Do you remember the day that sleep started looking better than a romp in the bedroom with hubby? Most of us don't and yet we chock it up to workload, stress or maybe even our significant other. But there was a time that no matter how bad a day, we were always ready to go! What happened??

Let's face it our libidos are fading fast. In a recent Australian study, published in the Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 66 percent of partners reported a suboptimal sex life, with 26 percent blaming low libido. Low libido has always been considered a female problem, but more and more men are admitting that they don’t feel up to it either.

So what causes low libido?

1. A poor diet
   Not getting enough of the right nutrients to make good levels of our hormones – like zinc, B vitamins, magnesium and healthy fats. We make our sex hormones from cholesterol – but it starts with consuming the nutrients to create it. At the same time we need vitamins and minerals such as zinc, B vitamins and magnesium to convert cholesterol into the sex hormones that drive a healthy libido.
    
2. Stress
   Let's face it when we are stressed often the last thing we have the ability to focus on is extra curricular activities. Stress puts us in a sympathetic state which not only turns off libidos but also our ability to digest the nutrients we need for hormone production. We can aim to not only reduce stress but more importantly we can change how we perceive stress.
   
   
3. Lack of sleep
   Sleep time is often sacrificed for our growing to-do list but often nothing brings our MOJO back faster than adequate sleep. Aim for at least eight hours per night.
   
   
4. Medications
   Many medications reduce libido and interfere with sexual performance sometimes resulting in erectile dysfunction. Check with your doctor if this is an issue for you.

 

What you can do?

Improving your diet will go a long way to helping you make good sex hormones. The brain hormones oxytocin and dopamine, which affect our feelings of love and excitement, also need the basic building blocks of vitamins and minerals.

Having an inflamed body reduces energy production – not good for an healthy sex-life. So cleaning out your diet will go a long way to helping you make all the right chemicals.

The main diet points should be:

1. Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, healthy fats, proteins, nuts and seeds to get all the nutrients you need.
2. Identify food sensitivities and reduce inflammatory foods such as hidden/overt sources of sugar.
3. Get more healthy oil in your diet – Omega 3 from krill and anti-inflammatory Omega 6 from flaxseed oil. Eat avocados, Grass-fed animal fat and use coconut oil for cooking.

Remember building better relationships and a better sex life ALWAYS starts with building a better YOU!