Affection and mercy
The Quran speaks of marriage with tenderness. It describes spouses as created for one another "that you may find tranquillity in them" and says that Allah "placed between you affection and mercy" (Quran 30:21). Elsewhere husband and wife are called garments for one another (Quran 2:187). Closeness between spouses is treated as a gift and a comfort for both of them.
When a woman finds that her desire has faded it deserves attention and it carries no shame. It is also common. Dr Abdul Basit, an Egyptian biochemist, addresses it directly in his book The Green Medicine. He describes it as a loss of interest in intimacy with causes that can be found and eased.
Where it comes from
He lists several causes. Exhaustion is one. Nervous pressure is another, especially the kind that grows out of trouble within the marriage. Attitudes a woman has inherited about intimacy can sometimes also play a part and so can medicines that suppress desire, with antidepressants named as the main example. Dryness that makes intimacy painful is a further cause he returns to more than once.
His first prescription is to remove the cause. He advises good nourishment, harmony with her husband and real effort to resolve marital problems and nervous strain, of course this requires healthy communication between partners and understanding from the spouse. A woman who suspects her medicine is involved should raise it with her doctor before changing anything. The herbs come after this.
The green medicine
Fenugreek. He writes that fenugreek, hilba, gives a woman's body health and that it is used on a wide scale in women's medicine. It acts like the body's own oestrogen and prevents vaginal dryness, which makes intimacy comfortable and allows desire to return.
Anise. Anise is rich in anethole, a compound that acts in a similar way to the female hormones. He notes its long history for a nursing mother's milk, for the monthly cycle and for desire. A spoonful of the powder is stirred into a cup of boiled water and drunk in the evening.
Angelica. He writes that angelica does for women what ginseng does for men and counts it among the best known herbs for a woman's desire. Three spoonfuls of the powdered root are added to a cup of boiled water and taken three times a day. He warns that pregnant women should not use it.
Ginseng. Ginseng is famous as a tonic for men. He explains that it works for women in the same way, by stimulating the nervous system and improving the flow of blood through the small arteries. Half a spoonful of the root powder is taken once a day in a cup of water or juice.
Parsley. Parsley carries plant oestrogen and he gives it the same role as fenugreek.
Two more plants worth knowing
Saffron. Saffron, za'faran, has been tested on the very cause Dr Abdul Basit singles out. In a double-blind trial published in the journal Human Psychopharmacology, 34 women whose intimacy had suffered on the antidepressant fluoxetine took either 30 milligrams of saffron a day or a placebo for four weeks. Arousal, natural lubrication and pain all improved significantly in the women taking saffron.
Red maca. Maca is a root from the high Andes of Peru with a long reputation for vitality. In a 2015 trial, 42 women with the same antidepressant-related difficulty took three grams of maca root a day or a placebo for twelve weeks. More of the women on maca recovered. The benefit was greatest in women past menopause.
What modern research has found
Fenugreek has the clearest support of his plants. In a 2015 trial published in Phytotherapy Research, 80 women aged 20 to 49 who reported low desire took either 600 milligrams of fenugreek seed extract a day or a placebo for eight weeks. Desire and arousal both rose significantly in the fenugreek group. So did their levels of oestradiol and free testosterone, which matches his description of fenugreek acting like the body's own oestrogen.
Ginseng has been tested in women as well. A placebo-controlled trial of Korean red ginseng in menopausal women found that it significantly improved arousal.
Returning to closeness
Desire rarely fades for one reason and it rarely returns through one remedy. Dr Abdul Basit begins with rest, nourishment and peace within the marriage, then adds the plants: a cup of anise in the evening, fenugreek in the daily diet, angelica or ginseng as a tonic.
If you are taking medication always confirm that it is suitable with the herbs you wish to add and the same goes for pregnancy.
With rest, peace at home and the right remedies, desire can return. With it comes the tranquillity the Quran describes between husband and wife.
References
- Quran 30:21 and 2:187.
- Dr Abdul Basit. The Green Medicine (al-Tibb al-Akhdar), Part Four: Diseases of the Pelvis.
- Rao A et al. Influence of a specialized Trigonella foenum-graecum seed extract (Libifem) on testosterone, estradiol and sexual function in healthy menstruating women: a randomised placebo controlled study. Phytotherapy Research, 2015.
- Kashani L et al. Saffron for treatment of fluoxetine-induced sexual dysfunction in women: randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study. Human Psychopharmacology, 2013.
- Dording CM et al. A double-blind placebo-controlled trial of maca root as treatment for antidepressant-induced sexual dysfunction in women. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2015.
- Oh KJ et al. Effects of Korean red ginseng on sexual arousal in menopausal women: placebo-controlled, double-blind crossover clinical study. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2010.
- Kim MS et al. Ginseng for managing menopause symptoms: a systematic review of randomized clinical trials. Journal of Ginseng Research, 2013.