I know you’re not Doctor Ruth, or even an endocrinologist, but can you tell me why men get less horny as they get older? I’m 35 and don’t seem to want to boink anywhere near as much as I used to five or ten years ago. Is there some nutritional or chemical substance that can rectify this, such as the much-heralded bee pollen? –J. Hiller, Chicago
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Anyway. Despite considerable research, nobody really understands why men gradually lose their sex drive. Most males reach their sexual peak at age 17 or 18, and it’s a long, slow slide thereafter, becoming particularly noticeable after the age of 30. It’s not uncommon for an 18-year-old male to be able to achieve orgasm four to eight times in a 24-hour period, whereas most 30-year-olds are happy if they manage once.
Over the years an amazing array of substances have been proposed as aphrodisiacs. The only ones that really do anything are what we might call quasi aphrodisiacs, notably booze and drugs, which do not increase desire so much as they reduce inhibitions. Some drugs also enhance sex once the show is under way. Amyl nitrate, aka “poppers,” is said to intensify and prolong orgasm when inhaled at the point of climax. Amphetamines can produce prolonged erection and multiple orgasm in men, although women usually experience negative effects.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): illustration/Slug Signorino.
