A lively libido lies in a lively gut
May 26, 2004 Edition 1
Marika Sboros
Are your energy levels dipping? Is your libido languishing way below zero? Do you often feel less than your best?
If so, Mother Nature is ready and willing with a range of natural remedies to help you regain your energy, love of life, and a good sex life along the way.
Finding the natural remedy that works for you isn't always a breeze. With tens of thousands of supplements on sale, and more coming onto the market every year, it can be baffling, disheartening and difficult to sift real science from marketing hype.
That's where British natural health specialist Susan Clark comes in.
Clark is the author of What Really Works In Natural Health, an extensive, well-researched guide that cuts through the confusion to offer invaluable information on health products, and how to use them to achieve optimum physical and emotional well-being.
"Mainstream science is finally catching up with folklore and anecdotal evidence, to prove that many natural remedies do actually work.
"For almost every chronic health complaint, from persistent tiredness to a low libido, there's only one place to start to get rid of symptoms and feel well again, and that's the gut," Clark says.
Just as you can't hope to improve your skin if you ignore what's going on inside your body, the same holds true for all other health complaints.
Healthy digestion is the key to good health and optimum sex drive overall, and natural remedies work particularly well to achieve that.
Getting the digestion right is not just about gut health, though. It also requires addressing related organs - the liver, pancreas and gallbladder - that work together to support the digestive process.
Clark describes the liver as the body's "high-speed chemical processing plant". Everything you eat or drink has to pass through this "large and extraordinary organ", she says. The main challenge is to avoid overloading the liver.
The condition of the liver is critical to overall health and well-being, she says. In fact, naturopaths believe almost all diseases are caused by colon and liver congestion.
A congested liver allows toxins that would otherwise have been screened and removed, to circulate round the body in the blood, causing damage to tissues and bodily systems.
Signs of a congested liver include frequent headaches, diges-tive disturbances, insomnia, feeling sluggish after waking up in the morning, and a yellow tinge to the skin.
Clark has some simple suggestions for giving the liver a rest: cut out meat fats, refined foods, white sugar, flour products and alcohol.
"Stop eating these foods for a week and see how your energy levels and digestion improve," she says.
She includes an A to Z of "gut-nourishing foods". (See more information below right.)
Another method of helping out your liver is to start the day by drinking the fresh juice of half a lemon or lime in warm water. "This helps to both heal and clean a congested liver," Clark says. Or you can make your own "liver superjuice" with carrots, celery, parsley and apples.
Cleansing the colon is also essential for good health, and doesn't require invasive methods. Colon hydrotherapy has become a buzzword on the natural health scene, but Clark says there is almost "no real research" proving its effects one way or the other.
US research has shown that the infusion of warm filtered water into the rectum can be helpful to alleviate problems like indigestion, gas, headaches, joint problems, allergies and skin disorders. Clark believes that if you were meant to "sluice water up your bottom, the Creator would have installed a tap".
There is evidence to show that a qualified herbalist can help you to cleanse the colon just as effectively, using herbs such as the cleansing herb triphala used in Ayurvedic medicine. (Ayurveda is an ancient Indian holistic healing system that dates back thousands of years and aims to balance bodily systems to improve health and wellbeing, including sexual wellbeing.)
tWhat Really Works In Natural Health by Susan Clark (Random R150) is available from selected bookstores.
An A to Z of gut-nourishing food
A for asparagus: helps prevent constipation and bloating; also artichokes that are rich in magnesium to relieve indigestion.
B for bananas: the best natural probiotic; and broccoli, a vegetable rich in glutamine, a crucial amino acid that can detoxify carcinogens in the digestive tract.
C for cider vinegar: it helps strengthen digestion and prevent diarrhoea; also cabbage that stimulates the immune system to protect the digestive tract further. Cabbage juice soothes inflammation and stomach ulcers.
D for dill: a member of the parsley family with a potent anti-diarrhoea action; also dates that are high in vitamin B6, and help the body to assimilate proteins and fats properly.
E for elderberries: they provide folic acid to help the body metabolise protein and protect against intestinal parasites and food poisoning.
F for fennel: widely used in Ayurvedic medicine as a natural laxative and helps relieve everyday digestive problems.
G for ginger: one of the all-time best tonics. Make your own Ayurvedic pre-dinner digestive aid with a little grated ginger mixed with fresh lemon juice, honey and warm water. Drink half an hour before you eat.
H for horseradish: a digestive stimulant to break down the protein fibres in meat.
I for ice cream: of the oat variety (check out the website at www.first-foods.com). Oats contain gum fibres that bind with bile acids to decrease fat absorption and delay stomach- emptying by coating the lining of the gut.
J for juniper berries: first used in the 1500s to make an inexpensive diuretic and digestive tonic known as gin.
K for kale: another cruciferous vegetable that contains colon-protecting glutamine and protects against bowel cancer; also kidney beans, another diuretic that helps prevent bloating.
L for liver and lentils: both good sources of glutamine.
M for millet: a sacred, ceremonial grain in China where it was eaten as a niacin-rich (Vitamin B3) porridge to support healthy digestion.
N for nori: the Japanese seaweed that helps the body to digest fried foods better.
O for onions: when cooked they relieve indigestion
and wind. They are also a good source of folic acid to help with digestion.
P for prunes: a natural laxative; and parsley, a plant that aids digestion.
Q for quinoa: rich in digestion-supporting B vitamins, with the highest protein content of all natural grains.
R for rye: a good source of silicon and nutrients that support other organs linked with digestion.
S for spinach: that has a cleansing action in the intestinal tract and is also rich in anti-oxidant nutrients.
T for tahini: a magnesium rich paste made from ground sesame seeds; also turmeric that acts as an intestinal antiseptic.
U for unsulphured dried fruits: better for you than those containing sulphur as a preservative.
V for vitamin B5 (pantethine): found in whole grains and plays a role in converting fats, protein and carbohydrate foods into energy.
W for wheatgrass juice: a potent detoxifying agent, with an acquired taste, so build up your tolerance by adding a small amount to your superjuices.
Y for bioactive yoghurts: they provide probiotic bacteria to rebuild healthy digestion.
Z for zinc: plays a key role in your sense of taste and smell.
