Headline Health News
C-A-P-S-U-L-E-S
By Laura Flynn McCarthy
 "Herbal Viagras" – supplements that claim to help erectile dysfunction – just keep coming. "It seems like there’s a new one every three months. They sell for a while, until people discover they don’t really work, and then they just disappear," says Ira Sharlip, MD, of the American Urological Association.
But now there’s one that could be an exception: Called BetterMan, it contains 18 Chinese herbs and has been used in China for more than 50 years. The manufacturer claims that men who take the pill twice a day for 60 days (at $1 per pill) can have erections when they want them, not just an hour after taking the pill, as is the case with Viagra.
 At the University of California in San Francisco, doctors successfully tested the formula in rats. The animals were put on a high-cholesterol diet – thought to contribute to impotence in men – and all became impotent. But those given BetterMan regained the ability to have erections. One possible explanation: The herbs may improve circulation,counteracting cholesterol’s clogging effects, and that makes erections more likely. Sounds promising, but doctors urge caution. "This is one preliminary study and people aren’t rats," says Dr. Sharlip. "Until there’s a lot more evidence and until it has been tested in people for side effects I donÍt think anyone should take this or other herbal mixes for erectile dysfunction."
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