How To Increase Her Sex Drive In The Bedroom

Men are always complaining that women just don’t have as high of a sex drive as they do. But is this true or a myth? I’m interviewing Dr. Rachel Cabreira, who specializes in helping women set their sex drive on fire at every age.

She walks us through the truth about women’s sex drive, and how to increase a woman’s sex drive when she encounters issues. 

In this episode you’ll discover:

·       Why a woman’s libido is important

·       The difference between desire and libido

·       The truth about the myth that women don’t have a sex drive

·       Common causes of low libido for women ages 18-30

·       How pelvic discomfort affects women

·       Hormonal treatments

·       How birth control pills affect women’s libidos

·       Sex toys that help with libido

·       Foods that help with libido

·       The importance of blood flow

·       How stress effects libido

·       What Cliovana does for women

·       Vaginal skin care

·       Supplements that boost a woman’s libido

·       The role of DHEA

·       Orgasm health benefits

Find me on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@annettebenedetti
Subscribe to my e-newsletter: https://she-explores-life.ck.page/e9760c390c
Ask a question, Leave a Comment: https://www.speakpipe.com/LockerRoomTalkPodcast

To find out more or book a session with me visit:
https://talksexwithannette.com/home/sex-relationship-and-intimacy-coaching/

Email: annette@talksexwithannette.com

Use code EXPLORES15 for 15% Off at wevibe.com.

Use code EXPLORES15 for 15% off all Womanizer Products at Womanizer.com.

Use code EXPLORES15 for 15% off lovehoney.com

Transcript

Speaker 1: 1:24

Do the sex Think fun, honest and feminist as fuck, and always with the goal of fighting the patriarchy. One female orgasm at a time. Welcome to the locker room. Today's locker room talk topic is how to increase women's libido. That's right. We're going to be talking about how women can get their fuck on this year, and I have some real advice coming your way, because my guest today is certified sexual health clinician and founder and CEO of Innovative Wellness Inc and Pure Vitality Inc, Dr Rachel Cabrera, and I am going to let her tell you a little bit about who she is and what she does.

Speaker 2: 2:15

Hi everyone. Hi Annette, thank you for having me today Super excited. I am the founder and CEO of Innovative Wellness and my intimate product line, fulfilling. I've been in practice for about 23 years taking care of women across their lifespan. I specialize in urogynecology, pelvic and sexual medicine, hormone health. What does that mean? We're taking care of women in all aspects and really trying to improve their quality of life in so many ways aspects and really trying to improve their quality of life in so many ways. I really developed my practice and have really dedicated my career to really trying to fill the gaps and the unmet needs of midlife women and men. I take care of men as well and I know today we're talking about sexual health and getting your fuck on. I love that because I have patients that come in and women just explain to me what's happening, explain to me where we're going to go with this and you know we kind of find that fit. That really helps them thrive with moving into what they need to move into.

Speaker 1: 3:17

So, listeners, please pay attention to what she just said. This podcast is going to be for women of all ages. We're going to be talking about the journey across a lifetime. In the past, we've talked about libido and really kind of focused in on menopausal women, but Dr Cabrera and I are going to be really focusing on the sex tribe journey across a woman's life. Also, she works with men people of all genders, I assume so this is for everybody to listen to, whether you're listening for yourself or you're listening for your partner.

Speaker 1: 3:56

I think this is a really important conversation, especially if you're in a relationship where one or the other of you is struggling with getting in the mood to get it on or the other of you is struggling with getting in the mood to get it on. My goal in 2023 is to help all my listeners fuck more and fuck better, and I think a big part of that is learning how to cultivate your sex drive. The doctor and I here are having coffee because it's early in the morning, so I said bring your cup. Hers is more orgasms, please.

Speaker 1: 4:25

That's what it says you can go to my YouTube channel, Handle Annette Benedetti and check us both out and cheers. Let's talk about sex. Doctor, First things first. Dr Cabrera and I were having a conversation before we launched into this podcast and I want to retouch on those things for you all. Retouch on those things for you all. First of all, I think what's most important to talk about is the importance of a woman's sex drive. I was telling the doctor and I've told you before, people are always asking me, Annette, why does everything have's sexuality? Sex drive, libido, is vital to her well-being. It's intrinsic in all aspects of her health, and the doctor agrees with me. So I'm going to let someone who has, you know, more education on this and a medical background have this conversation here. Can you kind of speak to that a little bit? Absolutely.

