Lower sex drive on low carb

[jay1000000]

Ok I have posted this on other forums before but I have not found out the reason why my sex drive is lower when doing low carb.

Do any of the male low carbers out there experience a lower sex drive than when eating a diet with glucose. MY sex drive is not completely absent but I have less interest in sex and my ercetions are not as hard as they used to be because lack of arousal (not dysfunctional). I am thinking that it may have something to do with the fact that when eating carbs, insulin is released, which unbinds the sex hormones (testosterone) from the sex hormone-binding globulin making more free testosterone in the blood thus creating a greater desire for sex (increased libido). SHBG levels appear to be controlled by a delicate balance of enhancing and inhibiting factors. Its level is decreased by high levels of insulin and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I). THis would mean that eating carbs would stimulate insulin release wich inturn would lower the amount of SHBG making more free testosterone in the blood thus enhacing sex drive.

I can't tell if my sex drive is lower becuase I stop weight training but I still do cardio. I am 24 and I am doing a 0 carb diet or as close to 0 as possible. Every once in a while I will slip and add in about 50 g of carbs in a particular day and the following day I will notice I am aroused more easily. I have been low carbing for about a year now and I know it is a healthier lifedtyle and I feel better and healthier in every other areas in body except for of sex drive. I can't seem to figure it out. Can anyone relate to this? I just want to know the physiology behind it. Or maybe it isn't lower and I just feel differnet because I am doing different diet and my hormones are balnced differently and goignt through different changes . It is not a dysfuntion but it is just lower than before. Hoping maybe someone will have an answer for this because others that I have talked to that do 0 carb don't have this problem.

[lczeledoc]

Since following the PPLP lifestyle my sex drive has increased (as part of my overall increase in energy level). Higher protein and fat consumption should increase your testosterone levels. How is your fat consumption? Maybe you are reducing your calories too much?

[maxlharris]

The cardio (traditional) is killer on T. The lifting helps the T a lot. Try adding the lifting back.

Also, eat about 40g of carbs a day. There's no real benefit to dropping sub 10 regularly.

My sex drive is quite a bit higher than it was when I was 55 lbs heavier and eating crap.

Summary:
Dump traditional cardio. Do Intervals.
Lift weights.
Eat a few carbs.

[jay1000000]

I eat plenty of food so that is not a big deal. I would like to add some carbs back in but I feel better when I do not consume them at all. My skin also looks better. Maybe I will try to do 50 g of carbs per day for a week and see if it has an effect. If not then I will eliminate them and start weight lifting. It may just be because I am not used to this diet even after a year. I may also not be used to the fact that I don't weight train anymore and I am comparing my sex drive to how it was when lifting.

[maxlharris]

Jay,

I hate to be confrontational and that's not where this is coming from.

This is a protein power board. So everyone here is, in theory, working some version of protein power. That means, adequate protein, as per your LBM and activity level, and carbs in the weight loss phase below 40g/day if you have some to lose, or 55g if you're just looking to improve health. Lifting has always been a part of PP.

So, I might suggest doing some research and actually doing a protein powered plan. Pretty much everyone here will attest to the efficacy of doing so. It's a great plan. It works.

Lastly, regular cardio is bad for Testosterone. Lifting is good for T. Protein is good for T. So, if you take away something that was boosting T levels (lifting) and replace with something that is not good for T (standard cardio), regardless of what you do with your diet, you're gonna be short on the T. So, comparing sex drive at 5g carbs and 50g carbs isn't going to be meaningful when you're dumping the good (lifting) and replacing with bad (flat cardio).

If you don't want to resume lifting, do high intensity intervals. They are a plus for T.

[jay1000000]

Hey max, I know you are not try to be confrontational here and I thank you for the support. The reason I do not want to up my carb level is because it does not make sense to me and like I said before I feel better without them. The reason it does not make sense to me is because carbs are addicting and if I eat them I will want more and as a result I will end up binging and feeeling like crap. It is also alot easier to follow a plan that has 0 carbs than it is to follow one that has 50 g of carbs. A 0 carb diet is very simple to me because if food has carbs in it I don't eat it. It is very simple.

What is the purpose of eating 50g of carbs anyway? Enjoyment? I have no cravings to want to eat carbs at all. The cravings come only when I consume carbs.

