Wednesday Bubble: Are you in the moo? Sex and a sense of purpose
What are we bursting this week? How about midlife and sexual desire. Frankly, I’ve got sex on the brain, sex in midlife, that is. And what we need to do to insure that it continues to be enjoyable, that we desire it and that we please our partners as much as we hope that they please us. Consequently, I am reposting this piece from earlier in the year, with the hope that with a sense of purpose, you’ll become more in the moo. Or mood. Whatever the case may be.
Sexual desire. In midlife, sexual function and sexual desire aren’t well understood, primarily because there are so many factors that enter into equation. This may be why certain silver bullets, like a female viagra, has failed to show any significant improvements in the desire department. And yet, researchers continue to accrue more information about the things that influence desire in women, ranging from the quality of intimate relationships to social support and overall wellbeing. The manufacturer who discovers a pill that addresses all of these will have struck gold. Meanwhile, back in reality, as many as 75% of women in midlife rate sexual health as important enough to warrant further exploration.
Fortunately, we may have another piece of the puzzle: ‘sense of purpose,’ which appears to be associated with greater wellbeing, happiness, life satisfaction, self-esteem, personal growth and optimism. A sense of purpose also appears to improve health, prevent certain diseases and may even improve cognitive function, thereby staving off mental diseases associated with aging. In a study that appears in the online version of Menopause, 459 menopausal women who were sexually active with a partner were followed over three years. Each year, they were asked about their emotional wellbeing (including their general mood, anxiety and depression as well as how often they engaged in and enjoyed sexual activity (specifically desire, type of activity and hugging and kissing). In the final year, they took a test that rated their sense of purpose on a five point scale ranging from ‘there is not enough purpose in my life’ to ‘the things I do are all worthwhile.’
The findings?
A greater sense of purpose equaled a great enjoyment of sexual activities, independent and regardless of other specific life circumstances. In other words, psychosocial functioning, e.g. social support, quality intimacy and overall wellbeing influenced the quality of these women’s sexual lives. On the other hand, menopausal status and use of hormone therapy did not appear to play a significant role in how often women engaged in sex or if they enjoyed it. This is important, as it means that psychosocial wellbeing may ultimately be more important than hormones.
In so far as the desire to engage? Women who were younger, had more social support, felt better about themselves and weren’t suffering from vaginal dryness tended to want sex more than their older peers who didn’t enjoy these factors.
Not surprisingly, many of the factors that researchers stress may help desire and engagement are associated with greater nitric oxide levels, which Dr. Christina Northrup says can help combat sexual dysfunction and improve pleasure.
When it comes to sex in midlife? It may help to think ‘sense of purpose,’ a real sense of purpose, now. (Poetic license, Chrissie!) I’m all for it if improves activity and desire without drugs.
Read MoreBotanically speaking…EstroG-100
Got botanicals? You might want to get this one. Although the traditional Japanese medicine Kampo supplement TU-025 doesn’t appear to offer much hope in the hot flash department, a well-known botanical supplement widely used in Korea, EstroG-100, may. In fact, it appears that the proprietary blend of Korean herbs in EstroG-100, including Cynanchum wilfordii, Phlomis ubrosa and Angelica gigas are not only safe but help in a number of menopausal symptoms in addition to hot flashes.
So, what’s the lowdown on EstroG-100? Basically, the supplement has been studied in Asian women and we know from other alternative strategies that effectiveness among different ethnicities don’t always translate. Hence, I was pretty interested to learn that researchers decided to see if EstroG-100 would work on menopausal symptoms in a small group of white- and non-White Hispanics and African American women who were pre-, peri or menopausal. Over a three month time period, women either took 2 EstroG-1oo tablets or placebo twice daily and then using a scientific index, self-reported and rated symptoms, including:
- hot flashes
- cold swewats
- numbness, tingling
- insomnia
- nervousness, depression or feeling blue
- dizziness
- fatigue
- muscle and joint pain
- headache
- pounding heart
The study results suggest that EstroG-100 is not only safe, but it has a significant impact on a few very troublesome symptoms, namely hot flashes and sweats, insomnia, nervousness, feeling blue, dizziness and fatigue. Overall, menopausal symptom scores declined by more than half in women using EstroG-100 compared to women taking placebo. Moreover, initial, favorable changes were seen as early as 6 weeks. Estro-G also appeared to have a beneficial effect on the severity of vaginal dryness, a condition that plagues many menopausal women as estrogen levels decline. Even better were findings that EstroG-100 does not have any sort of estrogenic effect, indicating that it may potentially be safely used in women at risk for gynecological cancers. And, use of EstroG-100 does not appear to affect weight, body mass index or liver enzymes, all of which are affected by hormone replacement.
Less clear is how EstroG-100 will work in non-Hispanic white women and that study, along with studies in larger numbers of women may determine it’s overall benefit in menopause. Meanwhile, I’m pretty encouraged. This study addresses a lot of complaints about studies of alternatives; it is well designed, randomized, looks closely at adverse events and includes a variety of ethnic groups and menopausal status. Stay tuned for more on EstroG-100. This botanical may be here to stay!
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Wednesday Bubble: Soy takes another hit
We’re live!
Welcome to the new home of Flashfree! Our URL has changed but the same content that you’ve grown to know and ‘love’ is the same.
Let’s kick off http://flashfree.me with the latest and ‘greatest’ report on soy: it does not help menopausal symptoms or prevent bone loss.
