HOW A WOMAN CAN FEEL SEXY AGAIN

In August 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Addyi (flibanserin), the first drug to treat low libido in women. It’s estimated that nearly 27 percent of premenopausal women and more than 52 percent of postmenopausal

women experience low sexual desire.

Addyi is specifically approved to treat generalized hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) in premenopausal women. According to the FDA:2

“HSDD is characterized by low sexual desire that causes marked distress or interpersonal difficulty and is not due to a co-existing medical or psychiatric condition, problems within the relationship, or the effects of a medication or other drug substance.

HSDD is acquired when it develops in a patient who previously had no problems with sexual desire. HSDD is generalized when it occurs regardless of the type of sexual activity, the situation or the sexual partner.”

There were red flags associated with Addyi’s approval from the beginning. Not only did it display worrying side effects, but clinical trials showed the drug only increased the number of satisfying sexual events by about one per month, an effectiveness rate that led critics to argue against the drug’s use.

Now new research once again shows that Addyi may be hardly effective at all, coupled with a host of serious side effects that make the pill not nearly worth the risk.

Female Viagra: Marginal Benefit, Serious Risks

A systematic review and meta-analysis of eight studies revealed treatment with Addyi resulted in just one-half additional satisfying sexual event per month.3 For that marginal benefit, the women were flooded with adverse events, including a significantly increased risk of:

• Dizziness
• Somnolence
• Nausea
• Fatigue

The risk of dizziness among women taking the drug, dubbed “female Viagra,” was quadrupled while the risk of nausea was more than doubled. Overall, about 1 in 3 women taking Addyi experienced side effects.

Addyi is a serotonin 1A receptor agonist and a serotonin 2A receptor antagonist that works by affecting brain receptors. However, the FDA noted “the mechanism by which the drug improves sexual desire and related distress is not known.”4

The drug was only approved after three FDA reviews and two agency advisory committee meetings, but even then the FDA’s own clinical reviewers rejected Addyi.

Dr. Steven Woloshin, a professor of Medicine at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice in New Hampshire, who wrote an editorial accompanying the study, said the FDA “caved to public pressure from a manufacturer-sponsored advocacy campaign alleging that sexism had held up the drug's approval.”5

He told Medscape, “All of the clinical reviewers, the people closest to the data, voted to reject the drug, but they were overruled by the senior administrative people.”6

Addyi Is Dangerous When Taken With Alcohol

Addyi, which is a once-daily pill, comes with a black-box warning that consuming the drug with alcohol may lead to severely low blood pressure and fainting. Taking the drug along with certain medications or if you have liver problems may also be dangerous. The FDA reported:7

“Addyi can cause severely low blood pressure (hypotension) and loss of consciousness (syncope).

These risks are increased and more severe when patients drink alcohol or take Addyi with certain medicines (known as moderate or strong CYP3A4 inhibitors) that interfere with the breakdown of Addyi in the body.

Because of the alcohol interaction, the use of alcohol is contraindicated while taking Addyi. Health care professionals must assess the likelihood of the patient reliably abstaining from alcohol before prescribing Addyi.”

Further, when the drug was approved it was only done so with conditions — a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS).

In addition to the black-box warning and the requirement that Addyi only be dispensed by certified prescribers and pharmacies, the FDA has required three studies to be conducted to explore the risks of taking Addyi along with alcohol.

Female Viagra Tanks on the Market

Addyi was developed by Sprout Pharmaceuticals, but within 48 hours of the drug’s FDA approval, Valeant Pharmaceuticals purchased Sprout Pharmaceuticals for about $1 billion.8

They were likely expecting Addyi to be a top seller, and in 2015 Valeant was hoping to reach sales of between $100 million and $150 million.

Sales, however, have fallen far short, at just $11 million a year. As of January 2015, only about 240 to 290 prescriptions were being sold each week, The New York Times reported.9

Indeed, taking a pill every day to possibly experience one-half additional pleasurable sexual encounter a month, along with dizziness, fatigue and nausea, hardly seems like a good trade off for women.

People are right to be wary of this drug, especially since it does nothing to address the underlying factors leading to low libido.

Addyi is not meant for long-term use, and the FDA reports “patients should discontinue treatment after eight weeks if they do not report an improvement in sexual desire and associated distress.”10 Even if the pill boosted your libido, any gain will disappear once you stop taking the drug.

What Causes Low Libido in Women?

