North American Natural Health Products and Sexual Function in Aging Adults

In this chapter, we review and discuss the literature on the use of natural health products for promoting sexual function and healthy aging. Our research has been predominantly drawn from peer-reviewed journal articles, books, online databases, and e-books. We begin by illustrating the growing proportion of elderly people throughout the world, examples of sexual dysfunction in aging adults, and aging adults’ use of natural health products. We then expand on the purported uses of two organisms from each of the five kingdoms of life. After discussing the natural health products, we describe traditional usage, current usage in allopathic medicine, potential bioactive compounds, the physiological mechanisms by which these compounds act, and a conclusion about efficacy. Lastly, we discuss implications for future research directions.