Gut, Heart, Libido: Reframing Sexual Health Through Nutrition.

Low sexual desire is one of the most common, and least talked about, issues in adult health. Research shows that about 30% of women and 15% of men report experiencing low libido at some point, with rates rising with age, stress, and certain medical conditions. But despite how common it is, libido is still often misunderstood (1).

Biologically, libido isn’t controlled by a single hormone or organ. Instead, it’s a brain-driven motivation system – shaped by a wide range of factors including testosterone, dopamine, stress hormones like cortisol, inflammatory signals, nutrition, mood, and overall physical health. In both men and women, the balance between “go” signals (like dopamine and oxytocin) and “stop” signals (like serotonin and endocannabinoids) determines whether sexual cues feel appealing – or barely register (2)

In aging men, for example, lower testosterone is statistically associated with lower desire, but it only explains a small part of the variation. Many men with “normal” testosterone still experience low libido, while others with below-average levels do not. Similarly, in women, desire is modulated not only by estrogen and progesterone, but also by stress, fatigue, and emotional context (2).

Chronic stress, poor sleep, certain medications (especially antidepressants), and lifestyle conditions like poor diet, obesity, smoking, and inflammation can all increase inhibitory signals in the brain – dulling sexual desire regardless of hormone levels. And these same lifestyle factors also impact vascular function, energy metabolism, and confidence – creating a loop where mind and body reinforce each other (2).

In other words, low libido is rarely “just in your head” – it’s not just about hormones either. It’s a whole-body issue, often reflecting a broader imbalance in nervous system regulation, vascular health, and metabolic function.

How Nutrition Fuels Libido: Hormones, Blood Flow, and Brain Chemistry

What we eat doesn’t just affect our weight or energy levels – it plays a direct role in sexual desire and function. Libido is shaped by a complex web of biological systems: hormone production, blood vessel health, brain chemistry, and inflammation. Nutrition influences all of these (3).

Certain nutrients are critical for the synthesis of sex hormones like testosterone and estrogen. Zinc, vitamin D, and omega-3 fatty acids support hormone balance in both men and women, while antioxidant-rich diets protect the cells that produce and respond to these hormones. For men, foods high in L-arginine (found in nuts and seeds) help increase nitric oxide – a molecule essential for blood flow and arousal. For women, phytoestrogens from flaxseed and soy may support estrogen levels, especially post-menopause (3).

Beyond hormones, sexual desire is closely tied to the health of the endothelium – the inner lining of blood vessels. Diets rich in fibre, unsaturated fats, polyphenols, and antioxidants (like those found in berries, leafy greens, and olive oil) have been shown to improve endothelial function and nitric oxide availability, boosting blood flow to genital tissue and improving sensitivity and arousal in both sexes (3).

Nutrition also plays a powerful role in modulating neurotransmitters like dopamine (linked to motivation and reward) and serotonin (linked to mood and inhibition). Anti-inflammatory diets help regulate these brain pathways by reducing chronic inflammation and cortisol – both of which can suppress desire, especially under stress (3).

In short: food affects sexual desire not just through hormones, but also through blood vessels, brain chemistry, and mood. The best-studied dietary pattern for sexual health is the Mediterranean diet – rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and healthy fats – which has been linked to improved erectile function, better lubrication, and higher libido across genders (3).

Erectile Dysfunction Is Only One Piece of the Puzzle – But an Important One

When people talk about sexual problems, erectile dysfunction (ED) is usually the first thing that comes to mind. And for good reason: in the large population‑based study of 2,500 men aged 50, ED emerged as one of the most common concerns, strongly linked to lifestyle factors like smoking, obesity, low physical activity, and chronic illnesses such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. In this group, ED wasn’t just an isolated issue – it often appeared alongside premature ejaculation and low libido, showing how interconnected male sexual dysfunctions really are. The study reinforces something clinicians have known for years: ED is often a vascular and metabolic condition – a sign that blood vessels, nitric oxide signalling, nerve pathways, or hormonal systems are under strain. In fact, ED is now widely recognised as an early indicator of cardiovascular disease, sometimes appearing years before a heart attack or stroke. This makes ED not only a sexual concern, but a broader health warning worth paying close attention to (4).

