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  | PHEROMONES ...NATURE'S LOVE SECRETby Roberto GonzalezIt is no secret that when something smells good, it provokes a positive reaction: the scent of popping corn, the salty mist from an ocean breeze, a freshly bathed infant, a bouquet of fine roses, our favorite perfumes. These scents can stimulate our appetites, ease our souls, stir our nurturing instincts or promote sexuality. The latter--scents that promote sexuality--are why we spend millions annually on expensive perfumes; when we smell good, it makes us more attractive to the opposite sex. Animals like pigs and rats are fortunate. They don't have to buy pricey fragrances to attract the opposite sex. When they want a mate, their bodies emit natural aphrodisiacs, "odorless" scents called pheromones, which immediately promote changes in the physiology and behavior of potential same-species mates. Wow!-most of us must be musing-if only humans had pheromones! And if only these pheromones could be bottled and sold! Then maybe my bedroom would be used for more than just sleeping on Saturday night. In fact, Dr. Winnifred Cutler, a research biologist and director of the Athena Institute for Women's Wellness in Chester Springs, PA., has made that scenario a reality. In 1986 Dr. Cutler made international news when, after years of research, she discovered and isolated human male pheromones and detailed the positive effect they have on female sexual health. Male pheromones help regulate menstrual cycles, increase fertility, and ignite the sex drive. In other words, men who "smell" good to women are good for their health. After the attention that followed her discovery tapered off, Cutler decided to embark on an entrepreneurial gamble--trying to bottle pheromones and sell them to the public. Seven years later, she introduced two companion products: Athena Pheromone 10:13 for women (using female pheromones) and Athena Pheromone 10X for men (using male pheromones). "It just made sense after isolating the pheromones to market them," Cutler says. "We all emit pheromones, but emitting more gives us an edge, making us more attractive to the opposite sex." Athena pheromones originate not from blood or organs, but from the armpit perspiration of healthy men and women in their twenties. Cutler's process takes sweat and removes the bacteria and odor, leaving an odorless pheromone extract. "All of the data on pheromones indicates that their secretion is the highest in that region of the body," Cutler says. "But, we found that it would be too costly to market an actual human extract, so we instead duplicated the exact molecular structure and produced a laboratory equivalent of that extract for merchandising." The result is an extract 15 times more potent than normal human pheromones. It is also expensive to manufacture, which means that a one-sixth oz. vial retails at $99.50 for men and $98.50 for women. In other words, you are paying almost $100 for one heaping teaspoon of laboratory-manufactured human pheromone extract. But it might be worth it. Citing a controlled study she did of 38 people, Cutler claims that 47 percent of the 17 subjects given the pheromone product reported heightened sexual activity, compared to 9.5 percent of the 21 subjects given a placebo. And in a survey sent to the first 5600 customers who purchased an Athena product, 76 percent of the users reported a positive result. 24 percent reported no positive result. "The pheromone works with your individual body chemistry, but sometimes there are people it doesn't work on," Cutler says. "That is why I always urge people to buy the product with friends of the same sex. If five friends each invest $20, they can share the extract and compare notes on how the opposite sex reacts to them. They should dilute the extract in one new bottle of a perfume or cologne they all like, so the extract can last up to six months. The vial is too small to dab directly on the skin, and mixing it does not diminish its potency." |
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