About my exercise. I do not do cardio intentionally. The fact that I participate in aerobic sports gives me an indirect cardio workout. I wrestle and box about 3- 4 times per week. Both sports are slightly anaerobic but are more cardiovascular workouts than anything. I am going to incorperate some weight training and let you know how I feel

[maxlharris]

There's some feeling in my other group that striving for 0 doesn't have value. It cuts you out of veggies and fruits. And might get boring over the long haul. Additionally, it's thought that gluconeogenesis might not be fast enough to be the sole source of metabolic glucose. You might try upping carbs to 20g (atkins induction) and see how you feel.

Personally, am currently working with the TNT plan at men's Health. No counting. Just don't eat stuff that's very carby. People who are new to the program there are doing very well. And they are lifting.

On my other group, they have a saying: "It's your science experiment." If near 0 carb is how you want to try it, more power to you.

[jay1000000]

Ok, I will try upping my carb intake to see how I feel. Thanks for your help.

[jay1000000]

Is it possible that arachidonic acid can contribute to my problem? I tried to increase the amount of carbs for 4 days and I saw no increase in sex drive. All I eat is beef cooked very raw, eggs, and chicken once in a while.

I recently started eating omega 3 eggs and I noticed a change in my hair and skin. My hair used to be very dry. Now it is alot shinnier. I used to also get pimples on my legs from eating too much chicken and eggs which is why I consume mostly beef. However, the omega 3 eggs don't give me pimples and make my skin smoother. I also noticed that my pinky finger always hurt me (the joint). Now it does not bother me.

I have only eaten 3 days worth of omega 3 eggs and have not noticed a change in my sex drive but I was wondering if it is possible that AA could be the cause of a low sex drive?

[Synetos]

I know this is an old post, but i thought i would poke in and see how things are going. Also, how do you eat the eggs? I understand that hard/soft boiled is the best. Raw even better... Thoughts?

[jay1000000]

Ok here is an update. So far I have been doing alot of experiments with different nutrients. I have tried supplementing with hemp oil which gave me the best results so far out of any of the EFAs in terms of physical appearence and health, however it did not do anything for my sex drive. I am 100% sure that DHA and EPA increase my sex drive drastically but I do not like to use EFA derivitives or fish oil because they are bad for your health. The body converts parent EFAs in to DHA and EPA only as needed!!! Any excess of DHA or EPA will oxidize rapidly and cause cellular damage. I have expeerimented with this alot and have gotten sick every time I ate fish oil. This was before I read the information pertaining to how bad fish oil or DHA extract really is. It wasn't until later that I found out that fish oil greatly decreases immunity. I do not want to get into this right now but if you want to read more I suggest you google the name Brian Peskin and read about the dangers of fish oil. I have researched this topic alot and I completely understand why fish oil is unhealthy but do not have the time to get into the physiololgy. Like I said google the name Brian Peskin. He knows his stuff.

The reason I don't think that the hemp oil has increased my sex drive is because I am pretty sur I may have a deficiency in a few minerals which hinders the conversion process of parent EFAs to its derivitave DHA. I also researched this and it has come to my atttention that DHA increases dopamine which begets a higher libido. Also EFAs are used for developing cholesterol and sex hormones. Since I was eating only a high saturated fat grain fed beef diet I had virtually no omega 6s or omega 3s in my body because the monounsaturated fat fat in grain fe beef competes for the enzymes used by EFAs. Not only is grain fed beef extremely low in EFAs but it has a horendious ratio of omega 3 to omega 6. Since I was deficient in EFAs my body could not effectively roduce healthy sex hormones. This I believe is one of thee major factors that is effecting my sex drive. I now supplement with hemp oil which has improved my health but not sex drive which I believe is because of mineral deficiencies which I will explain next.

[jay1000000]

Now the minerals that are low in meat are calcium, magnesium, manganese, boron, and copper. I could not figure out how paneolithic man survived on mostly meat if they were deficient in these minerals. Then I realized something. They probably got those minerals except for copper, from hard drinking water. One thing that I was doing to deplete myself was that I was drinking soft water and bottled water which as absolutly no mineral content in ther.

I have been contemplating this for a while now. What if meat does not supply all the nutrients necessary for OPTIMAL health? What if we were meant to get some of our nutrients from water. Yes water. Minerals like calcium, magnesium , manganese, and boron are all found naturally in hard water in large amounts and can contribute to over 20 % of the RDA!! Natural water that people consumed long ago from lakes and streams were loaded with these minerals. Even the Inuit people get there water sources from fresh water lakes and rivers (see link below) which probably contributed to their strong bones. I have read alot of studies on minerals in hard water and it seems as though there is a a lot of information to support this topic. Meat is coincedently low in calcium, magnesium, manganese, and boron. Today in the United States most homes are installing water softners which eliminate Ca, Mg, Mn, and Boron. Bottled water also has none of these minerals which people consume more of than ever. I have also read that these minerals are also very bioavailable from water and do contribute a significant amount your diet. There is numerous research that shows that soft water is harming and even killing of those that drink it because it lacks these minerals !!!