Sexual health, as the paper defines it, spans desire, arousal, orgasm, emotional satisfaction, partner dynamics, psychological wellbeing, and physical function. ED, by contrast, is specifically the inability to achieve or maintain an erection firm enough for intercourse. While ED is important, it is only one dimension within a much broader human experience.

Crucially, the 2023 analysis demonstrates how different dysfunctions don’t neatly overlap. Low libido has its own profile of predictors; premature ejaculation its own; and ED its own. The study’s modelling shows these conditions can co‑occur, but are not interchangeable. A man may have ED but normal libido. Another may have low desire without ED. Another may have good erections but struggle with ejaculation control. This granularity matters, because the causes are rarely the same. ED in the 50‑year-old cohort was most strongly tied to physical health markers – cardiometabolic conditions, smoking, low activity levels, and obesity. Premature ejaculation had a different pattern. Low libido had yet another, often reflecting psychological factors, chronic illness, or hormonal shifts (4).

Sexual problems often cluster because they share underlying physical, emotional, relational, and neurological pathways, but they are not driven by identical mechanisms. For example:

• ED usually reflects vascular, metabolic, neurological or hormonal problems.
  
• Low libido is more strongly linked to mood, stress physiology, relationship context, and neurochemical balance.
  
• Arousal/satisfaction issues in women are influenced by vascular function, hormone shifts, psychological state, and partner dynamics.
  

This is why the authors argue that focusing only on erections – often solved pharmacologically with PDE‑5 inhibitor – misses the wider opportunity to support sexual wellbeing from multiple angles. Even though PDE‑5 inhibitors improve blood flow and erection hardness, they don’t fix stress‑driven desire loss, relationship strain, chronic inflammation, metabolic illness, or low self‑confidence.

Erectile Dysfunction and Diet: The Inflammatory Connection

While erectile dysfunction (ED) is commonly approached through pharmacological treatments like PDE-5 inhibitors, mounting evidence suggests that the root of many cases lies in chronic, systemic inflammation – and that food is a key modulator of that risk. A large 2022 study published in Frontiers in Nutrition examined 3,693 American men aged 20 to 85 and found that diets with higher inflammatory potential were significantly associated with increased prevalence of ED. Men with ED had an average Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) score of 0.8, compared to 0.4 in those without ED  – a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001). After adjusting for age, BMI, diabetes, hypertension, and lifestyle factors, the data showed that each one-point increase in DII score was linked to a 12% higher risk of ED. Those in the highest tertile of dietary inflammation had a 47% greater risk of erectile dysfunction than those in the lowest, and this association held even when men taking ED-related medications were excluded (5).

Mechanistically, the findings make sense: pro-inflammatory diets – typically high in refined carbohydrates, added sugars, saturated fats, and ultra-processed foods – promote vascular dysfunction by damaging endothelial cells and impairing nitric oxide production, a molecule essential for initiating and maintaining erections. In contrast, anti-inflammatory diets rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, and healthy fats (like the Mediterranean diet) have been shown to protect endothelial function, improve NO bioavailability, and reduce the oxidative stress that underpins vascular ED (5).

Importantly, this link was strongest in younger men (ages 20–40), suggesting that ED can be a red flag for early metabolic dysfunction, even in the absence of diagnosed cardiovascular disease. The takeaway? Nutrition matters – not just for heart health, but for sexual health, too. For men seeking long-term improvements, adopting a low-inflammatory, whole-foods-based diet may offer benefits that go beyond the plate.

From Table to Bedroom: How Nutrition Shapes Female Sexual Health

While much of the public discourse around sexual health centers on male erectile dysfunction, female sexual dysfunction (FSD) is equally common – and far more complex. A 2019 narrative review titled “From Table to Bedroom” brings sharp focus to how nutrition affects women’s sexual wellbeing, drawing from over a decade of research across clinical and population-based studies. It finds that nutrition influences female sexual function through several pathways: hormone regulation, vascular integrity, inflammation, mood, and body image. And although no single food acts as a “female aphrodisiac,” dietary patterns – especially those that improve metabolic and psychological health – can significantly enhance desire, arousal, satisfaction, and overall sexual quality of life (6).

