Wu Wishnow Introduces

Natural Viagra

By Susie Davidson

CORRESPONDENT

The anti-impotence drug Viagra hit the market in a blaze of hype and glory this past April, garnering 30,000 prescriptions in the first week and 350,000 by month’s end. Originally prescribed to mitigate chest pain in heart patients, this panacea sold for $7-$10 per pill and reaped a cool $78 mil in sales in its initial 48 hours alone. The exorbitant cost and annoying side effects (mainly indigestion and vision blurring), however, not to mention 130 deaths which occurred subsequent to its usage, soon mellowed the fervor. Within its legions and among more naturally-oriented consumers, alternative anti-impotence options began to elicit closer examination.

Many have actually been around for a long time. Herbs associated with enhanced sexual function often include damiana, used in the U.S. since 1874, gingko biloba, Korean red ginseng, and yohimbe. Multi-formulations include Herbal V, Nature's Rx and Eros (which contains yohimbe, ginseng, vitamin E, DHEA, zinc and other components) and tend to tout a whole-body benefit. For example, Nature's Sunshine of Spanish Fork, Utah's Men's X-Action (muira puama stem concentrate and yohimbe bark), "in an herbal base providing nutritional factors valuable to men, contains a synergistic herbal combination that enhances male performance, energy, activity and vitality levels, while supporting male reproductive health, including prostate function."

Claiming to be more effective than yohimbe and far safer than the big V is NuMAN, a multi-(Chinese) herbal product marketed by PeiPei Wu Wishnow's Interceuticals, Inc. of Marblehead. Launched also in April to coincide with Viagra’s release, NuMAN combines 18 herbs to treat both impotence and urinary frequency issues.

Both Wu Wishnow and her company boast impressive portfolios. Holding a Ph.D. in biology from CUNY, Wu Wishnow is a 3rd generation Chinese medical professional. Her parents are Western-schooled physicians; her grandfather was an herbalist and acupuncturist who narrowly escaped persecution during the Communist Party takeover. She has conducted 10 years of research at MIT and CalTech, as well as for the pharmaceutical industry. NuMAN has received prime coverage in media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, ABC/WLS Chicago, New England Cable News, the Chicago Sun-Times, Boston Globe and Boston Business Journal (an NBC Dateline feature is upcoming).

"NuMAN is a proprietary herbal supplement," states Wu Wishnow, "which is specifically formulated for men's sexual and urinary health. It has been successfully tested in China for over 50 years." True to the 5000 year old field of Chinese medicine from which it derives, NuMAN is based upon a whole-body premise and embodies a synergistically balanced, multiple herb formulation. NuMAN, according to Wu Wishnow, "acts by bringing the body's comprehensive bio-system into balance".

In a four month study of 45 American men aged 44 to 71, modeled after Harvard Medical School's inventory list measuring male sexual functions, 70% of the participants reported improved sexual performance and decreased urinary frequency, and at its end, 90% elected to continue with the supplement. Among 5000 men in China, 75% reported satisfactory results. No men in either study reported any adverse side effects.

Impotence, one type of sexual dysfunction basically resulting from a lack of blood flow to the penis, can be caused and/or compounded by myriad physical factors. Among these are atherosclerosis, athletic injuries, smoking, prostate cancer treatments and diabetes. Also, many medications commonly prescribed for heart ailments, high cholesterol, fluid retention, allergies, anxiety, depression and other conditions can be culprits.

The approaches by which Viagra and NuMAN strive to correct impotence markedly differ. Nitric oxide, a neurochemical secreted by penile nerves, triggers cyclic GMP, which induces relaxed penile blood flow. Viagra works by blocking PDE-5, a third chemical which destroys cGMP [as cGMP levels decrease]. NuMAN's effect, says Wu Wishnow, "is more gradual, systematic, and long-lasting. Men will be able to perform spontaneously again." Designed to be taken in three on/off pill 23 day cycles, the course culminates in a 20-on and 10-off 30-day maintenance regimen. Another HMS questionnaire by which NuMAN consumers can determine and measure their progress comes with the product, which retails for about $40 per one-cycle bottle. NuMAN is locally available at many pharmacies and health food stores such as Bailey's Pharmacy, Johnson Drugs, Harnett's, Cambridge Naturals, Bread and Circus and Nature's Heartland.

How does NuMAN work? "Theoretically," explains Wu Wishnow, "it works on several levels.” The supplement modulates muscle functioning, neurological reaction, and male hormonal levels, all by natural means. “It serves”, Wu Wishnow says, "in Traditional Chinese Medicine terms, to strengthen the yang as it nourishes the ying." Background information can be obtained at www.numan98.com.

While Viagra may be legally prescribed for women, most physicians have chosen to cautiously await definitive data from ongoing studies. The New York Times Women's Health Section of June 21, 1998 reports that for indeterminate reasons, it remains more socially acceptable to study psychological rather than physiological factors regarding women's sexual response. Thus, a lack of understanding persists within a women's clinical trial arena. With regard to NuMAN, "a similar product for women is being developed," according to Wu Wishnow.

In our culture, herbal alternatives to conventional medicine seem to finally be receiving serious examination. Products like NuMAN may well launch a new era of respectable cohabitation among Western and Eastern approaches to healing our ailments, from the most public to the exceedingly intimate.