Men’s Health

Marc Bonnard, M.D., Healing Arts Press, 1999

(Dr. Bonnard devoted two and half pages discussing NuMAN, now known as BetterMAN®. This book is available at 800-246-8648.)

The Complete Guide to Overcoming Erectile Dysfunction Naturally- NuMAN is the name of an herbal product introduced to the U.S. market in May 1998, but its formula has been used for more than fifty years in China. Peipei Wu Wishnow, Ph.D., founder of Interceuticals of Marblehead, Massachusetts, initiated the sale of NuMAN in this country. A research scientist, Wu Wishnow was born in China where she learned to prepare traditional remedies.

NuMAN consists of eighteen pure, natural Chinese herbs. These nonprescription capsules are based on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theories. The practice of this type of medicine began about 5,000 years ago in the Sheng Nung period in China. The TCM approach considers the body a whole entity, with each part inseparable from another. The pills are manufactured in China under Good Manufacturing Practice conditions and sold in the United States in health food stores, pharmacies, or by mail order.

In NuMAN, two active herbs are Wu Wei Zi, a dried fruit, and Yin Yang Huo, a dried plant. The first has a protective effect on the liver and may improve mental functions and antagonize the central convulsive effects of caffeine. It also has a direct stimulating effect on the respiratory center and has a potent sperm-stimulating effect. The second herb, Yin Yang Huo, works primarily on the cardiovascular system. It lowers blood pressure and is reputed to have a sexually stimulating effect on males. It can stimulate development of the prostate, testes, and anus rector muscle. Both herbs are considered relatively nontoxic. Some patients may experience some gastrointestinal disturbances, such as nausea and vomiting, or occasional dryness of the mouth. NuMAN is recommended primarily for men older than forty.

Forty-five New England men recently took part in a marketing survey after taking three twenty-day cycles of the capsules; each cycle was followed by three days without the pills. Forty-five percent of the participants were between forty-one and fifty years of age; five percent were older than seventy-one. Seven parameters were measured: erection length; overall sex life satisfaction; partial or full erections when stimulated; ejaculations occurring at appropriate time; firmness of erections for intercourse; level of sex drive; and felt sex drive.

The results of this survey were thoroughly positive. Seventy percent of the participants stated that the supplement improved either their sexual or urinary functions. Sixty percent said NuMAN improved their sexual functions, and 25 percent, only their urinary functions. Fifty-eight percent said their erections lasted as long as they wished, and 54 percent expressed an overall satisfaction with their sex life. Ninety percent expressed the intention to keep taking the product. No one reported any ill side effects.

A recent survey in China of the product showed that among five thousand men who took the capsules, 95 percent experienced varying degrees of improvement in sexual performance; 75 percent reported high satisfaction. In a small survey of fifty-six, 85 percent reported improvement in urination patterns. No unpleasant side effects have ever been noted in China after fifty years of the productÍs use. Ongoing human and animal studies are being performed, although no additional results are yet available. The U.S. study is important because a product that works for Chinese men does not necessarily work for American or European men due to variations in lifestyle, diet, and weight.

The recommended dosage in one 0.9g capsule taken twice a day, before breakfast and following dinner, for twenty days, followed by a three-day break. Results are cumulative and usually require more than one cycle. For best results, men should repeat three consecutive cycles. After this, one cycle per month should be followed by a ten-day break.