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by Linda Page, N.D., Ph.D.
Sexual Healing for Women
Women’s hectic lifestyles are definitely interfering with their love life and sexuality. Pressures on women are enormous as they may be wife, wage earner, lover, mother, chauffeur, caregiver, teacher, careerist, philanthropist and volunteer—not to mention chief cook and bottle washer! Over 80 percent of women visiting their doctors today put chronic tiredness at the top of the list of their health problems. Sound familiar? Some of the signs of reduced sexual arousal response in women are:
• An unexplained decrease in desire for sex
• Reduced frequency of sex
• Loss of ability to reach orgasm or non-satisfactory orgasm
• Loss of vaginal lubrication and painful sex
• Hot flashes or any other signs of estrogen deficit, like unexplained torso thickening
• Too tired and no desire to initiate sex
• Circulation problems.
Does aging mean decreased sexuality? No indeed. In fact, it may mean just the opposite, especially for women. After menopause, many women feel far more spontaneous, far more connected to a loving partner. Maturity brings experience and relaxation into sexuality. Psychological factors may govern our rate of sexual activity, but once a woman’s libido is awakened, it responds until she dies.
It’s All About Sexual Chemistry
Sexual chemistry is for real. For women the entire process of sexual function begins in the brain, which is often described as a woman’s largest sexual organ. The hypothalamus gland, deep in the brain, acts as a switchboard to manage her incoming sensory perceptions of sight, smell and touch. Her glands, in response to those senses, release hormones. The nervous system sends blood to her pelvic area and tissues become warmer and more sensitive. The adrenals release adrenaline, her heart beats faster and as her pulse races, she breathes deeper to take in more oxygen. Her sexual fluids are secreted. The brain responds by releasing endorphins and she feels even more pleasure. Her muscles contract rhythmically around and in her vagina and uterus. Her heart rate quickens and her breathing becomes even deeper. (If you’re a woman who’s out of shape, here is another reason to tone up. The orgasmic experience can be even more intense if you have good muscle tone and circulation.)
So as you can see, the entire sexual experience is orchestrated by truly sophisticated conversations that take place between a woman’s brain, her senses, nerves, glands, blood vessels, muscles and sexual organs. The state of a woman’s health plays a major role in the sexual process.
Here is how some lifestyle factors wreak havoc on women’s sexual chemistry:
Stress—All nerve responses are impaired by stress, including those of the brain and endocrine glands. Stress can hopelessly interfere with a woman’s ability to become aroused or to achieve full sexual satisfaction.
Lack of proper sleep—Fatigue keeps glands from functioning optimally and dulls arousal, desire and satisfaction during sex.
Environmental toxins—Additives, preservatives, dyes and artificial flavorings in our food, chlorine and fluoride in our drinking water, pesticides on our fresh produce and chemicals, are everywhere. They not only pose a threat on their own, they also create nutrient deficiencies, especially in minerals and trace elements needed for sexual health.
Tobacco—Smoking wipes out energy by limiting body oxygen and thus stamina. It damages blood vessels that provide the increased blood flow needed for arousal. It assaults the body with literally hundreds of toxic substances. Nicotine, carbon monoxide, lead, cadmium and benzopyrene are just a few that find their way into our bodies through cigarette smoke. On the other side, we lose crucial nutrients, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin A and carotenes, important for strong sexual function.
Caffeine—Caffeine stresses the adrenal glands, which provide the material for hormones. A new study shows that caffeine actually decreases testosterone, killing libido. For many women, it interrupts the menstrual cycle. Caffeine increases muscle tension, too, making it hard to relax.
Alcohol—Alcohol impairs sexual response by dulling the senses. Like caffeine, it appears to impair testosterone production, needed by both men and women for normal libido.
Sexual Healing with Herbs and Nutrition
Herbs work differently in men and women for sexual enhancement. While men are worrying about what turns them on, women are more aware of what turns them off.
One of the things that turns women off is painful intercourse. During reproductive years, estrogen stimulates the cells lining the vagina to maintain proper moisture. But after menopause, the vaginal lining may become thin and dry due to reduced circulating estrogen. Intercourse may become painful and a woman may experience increased susceptibility to vaginal infection. Herbs can often come to the rescue.
For immediate relief I recommend the topical use of vitamin E oil, or an oral extract of two Chinese herbs, licorice root and dendrobium, to produce more fluid in the membranes. Panax ginseng also helps the body produce fluid. Taking vitamin E internally helps improve blood supply to the vaginal walls.
Herbs with phytoestrogen properties also exhibit a tonic effect on the female sexual system and improve blood flow to the female organs. Phytohormone-containing herbs nourish and tone the female glandular and organ systems rather than exert a drug-like effect. They are useful for decreased sexual function, atrophic vaginitis and hot flashes.
Dong quai is an estrogenic herb that alleviates hot flashes and vaginal atrophy during and after menopause. Coumarins, naturally occurring substances found in dong quai, exert action on the uterus, increasing circulation and tonification.
Licorice root’s phytoestrogens-estrogens have a normalizing effect on the body for fluid retention, breast tenderness, abdominal bloating, mood swings and depression. Its action on the adrenal gland helps maintain energy levels.
Black Cohosh, a phytoestrogen, antispasmodic and nervine, helps relieve menstrual cramps, menopausal hot flashes and uterine conditions.
Chaste Tree Berry has a normalizing effect on sex drive. It stimulates production of the hormone progesterone by balancing abnormally high estrogen levels. It is helpful for depression, headaches, premenstrual acne, breast tenderness, cramps and bloating.
False unicorn is a uterine tonic for female infertility and frigidity that aids in production and circulation of estrogen and progesterone.
Squaw vine is a uterine tonic that relieves congestion.
Siberian Ginseng is a tonic that restores body balance, both physically and biochemically. It is often considered more suitable for women than panax ginseng because it influences the hypothalamus by modulating hormonal release.
Panax Ginseng has estrogen-like effects on the female reproductive tissues. It?prevents vaginal atrophy.
Ashwagandha is an Ayurvedic herb with ginseng-like activity that works well for women because it is a gentle energizer, not as overheating as panax ginseng.
I believe that an herbal compound is a better choice than any single herb. A compound offers broad spectrum support to act as a system toner to keep the female body female. A compound to enhance sexuality for women through hormone support might include dong quai, damiana, licorice root, burdock, red raspberry, sarsaparilla, ashwagandha, oatstraw, nettles, dandelion, yellow dock, rosemary, hawthorn, peony, angelica root, fennel seed, ginger root, rose hips, chamomile, cinnamon, rehmannia.
Along with herbs, a woman’s diet is critical to her sexual readiness, her libido and her sexual responsiveness.
Most of a woman’s blocks to having great sex are physical, stemming from an unhealthy lifestyle, poor nutrition, stress and burnout, or the side effects of prescription medicines. These are serious problems but they are problems she can do something about. Even if her sexual challenges stem from emotional issues, good nutrition and healing herbs can make a tremendous positive impact on sexual arousal, response and satisfaction.
Linda Page, N.D., Ph.D., is the author of the best-selling book, Healthy Healing—A Guide To Self-Healing For Everyone, now in the 11th edition. She is also featured in the television program, “The World of Healthy Healing—Unleashing The Healing Power of Herbs,” airing on PBS stations. For more information visit: http://www.healthyhealing.com.
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