Sex And Diabetes: High Blood Sugar Can Hamper Your Sex Life! Here's How To Tackle The Issue

Sugar is a carbohydrate that adds sweetness to life. Sugars are everywhere. In the food we eat, in the beverages we drink and, of course, naturally occurring in living beings. The sugar we consume as a part of our diet is a compound sugar, a di-saccharide (a molecule gotten by the combination of two molecules) of fructose and glucose, sucrose.

It has no dietary fiber content and has less than 2% of water. An average human consumes about 25-30 kilograms of sugar in one year, which is about 300 calories per day. 1200-1500 calories per day is what a person needs to consume daily to maintain good health. Now, imagine 300 calories, out of that 1200-1500 calories is got from consumption of sugar.

Even the healthy fruits and vegetables we consume have some form of sugar in them. Consuming these gives us enough sugar that our body requires. But what about the coffee/tea we drink every morning to wake us up? Then, come the sodas we tend to drink throughout the day. We basically load our body every day with sugar in different forms.

What Happens To The Sugar When It Enters The Body?

This compound sugar when consumed gets broken down by enzymes called sucrases. These sucrases break down the sucrose into glucose and fructose. Glucose gets absorbed into the bloodstream to be transported throughout the body for cells to break it down and provide energy for bodily functions.

Insulin, a hormone present in the pancreas, is the one that decides if the glucose that has entered your blood needs to be stored or metabolized to provide energy.

What can consuming excess of this di-saccharide do to you?

Consuming sugars in excess has proven to increase risks of obesity, cardiovascular diseases, Alzheimer's disease, tooth decay and, of course, diabetes. When the glucose and fructose are not absorbed by the cells to be broken down, the blood sugar levels shoot up. The fluctuations in the blood sugar levels is what causes majority of the complications in the body.

There is one very surprising finding of what consuming too much sugar can do to you. It affects what happens in your bedroom. Yes, you guessed it right! It affects your ability to have better sex.

How Does This Happen?

High blood sugar levels cause damage to the nerves and blood vessels, in turn decreasing sensitivity in the body. And since sex is all about arousing your senses, this could be of serious concern. Decreased sensitivity and high blood pressure, which accompany diabetes, make it difficult for men to achieve an erection, leading to cases of erectile dysfunction.

This also affects women. The blood vessels that supply blood to the vagina and clitoris are affected. This leads to decreased arousal and dryness. In some cases, this also causes nerve damage, leading to nil arousal.

This means - reduced sensitivity, reduced pleasure, and no orgasm.

Such prolonged setbacks in a person's sex life could cause depression in the long run, imbalances in hormones, more stress and it might also lead to other mental disorders.

A study was conducted where two women were chosen. One was treated to her favorite set of sweets and other was given a regular diet of rice with vegetables. The woman who had consumed those sugars complained of feeling no arousal when with her boyfriend. All she wanted to do was laze and sleep. The other woman, however, experienced no such setback.

Women have also complained of irregular menstrual cycles, hair growth in weird places and outbursts of sudden acne, other than a reduced libido on consumption of too much sugar. In men, the testosterone levels were seen to drop, because of which sex drive took a bad blow. "Man boobs" and reduced muscle mass were the other side-effects.

If you feel a drop in your sexual desires than what's healthy, go to a doctor. Men can get a total test of free testosterone levels. Women can get themselves checked for free testosterone as well, along with any imbalances in Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH), Luteinizing Hormone (LH) and Progesterone.

Rebalancing these hormones in your body could be as simple as rethinking your diet.

What Can You Do To Avoid Excess Sugars?

1. Read about what you buy: Be aware of what you're taking home in those processed food packs that you pick from the supermarkets. It may contain ingredients that are best avoided to keep yourself going 'ooh' and 'ahh' in your bedroom.

2. No more booze bets: A drink or two may be be okay, but going ape-crazy could be a very bad idea. No doubt, a lot could happen after some alcohol hits your brain, but if you want that "lot" to happen for a longer time, may be less booze or no booze is great!

3. Sugary snacks and sugary drinks: Keep them away from you and anybody around you. They are slow poison. They slowly spread through your body and slowly destroy your insulin levels and basically, everything that's dear to you (and to your dear).

4. Greens: These contain a lot of fiber that's completely devoid in your sugary foods. These should form half you meal because they help maintain blood sugar levels. They contain all your essential nutrients.

So, watch what you eat. Food could be affecting your body in more ways than you think. And if it goes on to affect your sex life, is it really worth eating it?