The review identifies five major conditions in which nutrition and sexual health are tightly linked: eating disorders and malnutrition, vitamin D deficiency, obesity and weight loss, metabolic disorders (especially diabetes), and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Each has its own mechanism – and its own nutritional implications (6).

Malnutrition and Eating Disorders

Undernutrition, especially from restrictive eating disorders like anorexia nervosa, has one of the strongest suppressive effects on female libido. Studies reviewed in the paper consistently showed that women with restrictive anorexia had the lowest total Female Sexual Function Index scores (FSFI) indicating diminished desire, arousal, and satisfaction compared to those with bulimia or non-eating-disordered controls. In some cases, libido was nearly absent. Interestingly, weight restoration in anorexic patients led to increased sexual activity, highlighting how profoundly nutrition affects not just physical health, but the brain circuits that govern motivation and reward (6).

Mechanistically, malnutrition increases stress hormones like cortisol and disrupts orexigenic neuropeptides – signals that regulate hunger, energy, and libido – shifting the body into survival mode and suppressing reproductive function.

Vitamin D Deficiency

Vitamin D emerged as a significant and modifiable factor. Women with serum levels below 20 ng/mL had lower total FSFI scores, particularly in desire, orgasm, and satisfaction domains. Even those classified as “insufficient” (20-30 ng/mL) showed reduced sexual desire. A controlled trial of 47 premenopausal women found that supplementation with 4000 IU/day in deficient women significantly improved total FSFI scores, with notable gains in desire, orgasm, and satisfaction. The effect was partially mediated by improvements in mood (lower depression scores) and hormone levels, with vitamin D levels positively correlating with testosterone (6).

Obesity and Weight Loss

Obesity is one of the most consistent predictors of FSD. In a cohort of over 200 obese women, 66% reported sexual dysfunction, with 48% experiencing low desire, 42.9% pain, and 35.9% arousal problems. Obese women were also 30% less likely to have had intercourse in the past year compared to their non-obese counterparts. Yet BMI alone wasn’t the full story – interventions that led to weight loss, particularly those involving the Mediterranean diet or bariatric surgery, significantly improved FSFI scores across multiple domains (6).

For instance, a 4-month very-low-carb ketogenic diet (VLCK) improved arousal, lubrication, and orgasm, while bariatric surgery over two years led to substantial improvements in desire, satisfaction, and hormone profiles, including lower androgens and higher FSH, LH, and SHBG. Importantly, one study showed that even when some weight was regained, sexual improvements persisted at 5 years, suggesting that early dietary and lifestyle interventions may have durable benefits (6).

Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders

Women with type 1 and type 2 diabetes had lower FSFI scores than non-diabetic controls – especially in desire, arousal, lubrication, and orgasm. In fact, 75% of diabetic women met criteria for sexual dysfunction, compared to 52% of controls. Metabolic syndrome, which includes insulin resistance, abdominal obesity, and dyslipidemia, was associated with poorer lubrication and orgasm function, likely due to endothelial damage and reduced nitric oxide signalling, both essential for genital blood flow (6).

Notably, dietary interventions like the Mediterranean diet improved sexual function in women with diabetes, likely by lowering inflammation, improving glycemic control, and enhancing vascular health. In rodent models, hyperglycemia (>450 mg/dL) significantly impaired vaginal blood flow by reducing aquaporin-2 (AQP2) expression – a protein essential for lubrication – but insulin therapy reversed these effects, reinforcing the vascular-hormonal link (6).

PCOS and Hormonal Imbalance

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects between 6 – 10% of women of reproductive age and is often associated with disruptions in sexual function – particularly reduced arousal and lubrication, even in the absence of formally diagnosed dysfunction. In women with PCOS who do experience sexual dysfunction, rates of depression are strikingly higher (46% vs 23% in controls), and their quality-of-life scores correlate negatively with higher BMI and waist circumference. While calorie reduction alone (typically 500–600 kcal/day) has been shown to improve reproductive hormones, insulin sensitivity, and even sexual interest in some trials, focusing only on weight loss misses the broader nutritional story (6).

