Sexual health can be viewed as a reflection of overall health in any person, whether if they are man or woman. As health declines or is negatively impacted, sexual desire also declines, so they are interconnected. Sexual health in women is impacted by a multitude of factors including environmental, social, cultural, dietary, aging, and other lifestyle factors. Sexual health is reflective of internal health on various levels and how a person views their world and themselves. It is something which is correlated with our youth and can signal vitality. Tribulus terrestris may offer a way to revive that sexuality in women, helping to restore vitality, without the use of hormonal therapy which can be harmful.
Sexual health is often viewed as being a marker of overall health. In our youth, sexuality is rampant and desire can often be high, as this is the time period where our hormones are reaching peak levels for reproductive purposes. As you age, your overall health declines and with that, inflammatory changes occur. This not only contributes to wrinkles and grey hair, but a reduced energy, aches and pains, and menopause for women. Additionally, the stresses of life from our career to our family, can be very taxing on the body, distracting our mind and altering our focus. Thus, for many women and men, as the stress levels rise, the sexual desire decreases. It’s natural to an extent, but you have to realize it is not a healthy course for anyone. A reduction in sexual desire can be a signal that there is a problem or an imbalance.
As menopause sets in, there is a natural decrease in hormone levels, both testosterone and estrogen, which then lead to physical and hormonal changes both in the internal and external reproductive organs. This leads to a decrease in sexual desire, reduced sexual arousal, vaginal dryness, and pain upon intercourse for many women. For some, this is okay and accepted as it is a natural course in life, however, for others, they realize that their overall vitality is reduced additionally. They feel older and that youthful energy has left their body. It is not always about the physical act of sex, but the energy and vitality that comes with the sexual health component.
For women and men, both estrogen and testosterone play a role. In women, the main hormone is estrogen, while in men it is testosterone. As you age, inflammatory related changes occur to various organs and cellular components, which include the testicles in men and ovaries in women. These structures do not produce the hormones like they used to and those hormones are needed not just for sexual health but overall health. It is not just a coincidence that as the sex hormones decrease so does your overall health and energy. They are interconnected.
In men and women, the dryness aspect of aging is associated with a loss of the Yin or cooling and moisturizing component of the body. This loss of Yin contributes to the hot flashes, vaginal dryness, and associated pain which many women encounter, especially during menopause. Keep in mind that Yin is lost or reduced anytime your body is under high levels of continuous stress or physical exertion. So, a woman does not have to go through menopause to experience those signs of sexual dysfunction. They can simply be overworked and run down, which is a warning sign in and of itself. The Yin component is best managed by herbs that have that natural cooling and moisturizing component, and often contain natural phytoestrogens. An example would be Shatavari root, which is excellent to support women’s health in a variety of ways, but also benefits men as they also lose Yin over time.
Now, keep in mind that testosterone also plays a role in women’s sexual health and vitality. This is the Yang component and ideally for health, both Yin and Yang need to be in balance. In many cases, if you are supplementing Yin through herbs or foods, it is wise to also supplement Yang to some extent. The Yang component produces energy, warmth, and vitality. It is what creates the sexual desire and ambition in many instances.
Tribulus terrestris and Women’s Sexual Health
Tribulus terrestris is an herb used for centuries in Ayurvedic medicine for many health maladies, but has an affinity for the urinary and reproductive system in both men and women. It is viewed as being a cool herb, not heating in nature, but overall balancing to all three doshas in Ayurveda, which is essentially all three body types in human medicine. Tribulus terrestris benefits the kidneys, back pain, urinary stones, urinary inflammation, and is a boost to sexual health mainly through a perceived increase in testosterone production within the body. It is viewed by many to be a restorative herb, used to increase energy, sexuality, and overall vitality in both men and women.
Now, while it has been shown to increase testosterone in some studies and obviously has an impact on sexual desire, many believe that Tribulus terrestris is just aimed at men’s health, but they are incorrect. Tribulus terrestris has been researched in many studies, aiming the focus on women’s sexual health with interesting results.
In a group of 64 women, aged between 45-56, a 90-day course of daily Tribulus terrestris supplementation at the dose of 250 mg three times daily, resulted in marked improvement in various measures of sexual health and satifisfaction. There was a 40% increase in reported sexual desire, a 30% increase in reported desire for foreplay, a 50% increase in reported arousal, a 40% increase in sexual comfort, and a 50% reported increase in ability to orgasm. (Postigo, 2016)
In another group of 30 women, a four week course of Tribulus terrestris resulted in significant improvements in sexual health including desire, arousal, pain, lubrication, and overall satisfaction. (Akhtari, 2014)
One other trial with 40 women experiencing premenopausal hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD), there was marked improvement after Tribulus terrestris supplementation reported for all categories including desire, lubrication, pain, sexual arousal, orgasm, and overall satisfaction. (Vale, 2018)
Is Tribulus terrestris a ‘cure-all’ for women’s health and sexuality? The answer is no, but it offers much promise as it does in men additionally. Tribulus terrestris has been used for centuries to aid the urinary and reproductive system and is overall very balancing to the body, helping to restore health and vitality. It has been used in various sports to enhance physical gains for years, so why not take advantage and see what it can offer your body?
There are many factors that contribute to why you age, why menopause occurs, and why you may be losing your vitality and sexual health. While Tribulus terrestris cannot resolve all these matters, it is one step that can be taken to help create and restore balance within your body.
Learn more: Tribulus terrestris
Author: Tom Schell, D.V.M, CVCH, CHN