Speaker 2: 5:29

I think that a woman's intimate wellness, whether you want to call it your sex life, your how you orgasm, however you want to kind of title that for yourself, whatever you call that for yourself or however you connect with that to yourself, it all really comes down to your intimate wellbeing and I feel like that you're. A woman's intimate wellbeing is the other heartbeat of her body. When a woman is not feeling sexy or beautiful or connected, or she's having, you know, lack of lubrication, or she's having not great orgasms, or she's, you know, feeling disconnected in her body, it really affects her overall well-being in so many ways. It affects not only her. It affects, it can affect relationships, it can affect her quality of life, it can affect her body image, it can affect so many pieces. You know and we kind of forget that you know the mind, body and spirit is connected and when it becomes a little disconnected for a lot of different reasons, which I know we're going to talk about today that it really does impact our quality of life in so many ways.

Speaker 1: 6:39

Right, and wouldn't you say then, in a way, what I'm hearing is that a woman's libido, wherever it's at, is almost like a thermometer taking the temperature for whatever else is going on in her body. I have noticed when my sex drive drops, when it's really low or when it's completely turned off, there's usually something else going wrong in my body, whether it's my mental health or I'm sick or unwell in some way. It's a really good way for me to know I am not in optimal health.

Speaker 2: 7:21

Right, and you know we have to think about too. There's desire and there's libido. Desire is the take me now, I want you, I'm attracted to you and the libido is the turning on the engine. It's the revving up, it's the oxygenation, the blood flow, the lubrication we're going to. You know, I'm so attracted to you, let's get in bed right now and do this. But then if the libido is not turning on or the, you know the lubrication isn't there and it's going to be uncomfortable, it doesn't provide a good experience, right? Or you're like, take me now, I'm ready to go. And you know the lubrication is there, but you've maybe had a history of, maybe there's been discomfort or maybe there's something going on it again doesn't make the relationship or the experience good.

Speaker 1: 8:11

Or you could just have the lubrication, but you don't have the desire.

Speaker 2: 8:14

Right, you know you're like, okay, I'm all revved up and ready to go and I can do this, but maybe there's something going on with the relationship or maybe you are really tired or maybe there. You know, women have a lot of things going on. Or maybe you are really tired or maybe they're. You know, women have a lot of things going on and for a woman to be turned on her mind has to be there where a man it's. He's ready to go.

Speaker 1: 8:37

It's like the mind comes later. So one of the things I also want to do throughout this conversation is to dispel the prevalent myth that women don't want to have sex, that women don't have sex drive, or that we have less of a sex drive, and then we can dive into. If your libido is not igniting when you need it to, here are some ways you can quickly start working to rev it up and then take it to the next level if you want to. First of all, would you say that's true that women I mean women do have as much of a sex drive as men, or do you, as a doctor, think there is a big difference?

Speaker 2: 9:13

You know, I think that there's this like myth. You know, men walk around with hard-ons all day long and women hide it all day right, and I can tell you by just the women I see in my practice on a daily basis. They come in, they want to be sexual, they they want to feel their sexuality, they want to feel orgasms, they want to feel pleasure.

Speaker 1: 9:36

They enjoy it.

Speaker 2: 9:37

I have so many women that come in and they go. I truly enjoy sex. I want to have sex all the time. I want to be involved. I want to be chasing. I want to be the one chasing my husband or my partner around the house and not him chasing me.

Speaker 2: 9:49

You know, and I think for women it turns off for a lot of different reasons, and for men it can turn off a lot of different reasons, you know, and it's interesting because in my practice, women will come in and you know, we'll start having the conversation about how is your libido? When is this changed? How long has this been going on? For you know, and we have a whole bunch of they talk about a whole bunch of things that have been going on in their life and it could be years, Like they can say.

Speaker 1: 10:14

you know, this started a couple of years ago.

Speaker 2: 10:15

They've been suffering with this lack of desire, lack of libido for years, where men will come in and they'll be like this started yesterday and they're like we need to do something now.

Speaker 1: 10:29

We need to like fix this and it's like oh, my Lord, okay, well, what happened yesterday?

Speaker 2: 10:33

Women, it's like it takes us time to rev up and it takes us time to talk about things. It takes us time to respond to things sometimes, and for women to you know, we have a lot going on.

