Both female and male clients of mine often present for various reasons but common among them is loss of libido and it really bothers people. Women feel less sexy and less like sex and have a sense of guilt for letting their partners down. Men feel like they are not living life to the full and are at a loss of how to improve it.
Well I’m here to tell you I have gained much experience in helping both sexes find their mojo again. Naturopathic health is about the individual so assessing the persons over all stress and health is important. Stress alone can rob you of the important pre-cursor hormones that would normally go on to be converted to those lovely libido enhancing hormones we all need, especially in later life.
It works like this: Your Adrenal Gland converts cholesterol to Pregnenolone which is a major pre-cursor hormone from which all of your Oestrogen and Testosterone is made and this works fine when we are reasonably well balanced in our health and dealing with stress. However, when we are under chronic stress the Pregnenolone is shunted down a different pathway toward making Cortisol to help the body deal with stress. In women this can be even more of a problem because as you can see from the diagram below that Cortisol robs from Progesterone, a key hormone in women to keep them balanced and relaxed and prevent Oestrogen dominance and the significant PMS symptoms many suffer with.
Within the world of Naturopathy we use the tools of herbal medicine and nutrition to help bring the body back into balance. There are simply amazing herbal medicines for stress that I constantly have wonderful results with. These include my favorite Zizyphus which is a wonderful nervine tonic and anxiolytic (reduces anxiety) used in stress and anxiety. Withania which is an adrenal adaptogen which means it helps support the body in times of stress and support the adrenal glands production of hormones. It is also a nervine tonic so it’s great for soothing over stressed people and particularly useful in times of ongoing stress. Passionflower is another anxiolytic herb that helps reduce stress. These herbs can be used alone or in combination and a Naturopath would typically take a very detailed case before choosing appropriate herbs for your situation and mixing them in a personalized medicine for you.
Apart from stress there are other areas that can assessed when it comes to libido. For example, are your hormones low? Or generally out of whack? Is Oestrogen too high making you weepy and overweight and is Progesterone too low causing a weeks of PMS symptoms and affecting your libido? Is Testosterone too low? This can cause a major decrease in libido and you will notice you don’t have the slightest interest in the opposite sex. Fortunately, we can choose specific herbal medicines to help in all of the above situations. Sometimes it’s necessary to test the hormones to really be sure we are on the right tract while for other situations it is just a matter of recognizing the symptom patters and going from there. Herbs such as Tribulus can be really helpful in both sexes to increase testosterone. Tribulus has been involved in a number of small clinical trials to prove it’s effectiveness on both free testosterone levels and libido. (see below for an example)
Tribulus Passionflower Withania
I often use Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) symptom patterns to help me assess a person’s case. In cases where a person has no libido, I might look for signs such as lower back pain, fatigue, muscular weakness, dry skin, dizziness, insomnia to choose the correct herbs for what is called Qi (energy) and Blood deficiency, Kidney Qi Deficiency and Liver Constraint.
Sexual function in TCM is often seen as Deficiency of the Kidney Yang Essence. In western terms we would say low adrenal function, particularly of the male hormones. The symptom patter many include symptoms such as Low Libido, Fatigue, Frequent urination, lower back pain, cold hands and feet, sensitivity to the cold or feeling cold often, forgetfulness and a pale tongue.
If a woman is having hot flushes or generally getting symptoms of dryness and overheating or even suffering from hair loss it tells me to support her adrenals and particularly choosing herbs that support the Kidney Yin.
As with all things about Naturopathy it is about assessing each individual’s health, stress, diet and lifestyle and choosing appropriate herbal medicines and supplements based on this. I love to look at the jig-saw of each person’s health or illness and put the pieces together for them. Book in for a consultation with me today so we can get your Mojo back!
Clinical Trial of Tribulus:
Tribulus Supports Female Sexual Desire
Efficacy of Tribulus terrestris for the treatment of premenopausal women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder: a randomized double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial.
Vale FBC, de Souza KZ, Rezende CR et al. Gynecol Endocrinol 2018; 34(5): 442-445
Several studies, mostly conducted in Brazil, have researched the aphrodisiac activity of Tribulus in women. In these studies, desire, as the primary outcome, was evaluated using questionnaires. This randomized, placebo-controlled trial investigated the effect on hormone levels as well as desire, in premenopausal women. Tribulus terrestris extract (750 mg/day) was taken for 120 days in women diagnosed with hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD). The participants were healthy, in a stable relationship for at least 2 years, not using oral contraceptives and not pregnant. The mean patient age was 37.3 years in the Tribulus group, and 42 years in the placebo group. Sexual desire was assessed using two questionnaires: FSFI (Female Sexual Function Index), a 19-item questionnaire subdivided into 6 domains: desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction and pain; QS-F (Quotient Sexual – Version Feminine), originally developed for Brazilian women, covering the domains of desire, arousal/lubrication, pain, orgasm and satisfaction. Forty women completed the study.
• After treatment with Tribulus, the total mean FSFI score and the scores for all 6 domains were significantly improved. Women taking placebo also described improvement in the total mean score and in all domains except lubrication and pain. Compared to placebo, there was a significantly higher score in the satisfaction domain for Tribulus.
• Women taking Tribulus recorded significant improvements in the QS-F scores for all domains, whereas no improvements were observed for the placebo group.
• There was a significant increase in blood levels of bioavailable testosterone from baseline in the Tribulus group. No increase was found in the placebo group.
Article by Lucy Frew Naturopath BHS Comp Med. Adv Dip Nat. Dip Nut. ATMS 14588
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