We have all heard the saying, “You are what you eat.” Another extension of that phrase is, “Your sex life is dependant on what you eat.” Have I got your attention? The key to eating properly is to maintain a steady supply of glucose (blood sugar) to all the cells of your body. The problem is the average American does a very poor job of maintaining their blood sugar. Instead, they suck down a donut and coffee in the morning and their blood sugar rises rapidly. Mid-morning the blood sugar drops, they get more coffee, a soft drink or candy bar. Guess what? Blood sugar spikes up again. Lunchtime rolls around, blood sugar crashing, we chow down a huge Sub sandwich. Get the picture? Blood sugar going up and down all day, every day, month after month, year after year is very bad. When the blood sugar spikes a hormone named insulin is released in large quantities. When you live on this blood sugar roller coaster long enough it leads to a condition known as Insulin Resistance. Insulin is the hormone that carries glucose into the cells of your body. When you become Insulin Resistant, insulin cannot carry glucose into your cells and you start the downward health spiral.
Another major problem caused by repeated insulin surges is a change in your sex hormones. The major sex hormones are estrogen and testosterone. Both hormones are present and needed by both males and females. Estrogen is the predominant hormone in females and Testosterone is predominant in males. When we have these repeated insulin surges over the course of our lives it will activate special enzymes in our bodies that convert our sex hormones. Insulin surges in a female convert the estrogen into testosterone. This leads to unwanted hair growth on the face, hair loss on the head, fatigue, depression and infertility. In males, the insulin surges convert testosterone into estrogen. This creates a condition known as Andropause that is characterized by male breast tissue growth, enlarged belly, weight gain, depression, and low libido. We see these conditions in men and women regularly in our office. Imagine the frustration of a young couple trying to have a baby. She is infertile because of insulin surges and he has no libido. Thankfully, we have been successful in helping many get their blood sugar stabilized, health restored and achieve pregnancy.
If you want to maintain your health and keep a proper balance of sex hormones, you must learn to stabilize your blood sugar. Some techniques we use in our practice are eating smaller, more frequent meals, as well as avoiding refined carbohydrates as these cause a huge insulin surge. If you balance your blood sugar you will keep all the cells in your body healthy. You will also keep your love life alive.