By Chinwe Uzoechi
The solution for low libido may be far simpler than earlier thought. Set the Viagra aside. For, as the experts reveal, many of our daily habits – from the cold remedies we use to the food we eat – could be behind that flagging libido.
Check out the not-to-eat-drink list to boost your sex drive.
Eating too much white bread and other refined carbohydrates can sap your sex drive, says Helen Bond of the British Dietetic Association. “Foods such as white bread release the sugar more quickly than their wholegrain counterparts – and too much sugar is associated with energy slumps, which mean you won’t have the energy for sex,” she adds.
Too much sugar also makes you fat, raising the level of oestrogen in the body, in turn reducing testosterone levels in men, says gynaecologist Peter Bowen- Simpkins, medical advisor to the charity Wellbeing of Women: “If you’re obese, you feel less attractive. You also have reduced blood flow to the sex organs.” Although commonly thought of as a male sex hormone, women also need testosterone to have a libido. “Many women try to get thin so they are more attractive, but the irony is it can kill their sex life and defeat the point of trying to be thin in the first place,” says GP Sarah Brewer.
Losing weight too fast can disturb the hormones and even affect fertility, she says. “If you lose more than 10 per cent of your body weight very quickly, then your body goes into red alert and thinks you are starving it. Your level of sexual interest and enjoyment fall because the lack of nutrients means it wouldn’t be a good environment for a baby to grow in.” Many contraceptive pills can also be passion-killers, says women’s health expert Dr Marilyn Glenville. “The hormones in the Pill trick your body into thinking you’re already pregnant and don’t need to reproduce. Also, by preventing ovulation, the Pill also lowers levels of testosterone.”
Weight fluctuations apart, the Pill is often a passion killer for women as is having a lot of white bread!