Isn’t this contrary to what’s been reported previously, at least with regards to women with the ability to produce S-equol?
In this latest nail to the soy coffin, research appearing in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests that part of the issue in proving or disproving the utility of soy for menopause is the lack of trials of long duration, consistent use of low doses of soy isoflavones, small number of participants and too much breadth and depth of age and menopausal status. However, the SPARE trial (Soy Phytoestrogens as Replacement Estrogen), aimed to change this paradigm by examining the effect of daily 200 mg soy isoflavones in tablet form in 248 women between the age of 45 and 60. All participants had been in menopause for one to five years or for six to 12 months. These women were studied for two years, were instructed to take the active pill or placebo tablet before breakfast, and stop taking any hormones for at least six months before the study started. Calcium was supplemented in women who were taking less than 500 to 1000 mg daily. Importantly, women taking the isoflavone tablets were actually receiving a dose equal to approximately twice that normally obtained through food in Asian diets.
At the study’s end, the researchers found that women taking soy or placebo were on equal footing and that soy did not appear to prevent bone loss or reduce bone turnover. Moreover, soy did not appear to have any significant effect on hot flashes, night sweats, libido or vaginal dryness. They also say that even though women who are able to produce S-equol in their guts were likely to benefit from soy compared to women who are not, they did not see any specific benefit when these women were studied separately. Although not considered a dangerous side effect, constipation was experienced by more than a third of women taking soy.
So, what are we to think? Some studies say soy is effective, particularly among S-equol producers while others, like this well designed trial, show that it is now. However, there has been some data suggesting that the ratio of specific isoflavones may play an important role, and there is no information in the published study about this ratio other than to say that the soy supplement used is similar to those obtained in health food stores.
When it comes to soy, the verdict isn’t quite out yet, although the studies that have been conducted to date can’t seem to tease out what’s what. As always, use caution and lower your expectations. There are other non-hormonal approaches that may provide greater benefit when it comes to bone loss and menopausal hot flashes and other symptoms.
Want to read more on soy isoflavones? Check out the Flashfree archives.
Read MoreSex, midlife and a sense of purpose
Sexual desire. In midlife, sexual function and sexual desire aren’t well understood, primarily because there are so many factors that enter into equation. This may be why certain silver bullets, like a female viagra, has failed to show any significant improvements in the desire department. And yet, researchers continue to accrue more information about the things that influence desire in women, ranging from the quality of intimate relationships to social support and overall wellbeing. The manufacturer who discovers a pill that addresses all of these will have struck gold. Meanwhile, back in reality, as many as 75% of women in midlife rate sexual health as important enough to warrant further exploration.
Fortunately, we may have another piece of the puzzle: ‘sense of purpose,’ which appears to be associated with greater wellbeing, happiness, life satisfaction, self-esteem, personal growth and optimism. A sense of purpose also appears to improve health, prevent certain diseases and may even improve cognitive function, thereby staving off mental diseases associated with aging. In a study that appears in the online version of Menopause, 459 menopausal women who were sexually active with a partner were followed over three years. Each year, they were asked about their emotional wellbeing (including their general mood, anxiety and depression as well as how often they engaged in and enjoyed sexual activity (specifically desire, type of activity and hugging and kissing). In the final year, they took a test that rated their sense of purpose on a five point scale ranging from ‘there is not enough purpose in my life’ to ‘the things I do are all worthwhile.’
The findings?
A greater sense of purpose equaled a great enjoyment of sexual activities, independent and regardless of other specific life circumstances. In other words, psychosocial functioning, e.g. social support, quality intimacy and overall wellbeing influenced the quality of these women’s sexual lives. On the other hand, menopausal status and use of hormone therapy did not appear to play a significant role in how often women engaged in sex or if they enjoyed it. This is important, as it means that psychosocial wellbeing may ultimately be more important than hormones.
In so far as the desire to engage? Women who were younger, had more social support, felt better about themselves and weren’t suffering from vaginal dryness tended to want sex more than their older peers who didn’t enjoy these factors.
Not surprisingly, many of the factors that researchers stress may help desire and engagement are associated with greater nitric oxide levels, which Dr. Christina Northrup says can help combat sexual dysfunction and improve pleasure.
When it comes to sex in midlife? It may help to think ‘sense of purpose,’ a real sense of purpose, now. (Poetic license, Chrissie!) I’m all for it if improves activity and desire without drugs.
Read MoreWednesday Bubble: Meno…wait! Don’t. Pause.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7UOBujHAds&w=480&h=390]
In fact, you don’t even have to. Just two pills daily and ‘Don’t Pause‘ not only guarantees that you’ll lose weight and inches (and that tiresome cellulite), but you’ll also retrieve those lost energy levels that menopause has been zapping.
Don’t Pause contains a proprietary blend of pomegranate extract and green tea. In addition to weight loss, Don’t Pause will help preserve bone, improve skin tone and muscle, ease vaginal dryness AND improve your sex life. What’s more, it doesn’t matter if you’re 40 or 90, Don’t Pause can help you lead a healthier and more enjoyable life.
Huh!
Who knew?!
Just two a day and everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) that we possibly find negative goes away. Cellulite, fat, vaginal dryness, saggy muscles, and bad sex.
WHAT are you waiting for?
Another panacea for all that ails? Don’t pause, run, no…
No no.
Bubble? Yup. Burst this one open wide ladies.
Happy Wednesday!
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