The Center for Disease Prevention & Reversal Blog

Many of my patients complain of having "no interest". While a small percentage of the population identify as "asexual", the majority of us do not and losing one's sex drive altogether can be disquieting. Sex drive often wanes as we age but it should not disappear completely.

There are physical and psychological reasons for a diminished sex drive and or response.
Among the physical contributors are chronic inflammation, not enough exercise, excessive exercise, prescriptions medications, poor dietary patterns, and fatigue. These contributing factors can all be easily reversed.

Low cholesterol can lead to a decrease in DHEA and sex hormones, especially testosterone as cholesterol is necessary for the production of stress and sex hormones. Chronic stress can also lead to low DHEA and sex hormones as stress utilizes all the precursor hormone (pregnanolone) made from cholesterol to produce the stress hormones. DHEA or pregnanolone supplementation can be helpful but so is turning off the stress response. Reflex biofeedback can do this almost immediately.

Psychological factors that contribute to diminished libido include anxiety, chronic stress, depression, guilt, grief and shock. While therapy is helpful and often necessary, it may not restore libido if the autonomic nervous system is stuck with high sympathetic (fight and flight) tone. Sometimes people find themselves not being able to "turn of" and reflex biofeedback is a very quick way of bringing up the parasympathetic (rest and relaxation) arm of the autonomic nervous system. Other treatments that work are acupuncture, homeopathy, breath work, yoga, meditation, massage and so on. I have found that the RITM SCENAR, a reflex biofeedback device, works the quickest and has the longest lasting results.

A combination of exercise, eating a non-inflammatory diet, adequate sleep and meditation can achieve the balance desired for a healthy libido and sexual response. Sexual response is two-fold and involves both arms of the autonomic system; the parasympathetic system controls the arousal phase and the sympathetic controls the orgasmic phase.

I recommend staying "active" as it helps with balancing the autonomic nervous system. Whether my patients are in a relationship or not, I might recommend equipment. Just like having special equipment in order to enhance one's experience cooking in the kitchen, or in a sport, equipment in the bedroom can enhance the experience whether one is alone or partnered in the endeavor. For incredibly engineered and designed equipment, I recommend shopping at Lelo.com. Lelo is a swedish company (how surprising) that takes its' products seriously and has some the best designed products on the market.

Oxidative damage is something everyone has heard of but might not really understand.
The patients I see in my Chicago area office often show me the anti-oxidants they are taking with great delight. They know the supplements are somehow combatting the negative effects of bad things they might be exposed to.

Oxidative damage can come from many sources: radiation of all sorts which includes background radioisotopes that are always around, excessive solar radiation especially when the ozone layer is damaged or in high altitudes and specific foods and chemicals that have reactive oxygen. Heavy metals can be a big contributor.

Oxydation is necessary and our body creates compounds that lead to oxidation in specific situations such as in infections when our immune system uses oxidative compounds to its benefit in order to kill dangerous bacteria.

Our bodies also produce oxidative compounds with excessive exercise, but the overall benefit is positive as this also stimulates high amounts of anti-oxidants in the body as well given good nutritional status.

The caveat is chronic and repetitive oxidative damage causes illness. And oxidative damage in infants can lead to neurological and behavioral problems.

Studies have shown that casein( an ingredient in dairy), and gluten ( a compound in un-sprouted wheat, rye and barley) prevent the absorption of an amino acid called cysteine. Cysteine is a vital constituent in the formation of glutathione a very powerful anti-oxidant.

Gluten also leads to a leaky gut and a leaky brain. This and the reduced glutathione could be a major contributing factor in children with autistic spectrum disorders and could be the reason that these children do better off of gluten and dairy.

It's important to note that the receptors in the brain for casein and gluten are similar to the receptors in the brain for opiods such as morphine and heroin and therefore the desire for these compounds can be very strong despite that they might be doing harm. The intake of morphine and other opiod compounds such as those in prescription pain relievers also reduce cysteine and therefore anti-oxidant capabilities.

Reducing the inflammatory state that most pain patients are in via dietary changes and supplements and using an FDA approved prescription device called SCENAR which balances the autonomic nervous system input as well as altering the firing of pain fibers, is the most effective and immediate way to reduce the need for pain medication.

I introduced readers to Zonulin a few entries back. To recap, Zonulin is a protein made by our bodies that creates loosening of tight junctions such as those in the gut, brain and testicles. The tight junctions control transportation of molecules across junctions.

An example is the prevention of food particles in the lumen of the gut from crossing over into the blood vessels. The food is broken down and nutrients extrapolated so as not to present foreign proteins to your own system. This is why we don't make antigens to everything we eat.

However, some people do seem to produce antibodies to many foods and eventually, some of those with this issue produce antibodies to parts of themselves. This is what autoimmunity is. Some examples of autoimmune diseases are rheumatoid arthritis, thyroid disease, MS, psoriasis and even some forms of dementia. There are too many autoimmune disorders to list.

We now know one of the proteins involved with loosening the tight junctions is identified as Zonulin. Zonulin is increased by gluten intake irregardless of genetic makeup. We also know that toght junctions are loosened by metals, heavy metals and nano particulates like the aluminums added to almost all vaccines as adjuvants.

Studies have shown nano aluminum particles to cause neurodegenerative disorders and dimentia

It seems obvious that anyone with an autoimmune disease should avoid gluten and vaccines for that matter. What about the rest of us? I think minimizing exposure to known stimulants of zonulin and to known neurotoxins might just be a good choice for all.

It seems that over the years, I see more and more children in my Chicago area office who have been placed on psychotropic (behavioral) medications such as antidepressants, anti-anxiety, stimulants, mood stabilizers and anti-psychotics for their ADD, ADHD and "mood disorders".

When I trained in pediatrics in the late eighties and early nineties, the percentage of children on these medications was small but over the years, the percentage has risen to an unbelievably high number.

Often, parents consult me about their child because the child isn't any better on drugs or they feel their child has lost much of their personality. In many cases, the drugs have sparked new problems that are just as bad or worse than the original ones that prompted the medications in the first place.

After a careful 2 hour interview and observation of the child, I often order a neurotransmitter metabolite test to see the ratio of stimulatory to inhibitory neurotransmitters.

I assess the diet, the household environmental issues and the family dynamics, occasionally requiring the interview of both parents.

It is far and few between that I need to keep children on psych meds to deal with ADD or ADHD. In fact, many patients fair better off the medications and on specific amino acids to help support identified neurotransmitters.

Altering the diet is often helpful as well. There can be specific foods such as gluten or additives such as MSG which alter brain chemistry in ways detrimental to the patient.

And, finally, the tools of Scenar and Homeopathy are amazing when trying to make shifts in the nervous system. Sometimes a minor shift away from sympathetic (fright and flight) dominance is all that is necessary to reduce the anxiety that is underlying the behavior problem.

For a review of trials using homeopathy for ADD and ADHD click on this link to read the article by Dana Ullman in the Huffington Post citing a few clinical trials.