Emerging research now shows that PCOS involves altered appetite regulation, insulin resistance, low-grade inflammation, and oxidative stress – all of which are influenced by diet. For instance, magnesium deficiency, common in obesity and insulin resistance, may worsen metabolic symptoms. Zinc and chromium supplementation have shown promise in lowering androgens and improving insulin sensitivity. Nutrients like N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) and B-vitamins may help reduce oxidative stress and correct elevated homocysteine – a frequent issue in insulin-resistant PCOS. Even dietary patterns themselves matter: lower-carbohydrate, whole-food diets have outperformed standard or low-fat diets in improving fasting insulin and SHBG levels, and Mediterranean-style approaches are linked to better reproductive and sexual outcomes in women with type 2 diabetes and PCOS alike (7).

Why a Daily Frink Could Support Sexual Health

Sexual health is deeply connected to vascular health, hormone balance, inflammation levels, stress, and even gut function – and each of these is strongly influenced by what we eat. While medications and therapies can target specific symptoms (like ED or low libido), daily nutrition plays a quieter, foundational role in whether those systems are ready to respond.

That’s where something like FiiHii Frinks® becomes powerful: not as a “magic bullet,” but as a daily behaviour that feeds multiple underlying pathways relevant to sexual function. Every Frink is packed with diverse, minimally processed whole foods – rich in fibre, antioxidants, healthy fats, and key vitamins and minerals – all of which influence things like:

• Blood flow and vascular function (via omega-3s, polyphenols, and nitric oxide-supporting nutrients like vitamin C)
• Inflammation (lowered through antioxidant-rich, plant-heavy combinations)
• Hormone balance (supported through zinc, magnesium, healthy fats, and fibre)
• Gut health and mood (microbiome-supporting fibre + polyphenols influence both stress and estrogen metabolism)
• Energy and metabolic health (stable blood sugar, improved insulin sensitivity, and nutrient repletion)

How Each Frink® Supports Sexual Health

Frinks® don’t claim to “treat” sexual dysfunction – but they do help build the biological environment where energy, libido, vascular function, and mood can thrive. That makes them an ideal low-effort addition for anyone supporting their sexual wellbeing through lifestyle, medication, or mindset shifts – especially in moments of change like starting ED meds, quitting smoking, navigating menopause, or rebuilding energy after illness or stress.

References:

1. Rosen RC. Prevalence and risk factors of sexual dysfunction in men and women. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2000;2(3):189–95. doi:10.1007/s11920-996-0006-2.
   
2. Travison TG, Morley JE, Araujo AB, O’Donnell AB, McKinlay JB. The relationship between libido and testosterone levels in aging men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2006;91(7):2509–13. doi:10.1210/jc.2005-2508.
   
3. Kumar Maurya N. Libido boosting functional foods. In: Recent Advances in Male Reproductive System. 2022. doi:10.5772/intechopen.108778.
   
4. Herkommer K, Meissner VH, Dinkel A, Jahnen M, Schiele S, Kron M, et al. Prevalence, lifestyle, and risk factors of erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, and low libido in middle-aged men: first results of the Bavarian Men’s Health-Study. Andrology. 2023;12(4):801–8. doi:10.1111/andr.13524.
   
5. Ruan Z, Xie X, Yu H, Liu R, Jing W, Lu T. Association between dietary inflammation and erectile dysfunction among US adults: a cross-sectional analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001–2004. Front Nutr. 2022;9:930272. doi:10.3389/fnut.2022.930272.
   
6. McNabney SM, Wiese GN, Rowland DL. From table to bedroom: nutritional status, dietary interventions, and women’s sexual function. Curr Sex Health Rep. 2019;11(4):251–64. doi:10.1007/s11930-019-00224-9.
   
7. Pinheiro L, Marcondes RR, de Simões RS, Arantes G, Soares JM, Baracat EC. Nutritional and dietary aspects in polycystic ovary syndrome: insights into the biology of nutritional interventions. Gynecol Endocrinol. 2020;36(12):1047–50. doi:10.1080/09513590.2020.1822797.