Viadrene Review

This Viagra wannabe is another top selling "male enhancement" supplement, but as we'll see in the review below, many of its manufacturing practices are questionable at best.  Of course, the corporate web site promises the world: "harder, firmer erections every time," "stronger sex drive," "more sensitivity" and the one I object to most - "absolutely no side effects." 

I'm not sure how people can make claims like this and sleep at night, but that's another story I guess.  If pure testosterone and/or supercharged Viagra and Cialis do not always work, does anyone really believe these extravagant claims?

To Viadrene's credit, they do list the primary ingredients in their product: "Ashwagandha, Avena Sativa, Epimedium, Muira Puama, Shisandra Root, Yohimbe, L-Citrulline and L-Arginine."  However, what good is this list without dosages?  Some of these compounds and herbs are legitimate erection boosters, but only if enough is added.  So why not just buy them separately at a much cheaper price?  Plus, some of these can be potentially dangerous if too much of the product is added. 

Do you know the foods and drinks that increase erection-boosting Nitric Oxide? Check out the Peak Erectile Strength Diet where I show you how to dramatically and naturally improve your erectile strength.

Again, I can think of no good reason not to include the dosage and a hundred bad reasons. And this is especially true for a relatively expensive supplement that will run you about $60 for a one month supply. If you're going to spend that kind of money, don't they owe you at least the most basic of information so that you know what you are ingesting.

Here are a few other big negatives of Viadrene to consider:

1.  Yohimbe. This is a questionably safe long term product for middle-aged males due to its effects on blood pressure. A large percentage of middle-aged and beyond men have pre-hypertension and hypertension and a study has shown that yohimbe can raise their blood pressure even further. [1] Increased blood pressure is a big risk for erectile dysfunction, as I show in my link on High Blood Pressure and Erectile Dysfunction, and so yohimbe may provide short term gains for long term chronic issues.

Yohimbe also raises stress hormones in some men, [1] again a likely negative in the long term, and can make men feel jittery and light-headed. Is that really how you want to solve your erectile dysfunction? In addition, a man can become resistant to yohimbe and thus require more and more to achieve the same effect.

2. L-Arginine Dosage. Several studies have shown that L-Arginine is debatably effective with middle-aged male erectile dysfunction and the reason is that this pathway is impaired as we age. L-Arginine was added in small dosages to the Pycnogenol study to make sure there was adequate substrate for nitric oxide increase. However, the danger is that they might add too much L-Arginine to the product.

One study showed that too much L-Arginine increased cardiac events in heart attack survivors patients and the study was actually cut short for that reason. [2] In other words, too much L-Arginine may actually be dangerous. It also may increase the risk of cancer and superbug overgrowth. See my link on Basic L-Arginine Information for more details.

3. Shisandra Root. Is this safe? Shisandra Chinesis has a long term history of use in Chinese Medicine and has even been used as a food. However, there is one under-studied concern: it has a mild phytoestrogenic effect. [3] This mild estrogenic quality is probably good: as I mention in my link The Dangers of Low Estrogen, some of this "female hormone" is beneficial for men as it relaxes arteries and will allow more blood to flow into the penis.

Of course, Shisandra has many good properties, including liver protection and a high antioxidant capacity. It reminds me of soy, which has many pro-erection properties, but it is poorly understood.  In the meantime, it should probably be tabled for men until additional studies can be completed and we gain a better understand of these phytoestrogens on male physiology.

REFERENCES:

1)  Am J Hypertens, 1995, 8, 565–571; "Yohimbine effects on blood pressure and plasma catecholamines in human hypertension"

2) JAMA, 2006 Jan 4, 295(1):58-64, "L-arginine therapy in acute myocardial infarction: the Vascular Interaction With Age in Myocardial Infarction (VINTAGE MI) randomized clinical trial"

3) http://www.raysahelian.com/schizandra.html, Biol Pharm Bull. 2004, "Extracts from Schizandra chinensis fruit activate estrogen receptors: a possible clue to its effects on nitric oxide-mediated vasorelaxation"