What is Spanish Fly?
Bill Cosby may have made Spanish fly back in the media, but this catch-all term to describe back-of-the-magazine aphrodisiacs never went anywhere.
Several love potions and aphrodisiacs with this name have been on the market for decades. A few drops of Spanish Fly are enough to make women feel in love and provide men with the kind of raging erections that would make any porn star blush.
Most Spanish fly products are little more than water, sugar, or empty promises. Although the ingredient Spanish fly is quite potent, it is not as potent as you might think.
From where did it come?
True Spanish fly is made of blister beetles, specifically cantharidin, the substance they produce. It isn’t for nothing that the insect’s name means something. Skin contact with cantharidin causes blisters.
Its history dates back a long time, and many of its most famous fans include:
- A Roman empress used cantharidin as a way to incite sexual behavior that was worthy of blackmailing her families
- Roman gladiators used it for their orgies
- It was used by queens to spice up the lives of their kings and their mistresses.
The dried beetles could be crushed and mixed with sweets or drinks — sometimes without the receiver’s knowledge — and eaten to increase warmth and swelling in the genitals. These warm fuzzy feelings are not due to attraction but inflammation.
Can I still buy it?
Although Spanish fly products are available online and in sex shops, they do not contain cantharidin. Even the ones that claim to be “original Spanish fly” are made from ingredients found in many other products, such as ginseng and ginkgo Biloba.
Although the Food and Drug Administration has not approved cantharidin for any use, researchers are still studying its effects on certain conditions such as warts, Molluscum contagiosum and cancers.
What about those products that are sold as Spanish flies with no cantharidin? FDA does not recognize over-the-counter aphrodisiac drugs as safe or effective.
Is there a better alternative?
There is not enough evidence to support the use of aphrodisiac drugs despite their bold claims and flashy advertisements. They are ineffective at best and could be contaminated or deadly at worst.
But don’t despair. There are ways to increase your libido and improve sexual performance. These things can be done without spending money or risking your health.
Do more exercise
You can do sex. Unlike the Spanish fly, exercise has been shown to increase sexual arousal and improve sexual performance in both men and women. A 2018 study found that women who exercise regularly experience greater sexual satisfaction and arousal.
Many studies also link exercise to lower impotence risk, better erections and improved sexual function in young and older men.
How does exercise achieve all this? It all boils down to how it is associated with:
- Increased blood flow
- Higher stamina, energy and endurance
- Boosted confidence
- Better mood and lower stress levels
- The release of endorphins
- Increased genital response
Enjoy some sun
Summer fever and spring fever are not for nothing. Sunshine really can make you feel frisky!
Evidence shows that 30 minutes of sunshine can increase testosterone in men with low levels of sexual desire and cause a threefold increase in sexual satisfaction.
Sunshine makes us happy because it increases vitamin D levels. Vitamin D helps regulate mood-related hormones and plays a role in arousals such as serotonin (dopamine), adrenaline, noradrenaline, and dopamine.
Wearing fewer clothes when it’s hot outside naturally leads to more people thinking about sex, resulting in more sexual desire.
