The Woes of Low Libido
Have you ever struggled with low libido? Did you know more than half of women will experience low libido at least once in their life? For many low libido ends of being a prolonged issue lasting serval months or even years.
In this post we will define low libido as experiencing a decrease in sex drive for a prolonged period. These decreases will vary person to person and these prolonged periods can last a few weeks up to a few years. It’s also possible for periods of low libido to ebb and flow. Even if you only experience intermittent periods of low libido, if it happens over a prolonged period, we will consider that to be a diminished sex drive.
Impacts of Low Libido
Low libido can have big impacts on an individual and their partner and can put a lot of strain on the marriage relationship. In many cases individuals struggling with low libido longs for that intimacy but just aren’t in the mood or are tired or experience difficulties. Things can get stressful and end up unenjoyable. The friction this causes can place stress on the relationship which can further contribute to low libido.
And if this wasn’t enough, low libido is a big sign that other things may be going on. In a majority of cases hormone dysregulation is at the center of the low libido struggle. There are many things that can contribute to a diminished sex drive such as stress, poor sleep quality, and the many changes women go through during their life, but at the heart of each of these you’ll most likely find a hormone imbalance. In some cases there could be a non hormonal reason for low libido such as trauma but the vast majority of cases will come back to hormones one way or another.
How Hormones Work
All of our hormones work together, no hormone operates on its own. When one hormone is out of whack it won’t be long before they’re all out of whack.
When stressed our body produces more cortisol. If large amounts are produced for prolonged periods this will effect our thyriod hormones and from there it’s just a matter of time before all the hormones snow ball out of control.
Endocrine disruptors are a plague to our to our society, many of which are estrogen mimicking, and can lead to estrogen dominance and low progesterone. Raising progesterone levels and bringing estrogen and progesterone back into balance will help increase libido.
For this reason women are much more likely to experience low libido. Not only due to the constant bombardment of estrogen dominance, but also because we have a natural fluctuation of hormones throughout our lives. It doesn’t take much to throw this delicate balance out of order.
What can we do?
The first and most important thing we can do is to avoid endocrine disruptors as much as possible. Plastics, fragrance, soy, and other toxins are full of endocrine disruptors. We won’t be able to avoid everything, but reducing our toxic load can significantly improve hormone balance.
The next thing we need to look into is supporting our hormones to help restore balance and in turn help increase libido. Oysters are particularly good for increasing libido because they are rich in zinc and amino acids that help raise progesterone levels which in turn raises low libidos. Other herbs that help support general hormone balance are red raspberry leaf and dandelion root. There are other herbs that can further help support our hormones depending on an individual’s exact needs such as Shatavari root, schisandra berry, alfalfa leaf, and goat’s rue.
It’s important to do the proper testing so you know exactly where your hormones stand.
Talk to your naturally minded health care professional about a DUTCH urine test, adrenal saliva test, and a comprehensive blood panel to check for mineral deficiencies.
You will most likely find things are out of balance. If you do find yourself in need of supplementation I highly recommend oyster min and nourish her naturally to start. There are other herbal supplements like natural balance and lunarmore that can further support hormone imbalance depending on an individual’s unique needs but these 2 will provide an overall support for hormone health and can help increase low libido.
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It’s equally important to support your adrenals and your liver. As previously discussed all hormones work together and if your are dealing with hormone dysregulation then your adrenals are going to need support. Look into adaptogenic herbs like ashwaganda, licorice root, and maca root. An adrenal cocktail can further support your adrenals.
One of our livers primary function is to expell excess hormones from the body. Supporting the liver will help keep hormones balanced by preventing an excessive accumulation of one or more hormones. Milk thistle and peppermint are great for this. I prefer to use Earthley’s liver love tincture.
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Low libido is a common condition but it’s not normal and it’s not something we just need to live with. Help can be found and libido can be increased with the proper support. Don’t continue to suffer in silence, reach out to a holistic practitioner, and get the help you need.
SOURCES
https://wellnessmama.com/health/sex-drive/
https://www.macabido.com/progesterone-libido-women-balance-key/