Eating fat doesn’t make you fat. It makes you feel sexy.

In fact, ingesting enough dietary cholesterol goes hand in hand with the health of your libido. Healthy sex hormones provide color and excitement in all areas of life. Today’s lesson is on how to up your game by hacking your diet.

Although it is not commonly discussed amongst friends, I frequently hear clients complain about their lagging libido (or their spouse’s waning drive). Luckily, I have several tried and true methods to help you reignite that fire.

To ensure a strong sex drive and passion for life, it is essential to feed the body foods containing the basic building blocks needed to construct sex hormones. Healthy, natural fat and protein are crucial nutrients for this process. Unfortunately, they are often under-ingested and poorly absorbed in a large number of people. Here’s why…


CHOLESTEROL: FRIEND OR FOE

Dietary fat, specifically cholesterol, has been given a bad rap over the past few decades. Eggs and other cholesterol-rich food are constantly popping in and out of food fashion. However, the tendency of the nutritional and medical powers that be is to demonize fat, claiming that cholesterol causes heart disease and obesity. That is simply not true. Luckily, we are starting to see a shift in US dietary recommendations. Sadly, most people (including medical personnel) still do not understand how cholesterol actually benefits the body and boosts libido. If you are in that camp, read on!

Cardiovascular disease is always triggered by some aggravating element in the bloodstream. The fragile vascular walls can be damaged by factors such as high insulin levels, processed fats, artificial ingredients, toxins, chemicals, and stress hormones. When damage occurs, it creates an internal vascular wound.

In response to this weakness, the body sends healing agents to begin repair. The body then calls on cholesterol to patch up the weakened area of the blood vessel. In that way, cholesterol is similar to plaster that fills and supports a hole or crack in a wall.

Cholesterol does not just show up spontaneously in the bloodstream. It is a response to damage. For example, after surgery, cholesterol levels naturally elevate in order to help repair the body. The underlying damaging factor is the problem, not the cholesterol. When treating elevated cholesterol, it is essential to look at the root cause rather than put the blame on the response team.

Because cholesterol is so important not only to repair but also to brain health and to sex hormone creation, the liver acts as a back up and can produce approximately 70% of the cholesterol that the body needs. This is why individuals who are on a cholesterol free diet can still have elevated cholesterol in their blood. Conversely, those who eat cholesterol rich foods will test as having healthy cholesterol levels (unless their body needs it in the blood stream for repair).

BUT DOESN’T FAT MAKE YOU FAT?

Yes and no. Highly processed, poor quality fat, such as canola oil and hydrogenated oil, is hard for the body to break down. Consequently, those adulterated fats clog up your system, leading to underlying health issues that trigger unhealthy weight gain. Good quality fat, however, nourishes the body by providing a long-burning energy source, reducing cravings, supporting brain health, creating sex hormones, and fueling muscles during exercise. Therefore, fat will encourage you to be active and to feel sexy. Huzzah!

On the other hand, excess sugar will throw you on a blood sugar (and energy) roller-coaster. This physical stress drains your energy reserves, causing your body to steal nutrients intended for your sex hormones. Why? The brain prioritizes surviving the day over reproduction. This is a great survival mechanism, but it leaves your libido in the toilet

On top of that negative consequence, excess sugar that is ingested gets converted into adipose tissue. The body makes this conversion to protect your body from dangerously high levels of sugar remaining in the blood. If this cycle continues, the extra fat pounds pile on as a result. Don’t let your confidence and sex drive be weighed down by those unhealthy pounds. Instead reach for a well-rounded meal or snack when you need a boost. Your body (and your spouse) will thank you.

BREAKING IT DOWN

With the recent growing popularity of the real food movement, I see a lot of clients who are ingesting enough protein and good quality fat to create healthy sex hormones. This is great! However, these same clients are often having signs and symptoms of fat and protein deficiencies because their body is not actually absorbing much of what they are ingesting.

Quality stomach acid is needed to break down proteins, and free flowing bile is essential for proper fat absorption. Unfortunately, the majority of my clients initially have weak stomach acid and congested bile. These digestive imbalances and gastric congestion are often due to poor quality food choices in the past. Also, a fast past life that leaves little time for the crucial post-meal “rest and digest” phase contributes to these digestive problems.

If you are not absorbing your good quality food, you are literally flushing money down the toilet. The good news is that these issues can be reversed so that you can make the most out of what you are ingesting. The Fortis Wellness team provides simple tests that our clients do at home to determine the degree of these imbalances. Then we provide clients with targeted solutions to rebuild their digestive fire, enabling them to properly utilize the nutrients needed to make sex hormones.


TAKE ACTION

When tweaking your diet to optimize the health of your sex hormones, balancing your macronutrients is a good place to start. Although each person’s macronutrient needs are unique, a nice jump off point is 30% fat (e.g. eggs), 30% protein (e.g. chicken), and 40% non-processed carbohydrates (e.g. fruits and vegetables). Note that these percentages are based on caloric density. Dietary fat is just over two times more calorically dense compared to protein and carbs. A little fat goes a long way.

In addition to eating the right macronutrients, make sure to limit sugar and processed carbs, which rob you of your sexual vitality. Lastly, get plenty of sleep and keep stress in check in order to preserve ample energy for play.

Now go cook up some eggs and good quality bacon for you and your special someone!