The reasons for low libido are complex and run the gamut from stress and other emotional difficulties to physical problems, including erectile dysfunction.

Most people do not seek help for chronic low libido, which is unfortunate because regular sex with a committed partner cannot be underestimated as a factor for reducing stress, bolstering self-esteem, and fostering feelings of intimacy and bonding between partners.

A healthy sex life can provide for a longer, healthier and, most would agree, more enjoyable life, but many are missing out on this very primal pleasure.

There are many similarities between men and women in regard to desire; contrary to popular belief. For example, visual images trigger sexual desire inboth sexes.

Likewise, anxiety, defensiveness, fear, and failure of communication are destructive psychological forces that can take a heavy toll on your libido, whether you’re a man or a woman, by acting as roadblocks to desire. So addressing emotional issues should be a primary goal.

Low Testosterone May Be to Blame for Low Libido in Women

Hormonal issues may also be to blame for low libido in women, particularly low testosterone levels. Testosterone is normally produced in small amounts by the ovaries and adrenal glands in premenopausal women.

But during menopause, the ovaries' production of hormones, including testosterone, decreases. Some researchers believe that this decrease in testosterone affects sex drive in postmenopausal women. Decreased sex drive is one symptom of low testosterone in women, as are the following:

• Weight gain
• Fatigue and exhaustion
• Mood swings
• Depression or anxiety
• Hair loss

If your testosterone levels are low, treatment with bioidentical testosterone may significantly boost your libido. According to research published in Therapeutic Advances in Endocrinology and Metabolism:11

“Modest benefit has been shown from transdermal testosterone therapy given to postmenopausal women with reduced sexual desire.

An increased frequency of satisfying sexual encounters and intensity of sexual desire and response has been shown in medically and psychiatrically healthy women able to have 2 to 3 satisfying sexual experiences each month before therapy commences.”

Women, Nine Tips to Boost Your Sex Drive Naturally (They Work for Men Too)

To boost your libido naturally and help restore harmony to your intimate life, try the strategies that follow.

1. Reduce, with the plan of eliminating, grains and sugars in your diet. It is vitally important to eliminate sugars, especially fructose. High levels of sugar in your bloodstream can actually turn off the gene that controls your sex hormones.12
2. Eat a healthy diet, like the one described in my nutrition plan, which will help to normalize your insulin levels. This simple measure has a profound influence on every area of your health, including your sex life.
3. Optimize your vitamin D levels, ideally through appropriate sun exposure as vitamin D levels increase testosterone levels, which may boost libido.
4. Exercise regularly. Make sure you incorporate high-intensity interval training exercises, which also optimize your human growth hormone (HGH) production

1. Most people are making major mistakes in their exercise programs as aerobic or cardio workouts miss out on important hormonal and health regulation benefits achieved by performing high-intensity, burst-type exercises such as Peak Fitness

Peak Fitness exercises are far more effective as they promote human growth hormone (HGH), a synergistic, foundational biochemical underpinning that addresses the serious muscle loss and atrophy that typically occurs with aging.

1. Your production of vital human growth hormone increases by up to 771 percent during a Peak Fitness workout because you are stimulating your fast muscle fibers, which are rarely used during most exercise programs

1. Because these exercises are so intense, you only need to do them three times a week, and the entire workout takes just 20 minutes. Doing them more often can actually be harmful, as your body will not have enough time for recovery.Phil Campbell is a true veteran in the field of fitness with over 35 years experience in training professional athletes.

   Over the years Phil has worked with 18,000 athletes, teaching them how to run faster with the proper speed technique.

   Phil helped me understand how to practically change my primarily cardio aerobic exercise program to one that actually increases growth hormone and provides more health benefits.

   You may not be aware that I first became interested in health and fitness in 1968 when I read Dr. Ken Cooper's book, Aerobics.

   In the '60s, exercise was not embraced by the health and medical profession, and Dr. Cooper was the catalyst for increasing the overall awareness about exercise.

   I followed his aerobic program for over 40 years as a runner and then, about five years ago, Dr. Al Sears opened my mind to the possibility that high intensity exercise training was superior to the cardiovascular aerobic-type training I had been using for over four decades.

   But Phil Campbell helped me understand the connection to human growth hormones (HGH) and how to practically integrate the program. I have been doing Phil's program, referred to as "Sprint 8" in the video but which we refer to as Peak Fitness on our site, now for two years it's really made a remarkable difference in my fitness level.