Speaker 1: 10:45

We are kind of the trunk of many branches, right.

Speaker 2: 10:47

We are moms, we're wives, we're partners, we have careers, we have all kinds of stuff going on and you know, we get through our day and, at the end of the day, if we're fatigued or if we're like our mind is not present with being connected, it really doesn't allow us to turn on in so many ways. Where men is so much easier for them to turn off and turn on, Right. So it really is something that is different between you know, both sexes. However, for women, you know, I see that, you know, even though maybe it's not so much in the discussion, every day, it's what they feel every day.

Speaker 1: 11:29

Right, what would you say is the most common libido killer for women? Let's say ages what? 18 to 30?

Speaker 2: 11:41

You know, for my younger ladies it might be pelvic pain. They are entering, you know, the sex, their sexuality, having new partners. You know, having sex for their first time and they're, you know, early teens, moving into their 20s, and it's discomfort or it's that building a relationship, you know they're not necessarily with someone that they're really comfortable with, yet they're building and learning relationships, they're learning their bodies um, and you know, as women get into their 30s on, it's um, busy life. I think it's really that I'm tired. I'm, you know we start becoming disconnected in relationships. Sometimes there's communication, things going on, but I really feel that most of the conversations from my earlier aged women is really discomfort. But for the most part, you know, for most women, honest to God, the true conversation is I'm fatigued or I'm just it's going to. I have so many things going on. It's just, it's that taking that time to kind of relax and engage and turn myself on.

Speaker 1: 13:45

Okay, so let's talk about the different ways you address that, the different quote prescriptions that you give them for working on their libido. What is the first thing you go to when you're trying to help a woman start reigniting her sex drive?

Speaker 2: 14:03

Right. So if we want to talk about my teenagers and my in my you know, early twenties, it's really about talking to them specifically about well, where are you sexually? What is your experience has been? Tell me a little bit about your relationship. Tell me a little bit about your relationship. Tell me a little bit about your partners. Tell me a little bit about what you're like, what you're anticipating it to be. Sometimes, with the pelvic pain issues, it's really about, you know, fixing the problem. Why are they having pelvic pain? You know what is that? What is that and what is causing that. Some of my women too, you know, who are on birth control pills it can increase vaginal dryness and so what is happening is their, you know, desire is there and they're wanting to, you know, you know, have sex right now, but the discomfort is there because they have a vaginal dryness. So it's, you know, I'm using more and more lube or I'm, you know, not feeling. You know it feels a little uncomfortable.

Speaker 2: 14:57

So it kind of you know I'm using more and more lube, or I'm, you know, not feeling, you know it feels a little uncomfortable, so it kind of you know that could kind of alter and so we address that issue. We will talk about what the problem is. If it's a you know, if it's a body image, if it's they're kind of diving into it for the first time, we just we kind of coach them through. You know better ways. You know, is that maybe using a vibrator? Or is you know where you can have control, where you can have control, you could kind of stimulate, get the engine revving up and you have control of it, because sometimes girls are also like they just want to have sex and penetration and there's not that foreplay. So it's, let's have some foreplay, let's kind of help you relax and get some of that, you know, revving up going. So sometimes starting with a very simple vibrator can be very helpful to kind of, you know, help turn on the engine.

Speaker 1: 15:47

Do you have a favorite sex toy to recommend?

Speaker 2: 15:51

You know they I usually will recommend. There's a couple of brands out there. One that I like to recommend to a lot of women is called this. I think I might say it wrong, but it's a spa, spa, calm, um vibrator and it's very soft, it's very flexible, it has a clitoral stimulator as well, as you know, the internal um portion that goes into the vagina. But it's very so. Don't use anything that's hard, stiff, that's going to, you know, put uncomfortable penetration in any way. Use something that's more flexible, so you have control of kind of how it feels.

Speaker 2: 16:30

Good, you know, and I think that that is really helpful for women because they'll come back and say Rachel, that really worked and it helped me overcome some of my worries, my fears of it being uncomfortable or just kind of exploring my body, you know, learning how to explore the body better and explore my intimate parts, you know, my clitoris, my vulva, my vagina, you know, and kind of understanding where things feel good and what I enjoy, um, and moving on from there, it's really based on a lot of hormone stuff, you know.

