can be sensuous without being sexual - combined with the aphrodisiac perfume of chocolate and stress-busting vanilla, it can lead you wherever you want it to.

Passion Sprinkle
Tested by: Katie, 44, a health visitor from Huddersfield, married with grown-up children.
I adore my husband, but last year he went off sex completely. He's had tests for blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes, which can all cause impotence, but they were all clear. When I finally made him talk, he said he was afraid of not performing, so he wouldn't even try. How stupid are men? I got him to take a daily multi-vitamin, made him eat more healthily, and take a daily walk. I also bought him something called Passion Sprinkle, which is supposed to have everything a man needs, and added it to the Greek yogurt he had every morning. I don't know if it was the talking, the walking or the Sprinkle, but things are as good as ever now.
MICHAEL SAYS:
What a wise woman Katie is - getting her man top talk about sex is quite an achievement. The Passion Sprinkle is an inspired idea. It tastes fantastic and is a mixture of cranberries, with almonds, pumpkin seeds, Brazil nuts, peanuts and walnuts. It's a massive source of zinc and selenium, both essential for healthy male sexuality.

Great ideas

Drink this ...
Peel and juice some pineapple, coriander and a quarter of an inch of ginger root. Put lots of ice and ameasure of kirsch into a glass and add the juice. The ginger increases the blood flow to parts other foods don't reach and the aphrodisiac effect is enhanced by coriander, used as a sexual stimulant for 3500 years.

Do this ...
Practising the Alexander Technique can improve you sex life. Chloe Stallibrass, an Alexander teacher, surveyed a group of teachers and students who all noted positive benefits. Men became more attentive lovers and women found it helped them focus on their own needs and relieve the tensions which often interfere with women's orgasms. To find a teacher, see www.stat.org.uk (0845 230 7828).

We tried these ...

I helped myself to good sex!
Joan Martin, 45, from Milton Keynes, didn't realise what she'd missed until she trie a simple stimulator. I never found sex satisfying and only had occasional orgasms. It wasn't a problem until I met my new partner, who's very open about sex. I worried he's think there as something wrong with me. There's so little good sex education - lots of women like me fake orgasms in case their partners think they're a failure. Then I heard about the Vielle Stimulator. It's like the finger of a rubber glove with a raised surface at the tip, and it slips onto your own finger. No batteries, no fuss. I was amazed - it was so easy to give myself an orgasm. Our physical relationship became fantastic!

The old feelings are back
Becoming a mum made Marilyn Hart go off sex completely. Huw and I have lived together for 10 years, enjoying a great sex life. I got pregnant 21 months ago and we had lots of sex until I was too big. I didn't expect to feel sexy immediately after, but six months later the other bew mums were having fun with their husbands while I felt no desire. I was worried by our lack of intimacy and afraid we'd drift apart. Then alocal newspaper article asked for volunteers to try a perfumed patch that increased libido. I signed up, stuck the Scentuelle patch on my wrist every day, and after a week the old feelings were coming back. I feel like a lover again, not just a mother.
MICHAEL SAYS:
Some scents are aphrodisiacs - the Scentuelle patch helps keep your libido active. The perfumes aren't absorbed and only work when inhaled. It's a very subtle scent - no one will tell me what's in it. It did nothing for me, but then, I'm a bloke!