   Why Long, Slow Cardio Doesn't Deliver Desired Results

   For those who are not yet familiar with Peak Fitness, it works because it engages your fast and super-fast twitch muscle fibers, which promotes human growth hormone (HGH), a synergistic, foundational biochemical underpinning that helps make your strength training and everything else work like a charm, and effectively burns off calories.

   Phil explains:

   "Most exercise programs today are built based upon a very incomplete picture of the physiology of your body. For example, long slow cardio, "calories in, calories out," would be a perfect way to look at the body if it were all slow-twitch fiber … [but] there are three muscle fiber types: slow, fast and super-fast … both those types of fast-twitch fibers are essentially 50 percent of your muscle fibers that don't get recruited until you add a velocity of movement."

   If you don't actively engage and strengthen all three muscle fiber types and energy systems, then you're not going to work both processes of your heart muscle. Many mistakenly believe that cardio works out your heart muscle, but what you're really working is your slow twitch muscle fibers. You're not effectively engaging the anaerobic process of your heart. Fortunately Peak Fitness type exercises however, do address these fibers and metabolic systems.

   Traditional strength training and cardio primarily exercise your slow twitch muscle fibers. Your body kicks in these slow twitch muscles first, in an effort to not recruit your fast twitch muscles, or work your heart anaerobically.

   This is why you may not see results even though you spend an hour on the treadmill a few times a week – you're basically denying the natural physiology of your body by not working the other half of your muscle fibers; your fast-twitch muscles.

   Phil states:

   " … the American Heart Association and the American College of Sports Medicine, they have taken long-slow cardio and have taken it out of the exercise guidelines and the reason is pretty clear. It just doesn't work. It doesn't work both processes of your heart muscle, aerobic process and anaerobic process. It doesn't work for your fast-twitch fiber.

   To really work your cardiovascular system the way you should, I'm now saying you do moderate-intensity cardio (which is still pretty intense) five days a week for 30 minutes ─ or vigorous intensity cardio for 20 minutes, three times a week. This is what Sprint 8 has been for years and years now."

   You Should NOT do Peak Fitness Every Day

   I want to point out that even though Peak Fitness is, in my impression, an essential, crucial element of any exercise training program -- it is NOT something you should do every day, as your body requires more time to heal in between sessions.

   Phil says:

   "We have to urge caution because research is pretty clear now: if you do long and slow exercise, your muscle -- that's slow-twitch fiber -- can heal pretty quickly in one day. But when you work fast-twitch fiber, whether it's an NFL athlete, or me or anyone, it takes about 48 hours for that fast-twitch fiber to truly heal back and totally recover. Sprint 8 is one of these programs that you really don't want to do every day … we recommend three times a week."

   The benefit of doing this program three times a week comes not only from the way it works your fast and super-fast muscle fibers, but also the way it increases your growth hormone with each session.

   Each Peak Fitness Workout May Increase Your Growth Hormones by 771 Percent

   Human growth hormone is often referred to as "the fitness hormone." The higher your levels of growth hormone, the healthier and stronger you will be. Once you hit the age of 30, you enter what's called "somatopause," at which point your levels of human HGH begin to drop off quite dramatically. This decline of HGH is part of what drives your aging process, so maintaining your HGH levels gets increasingly important with age.

   

   The longer you can keep your body producing higher levels of HGH, the longer you will likely experience more robust health and strength. Some athletes choose to inject it for this very reason, though it is a banned substance in nearly every professional sport. I do not recommend injecting HGH however, due to the potential side effects, the cost and, more importantly, it is likely to cause more long-term harm than good. Fortunately, your body produces HGH naturally when you exercise your super-fast muscle fibers during vigorous, high-intensity exercise like Peak Fitness.

   Phil explains:

   "You know, walking is a great thing, but it only works the aerobic process of your heart muscle. It doesn't work the anaerobic process. It only recruits your slow-twitch fibers. So those two other muscle fiber types are meant to be used to exercise is necessary to release growth hormones.

   … If we look at the body and say, how do you want us to exercise? When you do this – when you do Sprint 8 – it's almost like the result is screaming this: When you do this, I release this hormone that's so powerful, that if you're an Olympic athlete, your test goes positive for injecting growth hormone. That's how significant Sprint 8 is when you look at growth hormones."

