Answer:

No. No pill or potion can enlarge your sex organ, so don't waste your money. However, you can do a lot to make more of what you've got.

My penis is just like yours -- a little too small. Some years ago, Penthouse magazine surveyed 1,000 men about their size. Almost every respondent said he was "too small" and wished he were larger.

Not that I think size matters, you understand. Every sex expert says the vast majority of women don't care, and as a longtime sex expert myself, I agree ... almost.

Many surveys have asked women what they look for in a man. Overwhelmingly, women say they want kindness, caring, warmth, tenderness, attentiveness, commitment, shared values, a good listener, a sense of humor, a competent adult who makes a decent living and has no serious vices. I've never seen a survey where any significant proportion of women have said they want a man with a huge penis. In fact, a review of women's letters to the Kinsey Institute for Sex, Gender, and Reproduction at Indiana University showed that those who inquire about penis size are more likely to complain that their lover is too large (and might hurt them) than too small. In my own experience as a sex advisor, no woman has ever complained that her man's penis was too small. When women have raised the issue, they usually ask how they can persuade the men in their lives to stop obsessing about penis size.

It's clear that the vast majority of women don't care about penis size. I believe that. Still, I'm a guy, and when I look in the mirror, I think: An extra inch couldn't hurt. Which brings me to the subject of penis envy. Sigmund Freud, father of psychoanalysis, coined the term to describe his idea that women wish they had penises, and deeply envy men for having them. Decades ago, feminist psychology thoroughly discredited this notion. Little boys see that women have breasts much more often than little girls see that men have penises, yet Freud said nothing about "breast envy." On the other hand, I'm convinced that penis envy is a real affliction. Women don't suffer it. Men do. Men, myself included, envy other men whose penises are larger than theirs.

First the bad news about penis size: There is no safe way to permanently enlarge yours. Perhaps you've seen advertisements for surgical penis lengthening and girth enhancement. Most urologists strongly advise against this (details in a bit). Or perhaps you get the same junk emails I do, touting all sorts of expensive nostrums and programs that claim to turn pencils into phone poles. Forget that crap. The good news is that with a little information, you can make the most of what the Good Lord gave you, and look as large and well-hung as you possibly can.

Whether flaccid or erect, penis size depends on the amount of blood that enters your organ through the pudendal arteries, and the amount of blood contained in your penis' central spongy tissues (the corpus spongiosum and the corpora cavernosa) that become blood-engorged during erection. The more blood in these spongy tissues, the larger you are. Many factors affect penile blood supply:

• Diet. No doubt you're familiar with exhortations to eat a low-fat diet to prevent heart disease. Maybe more men would heed this advice if the American Heart Association added that a low-fat diet also means a larger penis. A diet high in fat, particularly animal (saturated) fat, raises blood cholesterol level, which, over time, narrows your arteries, including the ones that carry blood into your penis. (A high-fat diet is also associated with erection problems.)
• Smoking. Smoking accelerates arterial narrowing, which is why smokers are at high risk for heart disease. Cigarettes hit men below the belt as well, limiting blood flow into the penis (and increasing risk of erection impairment.)
• Deep relaxation. The pudendal arteries are surrounded by smooth muscle tissue, explains Michigan sex therapist Dennis Sugrue, PhD. When men feel anxious, this muscle tissue contract, which to some extent constricts the pudendal arteries, limiting blood flow into the penis. But as men relax, this tissue also relaxes, allowing increased inflow. In addition, anxiety triggers the "fight or flight" reaction. This reflex sends excess blood away from the central body, including the penis, and out toward the limbs for escape or self-defense.
• Warmth. You've probably noticed that in chilly locker rooms, your penis seems to shrink and your scrotum hugs your body tightly. But after a hot shower, it looks considerably larger and the scrotum hangs much lower. Warmth is relaxing. It increases blood flow into the penis and encourages the scrotum to become better hung. If you'd like to look your largest before jumping into bed with a woman, take a shower or hot tub with her.
• A comfortable, committed, loving relationship. Sure, one-night stands can be fun and new relationships can be exciting, says WebMD sex expert Louanne Weston, PhD. But they also involve intimacy with women you don't know very well, if at all. That can produce anxiety. A familiar lover may not be as exciting as a new one, but familiarity allows your and your penis to relax, which helps the little guy look its largest.

Beyond blood flow, here are additional size-enhancing suggestions:

• Lose the beer belly. When you have a big gut, lower abdominal fat tissue surrounds the base of your penis and encroaches on it, making your penis look smaller.
• Exercise. Working out helps control weight, which minimize a big gut. It also contributes to arterial health, so more blood flows in.
• Trim your hair. Your pubic hair, that is. When less of the penis is obscured by hair, it looks a little larger.

You might see the ad in the sports section of you newspaper, or in a junk email: "Give Yourself a Major Confidence Boost: Penis Lengthening and Enlargement" with the phone number of a urologist ready to operate. Surgical enlargement might boost your self-esteem. Then again, it might destroy it.

Two surgical approaches are available. The more popular is penis lengthening. It's based on the fact that you have more penis than what hangs between your legs. The penis extends into your lower abdomen. The internal penis is anchored there by the penile suspensatory ligament. Cut this ligament, and much of the internal penis emerges from the lower abdomen, adding about an inch to what you see externally. But this procedure also has a significant drawback. The suspensatory ligament is what makes erections stand up. When sexually aroused, a surgically lengthened penis becomes firm as it always has, but it no longer salutes. Instead, it hangs down between your legs. You or your lover must direct it by hand into erotic openings.

The other surgical option is girth enhancement. This is a two-step procedure involving fat removal (liposuction) from the buttocks, then reinjection of that fat under the penile skin. The before and after pictures offered by urologists who perform this procedure show bullets transformed into torpedoes. But again, there are drawbacks. The fat injections may not "take," and if they take unevenly, you wind up with a lumpy, mutant-looking organ.

Gary Rheinschild, MD, of Anaheim, CA is a leading practitioner of surgical penis enlargement. His Web site gushes testimonials. But even Rheinschild's web site warns that many surgeons who perform penis enlargement "lack the skills needed to produce good results. ... A large part of [Rheinschild's] practice involves repairing the numerous men damaged by [other] doctors."

However, if you have a big gut, one safe, minor surgical procedure can make your penis look larger -- liposuction of the fat pad in your lower abdomen above the penis (suprapubic area). Elimination of suprapubic fat makes the penis looks larger.