Kunle Awosiyan
A study has shown that some men prefer palm wine to beer because of the sexual and health benefits of the former and the side effect of the latter.
Professor Shahidul Islam of UKZN’s School of Life Sciences, together with two recently graduated postgraduate students, Ms Rebecca Reddy and Dr Ochuko L Erukainure of the Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO) in Nigeria, Show that the consumption of raffia palm wine could guard against complications stemming from type 2 diabetes which affect male sexual organs.
The research, published in the Journal of Food Biochemistry, indicated that a common complication of type 2 diabetes among men was testicular damage, which if left untreated could result in low libido, erectile dysfunction and eventually infertility.
Diabetes mellitus, according to the researchers, is one of the fastest-growing global epidemics, with many developing countries paying a higher price for treatment of the disease.
Raffia palm wine, known as Oguro and Ngwo in the Nigerian Yoruba and Igbo languages respectively, is a natural beverage commonly drunk in West Africa and some parts of Asia which has medicinal and social uses.
The trio’s research, undertaken in Islam’s laboratory at UKZN and at the FIIRO during the course of Erukainure’s PhD research, involved administering palm wine and distilled water to two groups of diabetic rats under the strict guidelines and approval of UKZN’s Animal Ethics Committee.
The results showed that treatment with raffia palm wine resulted in lower blood glucose levels and less evidence of oxidative stress on testicular tissue. They concluded that raffia palm wine has therapeutic potential to protect against erectile dysfunction or impotence in men with type 2 diabetes, giving credence to its use in folkloric medicine.
However some men who spoke to Echonews disagreed with the study as they condemned palm wine because of its sweetness. Mr. Bolaji Thomas who is a regular beer drinker said that he drinks for pleasure not for sexual enhancement and that nothing would make him to take palm wine instead of beer. “Rubbish study. This professors even have time researching palm wine. Don’t they know that palm wine can cause “”Jedijedi, I mean pile.
To another man, Gbadegesin Ojo, who drinks both palm wine and beer. I think palm wine is better because it’s a natural liquor but I drink to enjoy myself not for sex.
He explained that palm wine can serve as a natural herb to cure some illness but beer will compound one’s problem.
Meanwhile the Chief Medical Officer of Men’s health, Dr Earim Chaudry said that there are some scientific evidences to suggest that a moderate amount of alcohol could boost libido in the short term. A low dose of alcohol increases testosterone levels in men, the hormone that increases sexual desire. However, elsewhere has shown small amounts of alcohol to have no detectable effect on sexual response.
According to him, drinking alcohol is associated with enhanced mood and losing inhibitions; something that could precede sexual activity. While there’s scientific evidence for some of alcohol’s psychoactive properties, it’s not as effective as you might think.
Alcohol binds to receptors in the brain, increasing dopamine uptake and stimulating nor-adrenaline and endogenous opioids, which make drinkers feel rewarded, enlivened and carefree. However, it’s not necessarily an aphrodisiac — or even a dis-inhibitor.
He noted that for starters, drinking too much alcohol can prevent him from getting an erection. This is because drinking alcohol decreases blood flow to the penis and increases angiotensin, a hormone linked to erectile dysfunction.
“Drinking too much alcohol can also cause delayed ejaculation — or prevent you from ejaculating at all,”he said.
Corroborating Professor Shahidul Islam another study, “Suitability of Palm wine as a Multi Functional Beverage” by Ogueri Nwaiwu and Paul C. Chikezie, published in ResearchGate.com shows that fresh palm wine enhances men libido and does not contain too much alcohol like larger beer.
The study looks at palm wine as a drink with many functionalities due to its biochemical and microbiological properties reports on palm wine to highlight the constituents that are associated with functional beverages.
Palm wine is a milky white sugary beverage obtained from the sap of different palm tree species.
Many health benefits have been attributed to the drink. It has been reported to have low alcoholic
content, contains yeasts, lactic acid, and acetic acid which confers probiotic qualities to the drink. It is
believed to contain several beneficial chemicals and it is regarded as an antioxidant.
Another (?)perspective looks at the biochemical and microbiological reports on palm wine to highlight the
constituents that are associated with functional beverages. Based on the constituents of the drink, it
may qualify as a multifunctional beverage because several investigators have demonstrated disease
risk reduction, improved nutrition and health outcomes in many studies, albeit in rats rather than
humans. The constituents found in functional beverages are present in the drink. However, when
assessed under European Union regulations, fermented palm wine (from 3% alcohol) cannot be
regarded as a functional beverage because beverages that contain over 1.2% alcohol cannot be
approved for any claim on health or nutritional benefit. The fresh sap with much lower alcohol may
be suitable after it is refined and subjected to scientific examination to determine quantities of the
drink that can confer health benefits on humans.
The study shows that the essential elements like magnesium, zinc, and phosphorus, which are normally part of a healthy diet, were found present in palm wine, which enhances men libido.
The study found that that regular intake of palm wine may not significantly affect body weight nor testis weight, but can gradually
distort testicular tissue architecture with abnormally structured cells.
Due to its sugary nature, palm wine may not be suitable for regular consumption by people that are
obese or those living with diabetes. The sugar content is highest when the drink is freshly harvested but decreases as fermentation progresses.