Restoring Sleep Naturally

Feature Article: Natural Aphrodisiacs for a Better Sex Life

"A kiss makes the heart young again and wipes out the years."
-- Rupert Brooke

 

If a kiss can do that, imagine what more can do for you. A healthy sex life has many benefits for the body, mind and spirit, so trying to make it work in this stressed-out world is well worth the effort. In Chinese medicine, sexual health is part of the element of water and all that is life-giving and regenerative. Sexual intimacy produces hormones in the body that reduce the negative effects of stress and aid sleep. Better than a sleeping pill and more fun, too! Endorphins are released into the body following sex, creating a feeling of euphoria and producing natural relief for pain and anxiety.

 

A number of things can get in our way of enjoying a healthy sex life including the following:

• Lack of exercise
• Prescription drugs
• Hormonal changes
• Past sexual abuse or trauma
• Excessive stress or anxiety
• Poor body image
• Aging
• Inability to express yourself or your needs
• Failed relationships

Move it or lose it!

I know we're all tired of hearing about how exercise can benefit us in so many ways, but the truth is the truth. A lack of exercise is related to hormone dysfunction and thus the potential for a negative impact on our sex lives. It has been shown that estrogen levels in women normalize with regular exercise. Exercise also enhances testosterone, known as the hormone of desire. Testosterone is present in both men and women and has the added benefit of increasing muscle tone, stamina and strength. It also increases metabolism. After just twenty minutes of exercise, testosterone levels increase and remain elevated for up to three hours. 

Endorphins are released during exercise, creating a feeling of well-being that makes us feel better about our bodies, thus boosting our sex drive. Certain yoga poses, including butterfly for women and shoulder stand for men can also increase libido. At the very least, sex is good exercise! Intercourse burns an average of 100 calories, tones the pelvic muscles, is a good cardio workout and releases beneficial hormones into the body.

 

Your Prescription May Be a Problem

 

According to webmd.com, certain prescription drugs can cause reduced libido or performance, the most notable of which are a class of drugs called SSRI's, used for depression, such as Zoloft, Paxil and Prozac. Blood pressure medications also commonly cause sexual issues.  Other drugs that can have negative effects are antihistimines, tranquilizers, diabetes drugs, and some ulcer drugs like ranitidine. Birth control pills can cause a loss of interest in sex because they lower estrogen and testosterone at the times of the month when we would otherwise be most interested in sex. If you have noticed a change in your sex life after using any of these drugs, you should consult your doctor to see if changing to a new medication or even eliminating the medicine would be beneficial for you.

 

Herbal Help is on the Way

 

If your lack of interest in sex seems to be more physical than emotional, herbal remedies can help. There are many herbs that have been used for thousands of years to improve libido, enhance sexual performance, or just simply keep the blood flowing. As always, since herbs are very direct in their effect, you must check for negative interactions with prescription drugs that you take for any reason (we have reference materials that can accomplish this). Here are a few herbal combinations we like:

• SexEssentials by Natural Factors
  This new formula is marketed toward women but is equally effective for men. It is a combination of L-arginine, acetylcholine, tribulus terrestris, ginseng, eurycoma longifolia and vitamin B-5. L-arginine is an amino acid that increase staying power and is responsible for sexual arousal in women and erections in men. Sexual arousal occurs not just in the genitals, but also in the brain. For women, the neurotransmitter that sends sexual messages to the nerves is acetylcholine (ACh), which is very important to the build-up to orgasm and its duration. Tribulus terrestris is a general tonic and brings into balance many different hormones and other biochemicals. Gingko has long been known to increase blood flow to the small capillaries in the body, and thus can improve sexual response. Eurycoma longifolia, or Malaysian ginseng, has been used in Asia to increase libido and support good health for many years. 

• Hot Plants for Men or Women
  These his and hers products are designed to increase energy, libido and performance and safely increase sex drive. Both formulas contain maca, a root grown primarily in South America, which has long been used for vitality and balancing hormones. Recent research has shown that it acts on the hypothalamus, making it produce hormones. These formulas are perfect for someone whose loss of interest in sex is at least partially related to stress and too many other demands on the time.They have herbs used for reducing stress and adapting the system to provide more energy. The men's formula accomplishes this through the use of rhodiola, panax ginseng and eurycoma longifolia, while the women's uses ashwaganda, rhodiola and eleuthero. Each also contains herbs known to provide sexual support -- namely catuaba for women and yohimbe and the aptly named horny goat weed for men.

There are several other formulas with twists on the same theme including Male Libido by Gaia, Male Formula by Eclectic, and Native Woman by New Chapter.  Many people also use maca by itself as a sexual tonic. We would be happy to help you select something if you would like to come in.