Speaker 2: 17:06

So you know, when we're teenagers, we're really well lubricated and our hormones are all over the place and we just we're chasing, like that feeling whereas we turn, you know, our mid-30s on, that becomes a little on the opposite end. So then we're dealing with let's check your hormones, let's understand what, um, those hormones are doing and how they're fluctuating and where the gaps are. Um, and also, you know, from 30 on we're also talking about you know, there's a lot of women who are becoming new moms and they're in their careers and their lifestyle. What is their diet like, what is their movement like, what is their sleep like? So we're looking at all of those pieces as well and then addressing where those gaps are and where we need to improve.

Speaker 1: 17:51

Yeah. So what I want to do now is start talking about each of those things. We are going to go through them point by point. So when my listeners get to the end of this podcast, they are going to have some literal takeaways. They're like I'm going to try this, this, this and this. So let's start with hormone therapy.

Speaker 1: 18:12

A lot of women hear you should get your hormones checked. I'm going to tell you my experience with that really quick. I am going through perimenopause. The first thing I did as it got intense for me was I went to my OBGYN and I said hey, can I get my hormones checked? I'm gaining weight, I, um, I I'm not going to bore you with the list of um symptoms and my OBGYN looked at me and said oh, we don't do that because your hormones change from day to day and that's not going to tell us much. I went to another OBGYN and the exact thing same thing happened to me again and I'm thinking to myself. I'm hearing and reading about all of this hormone therapy get your hormones checked, especially if you're having weight gain and fatigue. And I go to my doctors and my doctors scoff at it. So obviously you're a doctor. You have just said that this is hormone therapy is a thing. Can you talk to my listeners about what that looks like and how they can get it done?

Speaker 2: 19:22

Absolutely so. You know, the number one thing is we're born with these hormones. Okay, and from the minute we're born and I like to push it to our forties our hormones are raging, they're up and down, they're fluctuating, our body's constantly recruiting, you know, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone to be made, and from I, you know they statistically they say from 35 on hormones start to slowly decrease to the point where, eventually, no period for a year, welcome to the next adventure of your life. Now you're in menopause. That 42, no period for a year timeframe for a woman, I have to say I call it the gray zone.

Speaker 2: 20:01

It is the most challenging time for a woman because hormones are still happening, but they're decreasing at lower levels. So you're feeling more symptomatic, right Like, for you example, you're feeling, you know it's more difficult sleeping, or you know I can't get this weight off, I can't move the scale. I'm eating healthy, I'm exercising, you know foggy head, there's so many things. The decreased libido, lack of lubrication, by far is the first thing that most women will experience. But what I can tell you number one is estrogen has about 400 jobs in the body.

Speaker 2: 20:35

Progesterone has about 350 jobs in the body. Testosterone, testosterone which testosterone gets ignored a lot because people think, oh, testosterone is just a man's hormone. Absolutely not. It is a very vital hormone that women need as well. But also, when we are looking at hormones, we're not just talking about progesterone, estrogen, testosterone. We're also talking about cortisol. We're talking about thyroid, we're talking about cortisol. We're talking about thyroid. We're talking about insulin. We're talking about, you know um, vitamin levels, gut health.

Speaker 2: 21:05

There's so many pieces to the puzzle that we have to really look at. And so when I see um my patient for the first time and we're talking about hormone health, you know um, the first thing I talk about is you know, okay, what are your symptoms, what's happening, what's not happening, so we can really kind of figure out not only subjectively what they're feeling and where we need to kind of focus in on, but also then we discuss what hormone testing looks like. So hormone testing I do 24 hour urine as the first step for women and really what it is is it's very comprehensive, very detailed information that breaks down your progesterone, your estrogens, testosterone and cortisol, and it not only tells me what's going in and going out, but it also tells me how it's being utilized in the body and how it's being excreted. So it gives me a lot of information to tell me how these hormones are all working together and how they're also breaking down. Because what we want to look at is your body's making estrogen.

Speaker 2: 22:11

Here's the amount that it's making, but as it's, you know, it utilizes what it needs, but then it'll have some excess and that needs to be excreted in the body. If your body's not, you know, excreted correctly or efficiently, then it can increase your risk for, you know, breast cancer, you know. So I want to know the details of how these hormones are working in your body, of how these hormones are working in your body. So once we get the labs together and we look at the overall profile, then we figure out where those gaps are and where we can conservatively treat you and what hormones we need to give you.

Speaker 1: 22:50

What do you prescribe?

