SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION
CAN IT BE DEALT WITH NATURALLY?
EyeCMore, AlicePopkorn, and Viktor Simonic (Wikimedia)
“Though diabetes and ED (Erectile Dysfunction) are two separate conditions, they tend to go hand-in-hand. According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, men with diabetes are two to three times more likely to develop erectile dysfunction. In many cases, problems with achieving or maintaining an erection is an early clue that you may be diabetic, particularly in men 45 and under……. There are several risk factors that increase your chances of complications from diabetes, including ED, including uncontrolled blood sugar, obesity, poor diet, inactivity…..” From Adrienne Santos-Longhurst’s May 9, 2013 Healthline article titled, “The Connection Between Type II Diabetes and Erectile Dysfunction“.
“43% of American women, young and old suffer from some degree of sexual dysfunction (JAMA,1999). Many of the same health problems that cause erectile dysfunction in men, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, as well as many medications used to treat these conditions, can cause sexual dysfunction in women. And yet for most of this century doctors have dismissed women’s sexual complaints as either psychological or emotional.” From the 2001 edition of For Women Only: A Revolutionary Guide to Overcoming Sexual Dysfunction and Reclaiming Your Sex Life, by sisters Jennifer Berman, MD, and Laura Berman, PhD |
For the most part, Sexual Dysfunction in women has been chalked up to emotional / psychological problems or “hormonal” issues.
When we go ahead and throw in DEPRESSION, as well as the fact that the most popular medications used to treat it have an almost 100% chance of causing at least one of a wide array of potentially bizarre Sexual Dysfunctions (HERE), you can begin to understand that America has a serious problem on its hands. Just Google “Sexless Marriage Divorce” and you’ll see what I mean.To reiterate; according to a growing number of experts, most Sexual Dysfunctions, whether occuring in males or females, are not only physical in nature, but are largely being caused by the exact same factors. Follow me for a moment so I can show you why knowing this is such a big deal — particularly for those with the desire to turn things around. Do all (or at least most) diseases have common origins? I believe they do (HERE). In fact, if you click on the link to “Uncontrolled Blood Sugar” above, you will see that the peer-reviewed scientific literature is tying Blood Sugar Dysregulation to almost every single disease process you can name —- including all of those based on INFLAMMATION.
The real kick in the teeth though, is that since our Blood Sugar Guidelines here in America are extremely liberal (you are not considered diabetic until you are at an absurdly high 126mg/dL), huge numbers of people with “normal” blood sugar levels, would actually be considered diabetic when looked at through the lens of Functional Medicine. For example, numerous physicians and experts in the field of FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE would say that anyone with a fasting blood sugar over 100mg/dL should be labeled as Diabetic. Unfortunately, one of the chief side effects of Uncontrolled Blood Sugar (whether you are actually labeled as “Diabetic” or not) is that it destroys nerves via a process which results in Neuropathy.
NEUROPATHY AND SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION
Listen to Jenny Ruhl of Blood Sugar 101 explain how Uncontrolled Blood Sugar can be a debilitating and potentially / eventually deadly problem. “
Because nerves are damaged by the “mildly” elevated blood sugar levels that most doctors ignore, almost one half of people with Type 2 diabetes already have detectable neuropathy by the time they have been diagnosed with diabetes. Many other people who are never officially diagnosed with diabetes but have higher than normal blood sugars also get “diabetic” neuropathy. It may be a major cause of the impotence so common among men in their 40s and older.” According to the most current research, her last sentence probably should have said “people“.As a side not to this topic; AGES are being causally implicated in the development of Alzheimer’s Disease (HERE). As sugar consumption, exposure to ALUMINUM, and one’s accumulative number of FLU SHOTS go up, so does Alzheimer’s Disease.
Let me leave you with some cherry-picked quotes on the Neuropathy / Sexual Dysfunction / Blood Sugar link from our own government. Here is the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and National Institutes of Health (NIH). The article is called, “What Sexual Problems Occur in Women with Diabetes?”
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Both men and women with diabetes can develop sexual problems because of damage to nerves and small blood vessels….. The body’s response to sexual stimuli is involuntary, governed by autonomic nerve signals that increase blood flow to the genitals and cause smooth muscle tissue to relax. Damage to these autonomic nerves [neuropathy] can hinder normal function. Reduced blood flow resulting from damage to blood vessels [usually the result of obesity, high blood pressure, and / or Inflammation-induced high cholesterol] can also contribute to sexual dysfunction.
What sexual problems can occur in women with diabetes? Many women with diabetes experience sexual problems. Although research about sexual problems in women with diabetes is limited, one study found 42 percent of women with type 2 diabetes experienced sexual dysfunction that may include.
Causes of sexual problems in women with diabetes include nerve damage, reduced blood flow to genital and vaginal tissues, and hormonal changes. |
PCOS AND SEXUAL FUNCTION
Although testosterone drives both the male and female libidos, PCOS causes women to make so much testosterone that it actually suppresses their sex drive instead of heightening it. At the same time, the extra testosterone causes women to increasingly take on sex characteristics that would be best described as ‘predominantly male‘. Although there are a slew of these (male pattern baldness, HIGH CHOLESTEROL, hypertension / high blood pressure, to name a few), the two most common are hirtusism —overly hairy, and ABDOMINAL OBESITY. The end result is all sorts of abnormal periods and INFERTILITY (sadly, PCOS is by far the number one reason that women who want to have babies cannot).
DEALING WITH SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION NATURALLY
What diet do I recommend for most of my patients —- particularly those who have no ‘overt’ Chronic Illnesses? That’s easy to answer —- Paleo. I am a huge fan of the PALEO DIET because I have not found anything else that even comes close to controlling the root cause of sickness and disease —- INFLAMMATION. It is my opinion that the Paleo Diet will address most if not all of the underlying metabolic issues that cause or contribute not only to Sexual Dysfunctions, but to all sorts of other health problems as well. Not that other therapies won’t have to be undertaken such as certain supplements like HSO’S / PGFO, BRAIN EXERCISES, an EXERCISE PROGRAM, etc, etc, but it is hard to argue with results. Some of the other Chronic Health Problems that may have to be dealt with, include thing such as HERE, HERE, and HERE, as well as several others. For more information on this topic, go HERE.
DRUGS TO ENHANCE FEMALE SEX DRIVE
The truth is, I would say many of the same things about the huge numbers of NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS that are being sold under the guise of “Performance Enhancement”. Most of these junk products are good for little except lining the pockets of unscrupulous marketeers. Trying to find a supplement to fix your problem without addressing the underlying cause of that problem is simply buying in to the UNFULFILLED PROMISE OF BIG PHARMA..