 

Your Nose Knows the Way

 

Aromatherapy is a wonderful way to get in the mood and can be used in so many different ways. You can set the mood by lighting a candle made with essential oils, putting some drops of essential oil into a plant oil base and massaging your partner, or diffusing the oil into the room to create a pleasing aroma. Scents are powerful aphrodisiacs because they work directly on the limbic system of the brain, the part of the brain that controls our emotions. Who doesn't have a favorite childhood smell that evokes feelings of calm, warmth or security? Recent studies have shown that the scent of even certain types of food can be a turn-on, specifically pumpkin pie and buttered popcorn for men and licorice for women. Lavender is a very calming and relaxing scent and is thought to be a universal turn-on. 

 

The scents most often thought to have aphrodisiac qualities are jasmine, ylang ylang, clary sage, and patchouli. We have testers if each of the scents and it is best to come in and see what you and your partner like. Enjoyment of the scent is as important as the effect it can have. Oshadhi makes several synergistic blends of oils that they suggest as aphrodisiacs including Ecstasy, Tropical Nights, Passion and Desire, Creative & Confident, Tender Romance, and Peace & Quiet. Each has a unique blend of oils designed have the desired effect. If you are interested in any of these blends, we may need to special order them for you.

 

Get in the Mood With Food

 

Jonny Bowden, PhD, CNS, board-certified nutritionist and author of The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth (find it at Walsh!) has some great suggestions on how to improve the mood with food. Leave the carbohydrates behind if you are going out to dinner. A heavy pasta dinner is more apt to lead to snoozing than anything else. Lean protein and vegetables and leaving the table a bit hungry are the best ways to prepare the body for later in the evening. Certain foods, he claims, by their sheer sensuality, will enhance the mood. Think of a juicy peach or ripe avocado.  His list of the "sexy foods" is as follows:

• Almonds: Contain fatty acids that help the brain work better.
• Celery: Contains a small amount of androsterone, a male hormone released in sweat that's been known to turn women on.
• Chili peppers: Increase circulation.
• Oysters: High in zinc, which is important to male sexual functioning.
• Figs: Sensual, juicy and sweet, high in amino acids and believed to increase sexual stamina.
• Nutmeg: Used in Indian medicine for enhancing desire.
• And, let's not forget chocolate! Contains phenylethylalamine, a neurotransmitter that's raised in the brain when you're in love.

Also singing the praises of chocolate in her recent book called "Sexy Hormones" is Lorna Vanderhaeghe, who notes that chocolate contains tryptophan, a precursor to the feel-good hormone serotonin, contains phenylethylalamine (the "love drug"), provides caffeine as a stimulant, promotes good circulation due to the presence of phenols, and releases endorphins in your body. No wonder chocolate has been used as an aphrodisiac for thousands of years!

Is It All in My Head?

 

While saying that something is all in someone's head is never a good approach to helping them get over a hurdle, it's true that our attitudes and experiences with sex can affect our enjoyment of it. Winning the mind game when it comes to sex can be just as important, if not more so, than making sure we are ready physically. People have a range of emotional issues with sex from resentments toward the partner to poor body image to bad experiences related to sex in the past. Whatever the issue, there is most definitely a flower essence that can help you move through the issue and create a better sex life. Flower essences are a very gentle, non-invasive way to deal with some of the negative emotional issues that we have around sex. Here are a few examples of how you can use flower essences to help you get over issues that prevent you from enjoying intimacy with your partner:

• FES's Sacred Heart
  Perfect for opening the heart to new relationships. Helps one get over past failed relationships, learn to trust again, maintain healthy relationships rather than dysfunctional ones, reinforces commitment, antidotes jealousy, and helps devote oneself to a relationship with appropriate boundaries.
• FES's White Goddess
  Excellent for overcoming past sexual abuse or trauma, or combating the feeling that sex is dirty. Helps heal scarred relationships with the mother, thus healing the feminine aspects of the soul. Also good for healing physical trauma due to surgery involving the reproductive organs.
• Relationship Essence (by Australian Bush)
  Enhances the quality of all relationships, especially intimate ones. It clears resentment and other blocked emotions that can be part of a rocky relationship. Most importantly, it breaks the early negative family conditioning and patterns that affect us in our current adult relationships.
• Sensuality Essence (by Australian Bush)
  Encourages the ability to enjoy physical and emotional intimacy, passion and sensual fulfillment.

While these combinations provide support for many emotional issues regarding intimacy, your issue may be more specific and best served by an individual flower essence. There are almost an infinite number of individual essences that can help with almost any concern that you would have. You may want to speak to Linda on our staff to help you choose one that is appropriate for you.

 

Working toward a better intimate life can give us many benefits, both physical and emotional. A rewarding sexual partnership can increase our sense of well-being, reinforce commitment, keep our bodies toned and best of all, give us some much-needed stress relief. We hope that you will find something to spice up your sexual routine, give you something new to explore, or get you over an obstacle that was getting in the way of your enjoyment of sex.

 

             "Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies."

            -- Aristotle