Sexual Health and Digestion

Medical Reasons Why A Big Gut can Diminish Libido

You may feel that having a gut is unsightly, and makes you self-conscious about sex. Also, a gut may make it more difficult to move around in intimate situations.  But there are medical reasons as well, why having a gut may diminish your libido.  Your digestive system plays a big part in your sexual performance and your desire for sex.

Weight gain and obesity cause the type of testosterone that triggers your sex drive to decrease. Of course, being overweight can create plaque deposits in your blood vessels and arteries, including to the penis and clitoris. This weakens stimulation in these areas. 

Your gut is home to more bacteria than any other part of your body. It is estimated that your intestinal microbiota–micro-organism habitat– contain from 300 to 1000 different types of helpful bacteria. These gut bacteria are important as they produce hormones, enzymes, and serotonin. All of these are needed for good sexual performance and health. There is research that shows that in lab experiments on mice, that their gut bacteria could regulate their testosterone

Your gut affects and controls so much of your body’s functions that some scientists call it the body’s “second brain” or “second nervous system.” The neurotransmitters that send and receive messages from the brain and central nervous system connect to your gut. This is one reason we get a “gut feeling” about something. An unhealthy gut not only affects health but may affect your mood and your ability to “get in the mood.” It’s not an exaggeration to say that a healthy amount of gut bacteria needs to be on hand to have a healthy libido.  

How Anxiety and Stress Decrease Your Libido

Anxiety and stress create can create mental and also physical barriers to your sex drive. When you’re feeling down or depressed, you won’t be thinking about sex. It’s difficult to be in the moment and enjoy sexual arousal.

But as mentioned, your emotional state affects not only your emotional state but also your digestive system.  When you are anxious or stressed, hormones such as cortisol, a stress hormone, are released. Also increased is serotonin. Although this at first may seem beneficial, this sudden–instead of more gradual and regulated–increase in serotonin may create digestive problems such as nausea and diarrhea in response to the stress. This is not a good thing for sexual activity.

Your Diet and Libido

Of course, a poor diet full of processed and nutritionally deficient foods, as well as some medications will damage your intestinal health.

So the first factor in keeping your gut healthy is found in the food that you eat.  A healthy diet has gangrenous portions of vegetables, fruit, lean protein, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats like olive oil, avocado oil, and nuts and seeds. Fiber is important as it works like an intestinal “brush” that gently scrubs away wastes and toxins that will attract bad bacteria. Stop eating processed foods, foods with high sugar contents, and lower your intake of red meat, pork, and processed meats such as ham. Dairy products like cheese need to be reduced.

How Cleansing Can Help

Periodic cleansing or fasting will also help in this regard. If you have gone through periods of an unhealthy diet and you are now struggling–even with a new, healthy diet, to remove your gut, a cleanse can help you push through the contents of your gut and clean you out. A typical cleanse that helps maybe a 7-day cleanse where you can eat. This makes the cleanse quite comfortable as you don’t go hungry. What isn’t allowed are animal products, fried foods, processed foods, alcohol, or coffee. In addition, you need to take on an empty stomach 2x per day a quality natural intestinal cleanser. Although not required, it is also recommended to take a colonic or colema on the final day of the cleanse or substitute with an enema the first, third or fourth day, and final day of the cleanse. This cleanse will help clear you out and also, by bringing your body and taste buds to a more natural state, will prep you for healthier eating moving forward.