VitaBlog The Vitacost Blog: Views and News on Vitamins, Supplements and Herbs

Do Not Read This Post!

If you read this post in December, you would have been eligible to receive an extra 5% off your total order.

This offer has ended.

Thank you for reading VitaBlog, Happy New Year!

Spice Up Your Holiday Cheer With Muira Puama

‘Tis the season to unwind with loved ones but if your libido's on vacation you might want to try muira puama. In Brazil's Amazon region, where the muira puama tree is known as the 'potency wood," it's been used as an aphrodisiac for centuries. The Brazilian Pharmacopoeia has even listed it for 50 years.

In the United States muira puama has gained popularity in recent years as male and female herbalists use it to increase their sex drive. Statistics show a higher frequency of sexual cravings, fantasies and intercourse, and more intense orgasms. Overall, users describe greater satisfaction with their sex life.

Each gender also has specific uses for the popular herb, muira puama. Women take it to alleviate menstrual cramps and PMS and men take it to treat erectile dysfunction. Among other uses is for central nervous system disorders. Researchers have found few negative side-effects.

Use AHA As Your Beauty Fluid

Try an alpha hydroxy acid product the next time you cleanse your face. By exfoliating the skin, AHA helps reduce wrinkles and fine lines so you look younger and feel smoother.

Alpha hydroxy acids are gentle, safe, natural substances derived from fruits, sugar cane and milk. By using them, you unblock pores and wash away old skin cells so healthy new ones will appear. Lots of AHA products have popped up in recent years—although Cleopatra supposedly used a milk-based one to achieve her ageless beauty—but remember that the lower the pH and the higher the concentration of AHA, the stronger the product.

You'll see results within weeks. Just bear in mind that with the loss of old skin cells your new ones will be extra sensitive so be careful in the sun.

Add Tonalin To Your Post-Holidays Diet

December is probably brutal on your diet, with all that ham, egg nog and figgy pudding, so get ready to whip yourself into shape starting the first of January. Okay, the second of January—but New Year's is your final pig-out day.

Studies indicate that Tonalin (a patented CLA, or conjugated linoleic acid) may actually change your body composition by preserving or increasing lean muscle mass and reducing body fat. Plus it contains no harmful stimulants. Taking Tonalin helps increase lean muscle, which burns more fat calories. Studies show that it inhibits lipoprotein lipase, an enzyme that breaks down fat from our diet. By suppressing this enzyme, Tonalin helps reduce the amount of fat stored in the body.

You'll probably want to hit the treadmill or pavement to maximize your results, but taking Tonalin is a great supplement for getting into shape.