Science defines erectile dysfunction as the inability to achieve a sufficiently rigid erection for sexual intercourse. Any man who has struggled with this condition knows that its effects go far beyond the scientific definition. Given E.D.'s impact on men's lives, potential solutions, such as MicroNutra(TM) Health's Provigro

Physical Contributions to E.D.:

Physically, E.D. is an issue of blood flow, and blood flow can be disrupted or reduced by such E.D.-causing ailments as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, spine or nerve injuries, smoking, excessive alcohol use, being overweight, and many other common conditions of modern life. Because blood is primarily what engorges the penis to achieve and maintain an erection, improving blood flow is essential in treating erectile dysfunction.

Nitric oxide (N.O.), a gas, plays a crucial role in your body's blood flow because it relaxes the minute muscles in the walls of your arteries, which then allows blood to pass easily through. Without supplements, N.O. appears in your body because as you breathe it's released in tiny puffs from the cells that line your blood vessels. Orally ingested herbal supplements and drugs can also be effective in increasing your body's nitric oxide. Viagra, for example, is a nitric-oxide based drug.

Provigro's ingredient list includes a combination of the amino acid L-Arginine and the herbs Maca and Barrenwort, intended to improve your body's creation of nitric oxide. L-arginine is the main actor here. (Maca's role is to enhance the effectiveness of the L-Arginine, and Barrenwort is an herb shown to have nitric-oxide-creating properties in animals.) L-Arginine has received an extraordinary amount of positive press during the past decade, since its nitric-oxide-producing properties were validated by the 1998 Nobel Prize in Medicine. L-Arginine was nicknamed the "miracle molecule" by scientists in that research arena. An array of controlled scientific experiments have attributed positive clinical benefits to L-Arginine, ranging from controlling infections and regulating blood pressure to fighting bacteria and improving long-term memory. More relevant to Provigro, however, is the fact that oral ingestion of L-Arginine has been confirmed as an increaser of nitric oxide in our bodies.

Therefore, MicroNutra Health does have scientific evidence to back their claim that the ingredients in their product could help with the physical elements of erectile dysfunction.

1. Maca helps L-Arginine work.
2. L-Arginine (and Barrenwort) increase your body's creation of Nitric Oxide.
3. Nitric Oxide allows blood to flow more easily through your arteries.
4. A surge of blood flow into the arteries of your penis causes an erection.

Psychological Contributions to E.D.:

You may have heard that the brain is the most important sex organ. This is true, in that the brain controls both the emotional and the physical aspects of sex, from desire to blood flow.

MicroNutra Health acknowledges the role of the brain in treating erectile dysfunction and includes three herbal ingredients intended to affect your mental state. These are Velvet Bean, Tongkat Ali, and Panax Ginseng. As a rule, herbal supplements are not as scientifically researched (particularly on humans) as pharmaceutical products. Some would argue that thousands of years of use among Eastern cultures creates more reliable "research" than do Western laboratories, but in the West, we tend to rely on double-blind, large-participant, controlled experiments. The herbs in Provigro do not have that kind of evidence to support their efficacy, as very few herbs do.

However, for those interested in more anecdotal evidence, Velvet Bean, which has been acclaimed as an aphrodisiac for centuries, is believed to increase the Human Growth Hormone (HGH) that supports healthy testosterone levels. Tongkat Ali and Panax Ginseng are ancient medicines for treating sexual dysfunctions in Indonesia and Malaysia. MicroNutra claims that studies at Malaysian Universities and the University of Science--Malaysia confirm the enhancing sexual characteristics of Tongkat Ali and Panax Ginseng.

In general, there is more scientific evidence to support MicroNatura Health's claims regarding Provigro's treatment of the physical, rather than the psychological, aspects of E.D. However, MicroNutra Health is making no claims for the product that are outside the normal realm of what herbalist agree Provigro's herbs will do for you. You must decide for yourself whether herbalists' claims are convincing for you.

Conclusion

As cautioned above, and acknowledged by MicroNutra Health on their Provigro Web site, the effectiveness of the individual Provigro ingredients is not the same as the effectiveness of the supplement as a whole. Two products with similar ingredients can differ substantially in effectiveness, and the wrong blend can be entirely ineffective or, worse, dangerous.

Therefore, because no herbal supplement manufacturer is going to make public their proprietary formula, there's no way for a potential customer (or reviewer) to know for certain that the product offers the ideal formulation.

For Provigro, we know that MicroNutra Health has been providing herbal supplements for more than 30 years. The company claims that every product manufactured for MicroNutra Health is done so in an FDA-approved facility under "Good Manufacturing Practices" guidelines, and the company provides numerous testimonials from former E.D. sufferers who represent a variety of backgrounds and conditions. The testimonials include names and pictures, which is considered a good sign in testimonials (particularly for a product some men might feel shy about being associated with). However Provigro testimonials do not include contact information (which is the testimonial world's "gold standard" because with public contact information, you could independently question the reviewers for their full opinions).

Based on the ingredients, it does seem that Provigro may be able to combat erectile dysfunction in the ways that it claims. It does include well-tested ingredients that improve the physical causes of E.D., as well as several herbs to address the psychological causes. If you choose to try Provigro as a potential solution to your Erectile Dysfunction, remember that this product, like any drug or supplement, is best used with a healthy and responsible lifestyle. See your doctor to be sure that you're also addressing any underlying factors contributing to erectile dysfunction.

About the Author

To learn more about Provigro and erectile dysfunction, you can visit my Provigro web site at Provigro Review.com.