Manganese and boron deficiencies are both known to cause a low libido. Magnesium, according to Dr. Eades, is a potent vasodialator. Here is a quote from one of his books:

"In asthma, for example, research has shown that even a slight increase in magnesium intake can improve the movement of air- a great benift for people gasping for an easy breath. It does this not only by relaxing the muscular wall of the airways and opening the passages wider but also by reducing the inflamation and swelling of the airway walls and increaseing the release of the powerful dilator nitric oxide. (You may be familiar with this substance in the wake of Viagra revolution; increaseing the release of nitric oxide is how the drug works its magic to imrpove sexual potency."

http://www.mgwater.com/ (http://www.mgwater.com/) (very good web site with plethora of articles showing how soft water harms health)
http://www.lenntech.com/health-risks-demineralized-water.htm (http://www.lenntech.com/health-risks-demineralized-water.htm)
http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6589564-description.html (http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6589564-description.html)
http://www.itk.ca/environment/water-inuit-concerns.php (http://www.itk.ca/environment/water-inuit-concerns.php) (Inuit article)
http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/magnesium.htm (http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/magnesium.htm)
www.mineralwaters.org/ (http://www.mineralwaters.org/) (mineral content of different bottled waters)

Read more from a post a made on this forum. I covered alot on this topic.
http://activenocarber.myfreeforum.org/about2078.html&sid=625bca78a3db7b5a443d44802d63c926

[jay1000000]

So far I have been supplementing with calcium and magnesium for 2.5 weeks (200mg Ca + 200 Mg-both amino acid chelates). I have noticed a huge improvement in my hair and nails. I don't know why but my hair is no longer brittle and dry and my nails seem to be growing faster and healthier. There has also been a dramatic difference in my mood and energy but only a small increase in my cognitive functioning (I have brain fog too). All this I found to be odd becasue I could not find any sources about the effect of Cal + Mag on hair growth but I think it has something to do with the fact that it is help EFAs do their job more efficiently.

I know for a fact that I was deficient in these two minerals and I believe I am still deficient in boron, copper, and manganese. Remember now that I have been 0 carbing on mostly beef and some liver every 3 weeks or so for about 1 year.

I just bought a boron supp today and will start taking 1.5 mg per day along with the Ca + Mg. I will eventually take the other minerals I believe to be deficient in one at a time to see which one is causing my low sex drive. I did a search to figure out the amount of manganese I was getting and I was only getting about 2-5% RDA manganese per day!!! Copper is deficinet but I am getting about 30 times more zinc in my diet than copper which will cause an imbalance. The correct ratio should be 15:1 zinc to copper. Boron is only found in trace amounts (.015 mg/kg) and even though it has not proven to be essential, i read some studies that it improves testosterone in those that are deficient and there has been anecdote of improved libido.

I just started on Boron today November 7th. I will give it 2 weeks to see if I get any effects and I will post the effects it had if any. Then I will add in the the last two minerals (manganese and copper) to my diet to see if I improve my sex drive. A known deficieny for manganese is low sex drive so maybe I will solve my problem.

[Gaelen]

Or maybe you might take a look at your diet, and at the costs of all these 'supplements' you're adding, and just alter your diet to include the FOODS that will put back some of these things you think are deficient in your intake.

Let's run this down, Jay.

You have persistent lowered libido.
Your hair and skin are so 'dry' that simple supplementation seems to provide almost instant improvement.
You claim to be eating 0 carb, although people have mentioned that there's no need to reduce carbs that low.
You eat 0 carbs because it's 'simpler' and 'carbs are addicting' and eating as few carbs as possible makes sense to you...even when it's compromising your sex drive, your skin, your hair, etc.
You say you 'feel better' eating 0 carb -- well, except for the libido things and the other stuff you've mentioned.


Max suggested that you read the book and actually DO Protein Power, as it was written. That's certainly GOT to be simpler than this hit or miss analysis you're doing right now. The carbs you choose can be low carb fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds. If you can't stop eating broccoli to the point where you're bingeing on it, well--there are far worse things to be addicted to than, say, broccoli.