Speaker 2: 22:53

So, depending on what's low so let's just say all of it's low I can tell you that 50% of my labs that come back will say like below detected limits and it's like whoa. This puts a language to their symptoms, you know this is why you're feeling so crappy. So if it's progesterone, I prescribe pure progesterone the capsule. The benefits of treating with progesterone when your progesterone is low is a few things it helps with bone mineralization. It helps with upregulating and downregulating your estrogen. So it helps that function and that fluctuation be supported. And one of progesterone's important jobs too is to actually help the function of REM sleep. So when menopausal or perimenopausal women are saying God, I'm not sleeping well, like maybe I fall asleep and then I'm waking up, or I wake up and I have that chitty, chatty brain and I can't really go back to sleep, is because of that function not happening correctly.

Speaker 2: 23:51

Estrogen I only use transdermal, meaning that whether it's a patch or a cream on the skin and or vaginal estrogen, for sure, and vaginal estrogen extremely topical. It is to treat vaginal dryness. Treating vaginal dryness and putting estrogen in the vagina does not treat your system. And testosterone, um, you know women, sometimes it's just a breath that women actually need. Men need much larger quantities. That is their level, or their hormone that really, you know, is the big driver in their body. For women, we need testosterone, but not in those types of quantities. But testosterone has everything to do with metabolism, with libido, with bone strength, with brain health, bone strength, with brain health. There's a lot of studies that have shown. You know, once a woman starts to go into menopause, she now is more at risk for osteoporosis, dementia and cardiovascular disease because those hormones aren't there to support.

Speaker 1: 24:50

But it takes the team I call estrogen, progesterone, testosterone like the Charlie's Angels.

Speaker 2: 24:53

They all have a place. They are a team and one doesn't work great without the other being balanced.

Speaker 1: 25:01

This is something that women can have checked at any point in their life. It can affect them at any point in their life, so I want to make that clear. Outside of going to the doctor, what can we do at home? I wanted to talk to you a little bit about food. I know from the research I've done that there because I want to look at this problem as a holistic issue. Let's talk about some things you can do with your diet to increase your libido and, hopefully, your desire. Do you have suggestions?

Speaker 2: 25:34

You know I always go back to the conversation with nutrition is eating a plate full of colorful foods, you know, eating a plate full of vegetables and fruits and proteins and just healthy, fortified foods that are, you know, going to help our body thrive, that are going to help our body keep healthy. You know, when we eat foods that are high in fats or that are, you know, you know, have lots of preservatives and fillers and things like that, they're going to bog our body down, they're going to bog our metabolism down, they're going to bog our brain function down. Right, so we want to eat fortified, healthy foods and, along with eating healthy, is what your movement, movement is Right. So I tell women food, use your food as a tool, movement as medicine. Right, because if you're eating healthy and you're exercising, you're getting oxygenation, you're getting blood flow, you are fortifying your body with all of these healthy elements to really strengthen your body's function. You're going to have better sex, you're going to have better orgasms, you're going to have better health. You know, a better sleep.

Speaker 1: 26:41

So blood flow and oxygen is a theme I've noticed in the interviews I've done over time, just like and I think that it's often this is something we speak to when we speak to men's erections. Well, they need the blood flow to get their dicks up. I mean, I think that's how we are taught because, generally speaking, the conversation around libido has traditionally been around men and their penises and their ability to get their cocks up. But it is the same for women and their clitorises and their vaginas. You need that blood flow, you know, in your vulva, in your vagina, in your clitoris, in order to get excited. And, as I understand it correct me if I'm wrong a lot of the reason behind a decreased desire and libido is a decreased blood flow to that area.

Speaker 2: 27:38

Absolutely. You know oxygenation, blood flow. It is like such this conversation all the time and it's like, do you get good oxygen to your penis or do you get good oxygen to your clitoris? It's like, well, how the heck do I do that? Um, you know, stress, okay, stress turns on the fight or flight.

Speaker 2: 27:55

What happens when the fight or flight goes on? Everything constricts, right so our daily lives filled with whatever life is happening. Stress is the number one killer, right so? Stress, lack of sleep, eating habits that aren't good, you know you're not exercising, you're not getting those endorphins. You know, when a guy comes in and says, you know I'm having issues with erectile function, you know the first question and the first thing I'm looking at is like, well, what is your cardiovascular system and health, like you know, and that drives from stress eating, sleep. You know all of those pieces. Do they have cardiovascular disease? What medications are they taking? Right, blood flow and oxygenation is the key to revving up, to getting lubrication going, to strengthen, you know, that intense sensation of orgasm, you know, for men and women. And you know there are a lot of things clinically that we can do to really help optimize that as well.

