My patient Jill is carrying 40 pounds she didn’t have 20 years ago. She was going to lose it when she retired, but now she didn’t have time.
Jill is also newly re-married, and her new younger hubby wants to have sex all the time. It is killing her, and isn’t satisfying him.
“Is there anything I can do to keep up other than take hormones, Doc?” she asks me when I see her in my office. “Those things scare me. Do you have a diet that can help?
Note that it wasn’t her low HDL (healthy) cholesterol or high blood pressure or 44 inch waist or 219 pounds that Jill was worried about. It was her sex life.
Satisfying, insulin sensitizing, totally crave-able Mediterranean meals that help her lose weight, not flavor is what she needed.
With barely 3 grams of saturated fat, my Spaghetti Frittata with Toasty Walnuts and Flax was just the ticket for Jill.
Its omega-3 rich flax meal and omega-3 rich eggs are deeply anti-inflammatory. Omega-3s help fight the body’s inflammation, improving blood flow.
The recipe’s whole grains lower insulin resistance, unlike white pasta, crackers and most bread.
Plus, its walnuts can protect the arteries from constricting, especially after a fatty meal, especially during exertion.
The research study proving this, by the way, was done with salami and cheese on white bread. But walnuts eaten at the right time help protect your arteries from being slammed into concrete pipes by drive-through fast food too.
I suggested to Jill that she take eight walnuts with any high saturated fat meal she might have to eat, just to keep her options open and, well, flexible.
I also pointed her in the direction of beans, legumes and seeds, especially kidney beans, peanuts and sunflower seeds, which are rich in arginine. This amino acid allows blood vessels to widen and increase blood flow to the sexual organs.
Jill also began a simple treadmill walking regimen, for aerobics and weight loss. After 12 weeks, she found a 5k to walk with a friend. With phone calls every week to me, and after losing 16 pounds, she was an unqualified success.
“Doc, I just want to thank you. I really didn’t know whether to believe you about the walnuts helping my sex life. But something sure did!”
Has an eating pattern or weight loss helped you restore your sex drive?
