Nutrition & Libido

With the rising popularity of prescription drugs that increase sex drive (despite the great increase of deaths and illnesses caused by them) we are reminded how important sex is to a person’s lifestyle, relationships, and self-esteem. But who wants to add headaches, visual distortions, blackouts, and long term sexual dysfunctions as potential side effects that traditional medicine sex stimulants and surgeries can cause? There is a more natural way to increase sex drive and sexual function – by eating right!

People who have a low sex drive or loss of sex drive could be eating the wrong foods. A satisfying sex life requires a healthy body. So if you are looking to improve your libido, remember that natural is better!

Nutrition: the natural medicine approach

Sexual function is controlled by the endocrine glands, which secrete specific hormones. The pituitary gland has direct and indirect sexual effects on reproductive functions. Deficiencies in the hormones released by the pituitary may lead to underdeveloped sex organs, early menopause, and impotence in men. The adrenal glands also produce a small but significant amount of sex hormones. Adrenal exhaustion can result in little strength or desire for sex.

In order for these glands to function and produce sufficient hormones, they need specific nutrients that can best be found in foods and supplements. Read below to see how specific nutrients affect sexual function and reproduction:

Vitamin A

Plays an essential role in reproduction. Found in sweet potato, carrot, kale, mango, turnips, spinach, romaine lettuce, papaya, red bell pepper, and broccoli.

B-Complex Vitamins (B-1 thiamin, B-2 riboflavin, B-3 niacin)

Needed for a healthy sex drive and for energy. Found in whole grains, asparagus, raw nuts, bananas, broccoli, lean meats.

Vitamins B-5, B-6, B-12

Fight stress and balances hormone levels. B6 increases fertility in women and B12 helps men with low sperm counts. Found in eggs, soy products, salmon, and fish.

Vitamin C

Keeps various sex glands healthy and keeps sperm strong by protecting them against free radicals that make them cling together. It may improve the sperm’s chances of fertilizing an egg. Found in citrus fruits, strawberries, kiwifruit, peaches, mangoes, tomatoes, dark green vegetables.

Vitamin E

Aids sex hormone production and improves circulation. Also helps in conception. Found in nuts, seeds, beans, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.

Niacin

Dilates blood vessels and creates blood flow. Also synthesizes sex hormones. Found in fish, lean meats, peas, and beans.

Zinc

Needed to produce testosterone and increase sperm count. Is an antioxidant and too little intake can negatively affect sex drive. Found in steamed oysters, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, garlic, spinach.

Folic Acid

Improves fertility and increases sperm count. Triggers histamine production, which prevents sexual dysfunction. Also prevents birth defects. Found in dark green leafy vegetables, whole wheat bread, lightly cooked beans and peas, nuts and seeds, sprouts, oranges, grapefruit, liver, meats, poultry, fortified cereals and enriched grain prducts.

Selenium

Increases sperm count in men with low sperm count, minimizes the risk of birth defects, and acts as an antioxidant. Found in red meat, tuna, chicken, enriched pasta and whole grain breads.

The better you eat, the higher your sex drive. Now that’s an added benefit, right?

Foods that Lower Sex Drive

Caffeine

Drinking too many caffeinated drinks can lower your sex drive by causing adrenal fatigue. Excess caffeine causes stress on the body which, in turn, decreases cortisol levels. Cortisol is a hormone that helps you to deal with stress. If you drink too much caffeine your body will become over stressed and eventually use up your entire cortisol supply, causing adrenal fatigue. As we have already discussed, if your adrenal gland is not producing adequate hormones, you will have less desire for sex and very little energy or strength for sex.

Saturated/hydrogenated fats

People readily accept the link between high intakes of saturated and hydrogenated fats, elevated blood cholesterol levels, and fatty plaque build-ups on the blood vessels around the heart. It’s less well understood, however, that similar plaques develop on the myriad tiny vessels in the penis. Without free-flowing circulation, the penis cannot physically respond to messages from the sex drive. Nearly all packaged foods, TV dinners, fast foods, and vending machine foods contain high levels of hydrogenated and saturated fats. Eat an abundance of fresh, good fats like cold-pressed vegetable oils, avocado, and organic nuts. A safe daily intake of fresh, organic saturated fat will depend on your particular Diet Type.

Restrict alcohol and knock out nicotine

Excessive alcohol lifts behavioral inhibitions, but this liberating effect may be canceled out by its depressant effect. Alcohol also has an action similar to the female hormone estrogen, which can have a devastating effect on masculinity, causing impotence and shrinking of the testes in men who drink heavily. Alcohol can also deplete Vitamin B stores, diminishing all of the benefits listed above. Nicotine, on the other hand, is an enemy of the arteries. Nicotine not only promotes the formation of atherosclerotic plaque in the penile blood vessels but also constricts them.

Other Ways to Increase Sex Drive

Exercise

Another way to get your hormones flowing is to exercise. If you exercise you will have more energy, be able to stay up later, and last longer in the bedroom. If you have trouble finding time to exercise or do not have the energy just yet, try buying weights that you strap onto your ankles or wrists. You could wear these while you are at work or while you are doing your daily activities around the house. This will help you to build your endurance and build muscle strength to keep up in the bedroom.

Supplements

Eating healthy foods and taking vitamins with additional supplements can also help increase your sexual desire and reproduction. Remember that you cannot substitute food with supplements, you still need to eat the right foods. Taking a supplement is just an added bonus that should enhance your health.

In summary, if you want to boost your sexual response, start by boosting your nutrition, supplement, and exercise plans. This is the safest, easiest, and cheapest way to solve your sexual problems.

If you are still experiencing difficulties after changing your diet and exercise program, come visit our natural medicine doctors for advice. They can give you a hormone test and a Diet Typing test. These are both blood tests and are a natural way of getting to the bottom of your problem.

Diet Typing

Diet Typing tests your blood pH and oxidation rate. These two tests can determine a perfect diet for your body chemistry. Since everyone is different, everyone needs their own specific diet. Knowing a person’s blood pH can determine which foods they need more of and which foods they need less of. After taking this test the doctor will prescribe one of five Hauser diets to you. This will be a diet especially designed for you and your body chemistry. Eating right according to your Diet Type has helped many of our patients’ overall health improve, including their sex lives and their abilities to conceive!

Hormone Testing

The hormone panel blood test is used to determine the sex hormone status of a patient and monitor patients receiving hormone replacement therapy. Sex hormones play a vital role in the overall health of a person. Low sex hormone levels can cause a lack of energy, decreased libido, poor memory, low muscle mass in men and bone loss. If your new diet is not affective natural hormone replacement is another path we can take.

Don’t just sit around in misery – make an appointment – we can help!

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