Speaker 1: 28:57

So what are some of the things? Let's say, someone is starting to work out and stuff like that, but they want extra help with increasing that blood flow. What are some things you can do for them?

Speaker 2: 29:11

Absolutely so. When we're looking at oxygenation and blood flow, of course, the conversations we've had in it, of course we're going to be asking the questions hormones, sleep, diet, you know, movement, all of those pieces.

Speaker 1: 29:22

Number one it's then okay, well, what can we do to rev you up? Sometimes you know movement, all of those pieces, number one.

Speaker 2: 29:26

it's then okay, well what can we do to rev you up? Sometimes? You know, sometimes we just need to do something to kind of get them over the hump a little bit, to get back on track. There are two. There's there's some medications. There are two treatments that I offer in my office.

Speaker 2: 29:38

The first treatment that I absolutely love I started using a few years ago is the Cleo Vana. It is a ultrasonic wave therapy treatment. That is an amazing treatment that works with your body's natural process to really enhance arousal at the cellular level. What that means is that we're working on all of the nerves and the arterial health of the structure to really help optimize, regenerating and restoring function. So it's an amazing treatment. It's very easy, there's no discomfort. It's four treatments that you come in two weeks in a row for. So two treatments a week for two weeks, and it's really an ultrasonic wave therapy where we do externally.

Speaker 2: 31:16

We apply like a cupping step that goes over the clitoral body. So for women, we use it for men and women. So for women, we use a three-step part where we put a little cup over the clitoral. That it actually helps. It's almost like a heartbeat on your clitoris, okay, and it actually helps. What it's doing is it's recruiting growth factors to come to the area to restore function. We use a cupping procedure, we use a microblading procedure where it just it, almost like taps, like the vulvar area, just to create like a stimulation to the body, like oh, something's going on in this specific area.

Speaker 1: 31:53

We need to go to the party, okay.

Speaker 2: 31:55

And then there's like I almost call it like a vibrating type of procedure at the end. That actually helps relax and open up the channels to let everything restore.

Speaker 1: 32:07

And it sounds like a sex toy. It sounds like you're gonna have.

Speaker 2: 32:11

You can imagine the things that women have told me when they're using this treatment. But I can tell you women love it because they'll come in for 15 minutes on a lunch break and they're like I've done my cleobana treatment, I'm doing something amazing for myself. I feel good. You know. It's increasing lubrication, it's increasing the strength and sensitivity of orgasm and it really just helps them get over the hump and gets them having better orgasms.

Speaker 1: 32:38

So four treatments and then they're done, or do they have to keep coming back for it?

Speaker 2: 32:43

You know it's four treatments and then you know it takes about three months to optimize. In that time they're going to start feeling better. But it really takes three months to optimize because growth factors take time to regenerate. Ok, in the midst of it we're talking about intimate skin care. We're talking about, you know, taking care of your skin is the most sensitive skin of the body and it is, you know, something that needs care, just like like our skin on our face. We need to take care of our intimate skin. I think it's by your early 30s and particularly five years after menopause, your skin loses about 30 percent of its collagen. So we want to replenish that as best as possible, because if you're having thin dry skin, we want to replenish that as best as possible, because if you're having thin dry skin, we want to replenish that as well. So Cleo Vaughn is getting the internal. We can use a moisturizer as well. Sometimes women need a little vaginal estrogen, you know, to kind of help the intimate mucosa in the vagina. So there's.

Speaker 1: 33:43

Sometimes it's not like one thing is a magic wand, necessarily.

Speaker 2: 33:47

It's kind of a treatment protocol that we put together so they really can optimize this as they're. You know, as this is working.

Speaker 1: 33:55

So, cleovana, I want everybody to like put that in their brain and start considering it, and that is something you can use at any age range. It's not just for menopausal women, also vaginal skincare. This is something that has only been introduced to me this year and it's been mind-blowing to me and it's insane to me that we haven't been talking about. I put a lot of effort into my skincare routine and I get compliments. Anyone who touches me is like how is your skin that soft and healthy? I put a lot of effort into it. I never once considered the fact and this is insane that I would need to do the same skincare to my vaginal and vulva area, and there are products out there for that. But I do feel like that's a whole conversation in and of itself, and because we don't have time for the full conversation, can you just throw out maybe some and you did kind of but sum up vaginal skin care what are some products that people listening to this podcast could think, start thinking about or looking into?

