My husband is suffering from erectile dysfunction and it is starting to take its toll on a previously happy marriage. Are there any herbal supplements he can take to help restore a normal sex life?

Inadequate blood flow to the penis is a significant cause of erectile dysfunction and the herb most often prescribed for circulatory problems is Ginkgo biloba. In a study reported in the medical journal Urology, 50 impotent men were given 240mg of Ginkgo biloba daily for nine months. Some of the men were also given papaverine, a muscle stimulant that can help improve erections. The researchers reported that the Ginkgo biloba supplement greatly improved sexual performance in both groups, regardless of the papaverine.

It is often better to take herbs in liquid tincture form – the fastest route into the bloodstream. Your husband should be aiming to take 30 drops of Ginkgo biloba, three times a day. He will also benefit from taking 20 drops, three times daily, of saw palmetto tincture, which is now used in most prostate health formulations. Max Tomlinson, who practises at the Grove Complementary Clinic in London, also suggests your husband take liquid linseed oil to increase his intake of the omega-3 fatty acid. The body cannot make this substance and it is one of the more difficult nutrients to source from the diet. Linseed oil is available in capsule form and your husband needs to take 1,000mg, three times a day. And if your husband is having bladder problems, which sounds likely, he can take a natural supplement called Flotrol, which strengthens the bladder.

Bloating and stomach problems may be a sign of overfermentation in the body that can also interfere with sexual performance.

If your husband complains of a heavy feeling after eating, this could also be part of the problem, so he should try to avoid yeast-rich beer and bread for a while.

Meanwhile, a new impotence drug that could leave Viagra as a limp runner-up is being perfected by researchers at the Medical College of Georgia, in Augusta. Viagra only actually works on 60% of patients, and it takes several hours to produce an erection. Studies on rats of the new, unnamed product have shown that it produces instant results by acting on an enzyme to relax the muscles that normally keep the blood vessels in the penis constricted. The only drawback is that you have to inject it directly into the organ, which could prove to be a bit of a passion-killer.

In other “penis” news, researchers in America have discovered that the average penis is shorter than previously thought. Since the pioneering Kinsey report into male sexuality was published in the 1940s, the average length of the erect male organ has been thought to be between 6.2in and 6.4in. But a new study by a team working for the Lifestyles condom company has lopped half an inch off that figure. It now puts the length at 5.87in.

The latest research was carried out in Cancun, Mexico. Doctors had hoped to measure 1,000 men in a tent outside a nightclub. As it turned out, there were only 300 volunteers. But the results confirmed the findings of a similar study in Brazil, which produced only 150 volunteers.

A controversial American surgeon is to open Britain’s first penis enlargement clinic in London later this year.

Dr Melvin Rosenstern, who is a New York-based urologist, will open an institute offering men the lengthening and thickening operations he claims to have carried out on more than 2,000 patients.

However, the millionaire surgeon will face opposition from the British medical establishment.

To increase the girth, fat taken by liposuction is injected into the penis. Each operation is expected to cost more than Pounds 2,500. Rosenstein claims the technique adds an average 2in to 3in to the length and can increase the girth by half. Most men can resume sexual relations after a month.

British doctors dispute his claims. “The operation is debatable,” said Clive Gingess. Gingess said the operation was unlikely to add more than 1 inch to penis length. He said that most men are better off using a quality penis extender, such as the SizeGenetics extender, which you can read about at SizeGenetics. There is even more concern about the technique of injecting fat into the organ. Doctors fear that any enlargement is likely to be temporary as the fat is reabsorbed.

Other experts believe it is wrong to operate on men with normal-sized penises. “There is a place for it in cases of `micropenis’, where the penis is the size of the first joint of your little finger,” said Roger Kirby, consultant urologist at St Bartholomew’s hospital in London.

Rosenstein, 54, was unavailable for comment last week. However, Ed Tilden, his business partner, defended the techniques, saying there was enormous demand for the operation.

Good news for the girls as penis enlargement operations finally arrive on these shores. Though I must admit I think it’s highly unlikely that any but the most genitally challenged will avail themselves of the opportunity.

The operation involves making an incision above the penis and cutting the suspensory ligament, which all sounds rather nasty to me but can add two to three inches in length. If it’s increased girth you’re after, fat taken from other parts of the body is injected into the appendage and this can double the width.

According to VigRx Plus Review, Dr Melvyn Rosenstein, the Los Angeles-based urologist who’s opening the Men’s Institute for Cosmetic Surgery, claims to have carried out successful operations on at least 2,000 patients, but still faces opposition from the British medical establishment. It claims that the operation is unlikely to add more than an inch and that any enlargement is liable to be temporary since fat is generally reabsorbed.

In my own experience women are less troubled by size than men assume. Indeed it’s a subject raised far more often in locker rooms than in female discussion. The much more common complaint is that men don’t really know what to do with it. Perhaps the estimated Pounds 2,000 the operation costs would be better spent on a course in female anatomy.