   In fact, an eight-week study conducted by Phil and colleagues found that a Peak Fitness session resulted in an average HGH increase of 771 percent! This also translated to increased fat burning among the study participants. Phil states:

   "At the end of the eight weeks, results were phenomenal. The average body fat loss was 31 percent. Sprint 8 was designed to replicate the growth hormone production, which in the average case increases 14.4 percent. Basically, Sprint 8 in this one study on middle-aged workers shows that it's twice as effective in body fat loss as injecting growth hormone."

   Peak Fitness Also Increases Your Endurance

   Another great facet of Peak Fitness is that it gives you both aerobic and anaerobic benefits at the same time, essentially replacing the need to do long, slow training. In fact, Phil points out that if you're trying to build your endurance levels, replacing tedious distance workouts with Peak Fitness is going to give you better results.

   "With long-slow cardio there's some benefits, but we know from the sport sciences now that the best way to increase endurance capacity is through hard, fast anaerobic training," Phil says.

   … There's a study … that shows you double endurance capacity with the program very similar to Sprint 8, where you go on an all-cardio cycle for 30 seconds except they would rest for two-four minutes before they do another one. Sprints 8, on the other hand, you only get an accurate recovery of a minute and a half because we're trying to multitask an aerobic workout and an anaerobic workout, where they would just look at endurance capacity. So Sprint 8 is actually much more intense than this exercise protocol. But in that protocol, they showed that you double endurance capacity three workouts a week in two weeks' time."

   Summary of a Typical Peak Fitness Workout

   Here's a summary of what a typical Peak Fitness routine might look like:

   1. Warm up for three minutes
   2. Exercise as hard and fast as you can for 30 seconds. You should feel like you couldn't possibly go on another few seconds
   3. Recover for 90 seconds
   4. Repeat the high intensity exercise and recovery 7 more times

   As you can see, the entire workout is only 20 minutes. Twenty minutes! That really is a beautiful thing. And within those 20 minutes, 75 percent of that time is warming up, recovering or cooling down. You're really only working out intensely for four minutes. It's hard to believe if you have never done this that you can actually get that much benefit from four minutes of exercise. That's all it is.

   Keep in mind that you can use virtually any type of equipment you want for this – an elliptical machine, a treadmill, swimming, even sprinting outdoors (although you will need to do this very carefully to avoid injury) -- as long as you're pushing yourself as hard as you can for 30 seconds. But do be sure to stretch properly and start slowly to avoid injury. Start with two or three repetitions and work your way up, don't expect to do all eight repetitions the first time you try this, especially if you are out of shape.

   Phil states:

   "There are many different ways you could do Sprint 8. As long as you can get totally exhausted in 30 seconds or less. That's the key. If you can't go longer than 30 seconds -- no matter if you're a professional athlete or just starting -- that means you're doing it correctly. It has to be so intense that after 30 seconds, you're just praying for those last seconds to go by … "

   Phil also mentioned that his study showed doing Peak Fitness on an elliptical machine led to a higher release of growth hormone, and he suspects that it is the most challenging type of equipment to use.

   One caveat: a treadmill may not be the best choice for Peak Fitness because of the time it takes for the machine to adjust intensities. So instead of the 30-second sprint, by the time the machine calibrates it will only be 20 seconds.

   I really discourage people from using the treadmill because I don't believe it is ideal due to lag time to adjust intensity levels and an increased risk of falling off the equipment and injuring yourself. The elliptical is probably close to the best in my opinion. But if you don't have access to a gym or your own equipment, then you can improvise. You can use virtually any type of cardio exercise, as long as you get your knees up and your heart rate up, that's the key.

   I would strongly recommend that you invest in a chest strap heart rate monitor to make sure your intensity is on target. If you are able to exceed your calculative maximum heart rate, which is 220 minus your age, by five or 10 beats, then you know you have trained. And you really need to be accurate within a few beats per minute to get the best results. There's a big difference between 166 and 168, but you're not going to be able to calculate that manually. You need an electronic version.

   If funds are limited and you can't join the gym or get a piece of equipment, invest in a heart rate monitor. That's going to give you the information you need to make sure you're doing the activity properly.

   You Can Use Peak Fitness Principles for Strength Training, Too

   Instead of using an elliptical machine three times a week, you can use strength training to get a Peak Fitness workout in too. This is another way to activate HGH while building up different areas in your muscles. The challenge of relying on any specific exercise, the elliptical or the recumbent bike, and so on is that your body adapts to that.

