One of the most important ways that you can continue to look, feel, and live younger occurs when you have a vibrant and active sex life. Once you lose the interest -- or ability -- to enjoy sex, almost everyone ages very quickly, and often prematurely. Youthfulness is identified with high sexual activity, so no matter what age we are at we should be experiencing a life full of intimacy, touch, and love. However, as we get older, this is not always the case.
When your brain is at peak health, you will want to experience the joys of sex all the time. But when your brain is experiencing a chemical deficiency, sex won't seem so enticing and the physical act will leave you lacking. Therefore, maintaining a younger brain is the only way to keep a younger, sexually active body and as well as a creative and loving mind.
The four phases of sex can be directly correlated to the four primary brain chemicals:
•Desire and libido is created in the brain by dopamine; when you are low on dopamine your energy for and interest in sex wanes, as well as your performance
•Arousal is initiated by acetylcholine; when cognitive functioning and internal moisture goes awry and your acetylcholine becomes depleted, you will not be able to focus on sex, let alone maintain your attention and stimulation.
•GABA is your "get started" brain chemical. It controls your anxiety; you will not be able to achieve an orgasm if you are tense.
•Resolution is related to serotonin. If serotonin becomes depleted, your timing is off. You're either coming to the party too early or too late.
The Fix: Oxytocin Supplements That Enhance Sexual Desire
The core elements of my approach include early and innovative diagnostics, so that you can identify if you are experiencing problems relating to sex before symptoms occur. Then, you can enhance your particular brain chemical deficiencies through exercise, choosing the right foods and nutrients (and avoiding the wrong ones, like coffee, soda, and salt), as well as taking medications to resolve specific issues. All of these suggestions are detailed in my book, Younger You.
Yet even a balanced brain can still use a little help when it comes to sex. That's why I recommend bioidentical hormones as part of my protocol. It's simply a fact that as we age, our hormonal output diminishes. Decreases in these hormones affect all of the systems in the body and the brain, but none are more noticeable than the ones related to sex. Menopause, and its male counterpart, andropause, occur as the hormones estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone decline. The good news is that these decreases are completely reversible. If you can boost these same hormones in their most natural forms, along with other important ones early enough, the symptoms and conditions related to their decline will disappear, creating a younger you full of vigorous health.
The latest research is also showing that both men and women can supplement the hormone oxytocin for enhancing sexual function and desire. Often referred to as "the happy hormone," oxytocin is released during birthing and breastfeeding. It is also released when we are hugging, touching, and during orgasm. In the brain, oxytocin plays an integral role in bonding, and may be involved in the formation of loving relationships. In the body, it causes contractions in the uterus, and the penis. Women who are deficient in oxytocin may have difficulty with sexual arousal and will not be able to achieve multiple orgasms. Men who are deficient will lack the desire to be touched, as well as the ability to orgasm.
Oxytocin supplementation has been common practice in hospital settings for dozens of years. Pitocin, the drug given to birthing mothers to increase contractions, is a synthetic form of oxytocin. However, prescribing a naturally compounded version that is more similar to the hormone we produce for increased sexual enjoyment is relatively new.
Oxytocin is one of the most potent stimulators for both men and women. It will increase sexual arousal, increase penile erection, and increase frequency of orgasm. The results I have seen in my office are astounding. One woman told me that within a few days of treatment "sex felt the way it used to."
Aside from the physical aspect of sex, the emotional aspect is enhanced as well. My patients relay that they have experienced increases in romantic attachment, and believe that they are forming closer, more romantic relationships with their partners.
Discuss this option with your doctor to see if it is right for you and your current state of health. Sometimes these conversations can be uncomfortable, but rest assured, your doctor should be willing to talk to you about your sex life in the most professional terms. If not, it might be time to find a doctor who cares about treating all of your needs.