   You really want a comprehensive holistic approach for optimal benefits.

   Phil explains how to do this:

   "It's the same principle. You're applying the same principle of recruiting fast-twitch muscle fiber with strength training as you can with Sprint 8. Your body is trying to do things not to recruit fast-twitch fiber because your body thinks it's trying to help you get through all day by staying to slow-twitch fiber in the system. So if it's a push or press movement away from the center -- like the chest press, bench press, shoulder press, squat or any push or press movement away from the center of the body -- those muscles return loaded with fast-twitch fiber that a lot of times simply don't get worked.

   It's real simple to engage that muscle fiber.

   So if you come down like on a push-up or a chest press, pause and then explode out -- don't use momentum to come out -- just pause and then explode with velocity because you're getting an intensity of movement. 

   Whether Sprint 8 or lifting weights, you get intensity from the matter resistance and the velocity of movement. So when you factor in a velocity of movement into that equation, you recruit fast-twitch fiber. … And so you get all three muscle fiber types in the same exercise if you do it that way. We recommend doing that on push or press movements. It's the way to observe your body. A great example would be triceps. Triceps are just loaded with fast-twitch fiber. Triceps press for the rope, for example, is a great way to work it. You let a pause, explode. Pause, explode."

   How to Make Sure Your Growth Hormone Stays Optimized AFTER Your Workout

   Once you have gone through all the time, effort and energy of stimulating growth hormone release, there's an exercise recovery phase of two to three hours, where you have to be somewhat careful about what foods you choose to eat. If you aren't careful, then you could suppress the stimulus and you won't get that growth hormone benefits that you would have if you have been more careful with your diet.

   Specifically, in order to promote HGH release, you do need to restrict sugar intake post-exercise (although carbs can benefit those more interested in fast recovery, such as professional athletes).

   Phil explains:

   "What we recommend … is to get 25 grams of protein afterwards within that 30-minute golden window. There is a lot of research to support that, but there's also some research done by Dr. John Ivy of the University of Texas, a great researcher on a young cyclist who made recovery. They're not looking at growth hormone or maximizing growth hormone. They're trying to get to recover as quickly as possible so they can cycle several days in a row.

   They showed that getting a ratio of 4:1 carbs to protein is better for recovery … 4:1 starts recovery faster. If you're going after recovery, that's the best strategy … [if] you're not looking for growth hormone, that is. But on the other side, if your goal for most middle-aged adults and older is to maximize growth hormone to get this wonderful hormone circulating for that full two hours in the surging window for going after body fat (just about like you're doing cardio for two hours), you can do that.

   … if you throw too many carbohydrates in … then that releases the hormones called somatostatin. That, for whatever reason, just shuts down growth hormone. That's clear in the research."

   So it's important to avoid carbs, especially sugar or fructose-containing foods, in the two hours after your workout, and this includes sports drinks, to be sure you're getting the full HGH benefits.

   Now, instead of wasting hours and hours needlessly on slow cardio workouts, you can cut down the time, improve the benefits and improve the quality of your life by doing Peak Fitness exercises for 20 minutes, just three times a week. This is not only about longevity but the quality of your life! For more information, Phil has written a book called Ready Set Go. I strongly recommend picking up a copy of that book if you're interested in using high-intensity exercise to improve your health.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy7j9FRiJpg

1. Avoid smoking or drinking alcohol excessively.
2. Be sure to get plenty of high-quality, restorative sleep.
3. Consider choline and vitamin B5 supplements.The neurotransmitter that triggers the sexual message, in both men and women, is acetylcholine (ACH). With too little ACH, sexual activity goes down. One way to safely and effectively enhance ACH levels in your body is to take choline supplements (1,000 to 3,000 mg) and vitamin B5 (500 to 1,500 mg).
   
4. Stress can dampen your libido and make sex the last thing on your mind. Taking control of your emotions by learning the Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) can really help in this area to re-ignite your sex life.
EFT is a psychological acupressure technique that can help you effectively address your stress-related thoughts and leave you feeling calmer and more able to face your challenges, whatever they may be, so you’re able to focus on more enjoyable pursuits.
5. Try maca root. Maca, a rainforest herb, has been used for centuries as a libido booster, and it’s also used to relieve menopausal symptoms in women. Research shows maca root may alleviate antidepressant induced sexual dysfunction in postmenopausal women, and the herb was well tolerated with few side effects.