Speaker 2: 35:02

Absolutely so, about five years ago, after years of taking care of women, life stories, life experiences. The conversation is my skin is dry and it hurts. Sometimes I can't even put underwear on. And our intimate skin is our most sensitive skin of our body and as we age, just like I said, it loses the collagen, it loses elasticity, it loses that. You know, it loses the plumpness and you know we're supposed to have wrinkles in our vagina. Yes.

Speaker 1: 35:30

But just like our face, our face you're. You get everyone worries about lines in their face and losing the plumpness in your face. That's happening in your vagina, folks.

Speaker 2: 35:39

Your vagina, and so you know what we also talk about is the vulva, it's the clitoral, you know all of that has that's all covered by intimate skin and that's what protects.

Speaker 2: 35:48

That's what protects our body from environment, right? With that being said, there's glides. There are a million lubes on the market. Okay, lube is for glide. It's like putting the bandaid on and then ripping it off. It doesn't do anything to really therapeutically support the skin Right. So a few years ago, I really became frustrated because there was this lack in the industry of finding a great product, and so I actually invented a product. And what I invented it with is it's a water serum. It is powered by peptides, so it has the growth factors and the ability to help increase collagen, increase hydration and hold moisture in the skin. So it's something that you can apply daily as an intimate moisturizer. So I have women apply it daily, just like they would do it on their face. Do this on your vulva and you can apply the entrance of the vagina everywhere daily down there.

Speaker 1: 36:46

What is it called? So, listeners, I want to preface this with. I actually had no idea, somehow, and I did read through all of your information. I had no idea that you had created this, so this is really exciting. You are finding this out at the same time as I'm finding it out. I have looked into and learned about other products, but this is unique. I have not yet. This is the first product I've heard of with peptides. So what is the name of your product?

Speaker 2: 37:16

It's fulfilling fulfilling fulfilling. So it was an E and E at the end, because we just, you know it's, it's fulfilling your quality of life, life. I really had to find something that therapeutically treated women and, um, it's been a journey. I originally just made it for patients in my practice, but as it came out it's not just what they needed is what they were waiting for, you know.

Speaker 2: 37:38

So it's. It's been um, really um. It's really been a journey, but it works really well. It's been clinically studied. It's a patent, patent formulation. I also have one to you in that you need to use it Please.

Speaker 1: 37:49

The product is multi-use.

Speaker 2: 37:51

You use it daily as a vulvar moisturizer. You can use it before, during and after intercourse. You can use it after shaving or waxing or anytime the skin feels compromised. So it's really a multi-use product.

Speaker 1: 38:03

Now I want to speak to supplements product. Now I want to speak to supplements. I know women are constantly hearing about being bombarded with supplements for increasing the libido. Are there any that you suggest, and can you just give my listeners some takeaways, if, if you know there's something that they can look into for themselves?

Speaker 2: 38:24

You know I always recommend a great multivitamin for women that is fortified with B-complexes. One of B-complexes most important jobs is to help the conversion in the gut to convert nutrients into healthy energy for the body. A multivitamin that has good B complexes, that has some magnesium, that has antioxidants, that has vitamin E. Vitamin D is huge. So I can tell you that I can't remember the statistic in that, but it's like over 50% of the population is low in vitamin D. Vitamin D has everything to do with a little bit of everything in our body. Now that we're finding right Over the years they've really been studying and they're like, oh my gosh, it's linked to vitamin D, it's linked to vitamin D. Vitamin D has everything to do with bone health, brain health, cardiovascular health, immune health huge on our immune. Okay, if our immune's a little down and we're feeling sluggish, we're not feeling vibrant, right. So vitamin D is really important.

Speaker 2: 39:30

Antioxidants CoQ10, you know there's been a lot of talk about glucothione. You know it's one of the. Those are like two most powerful antioxidants in the body that help with conversion, that help with support, that help with protection in so many ways of our health. So there's lots of you know things out there that we can take and if you want to take a takeaway, a really good multivitamin is a key thing Do you have a favorite multivitamin for women?

Speaker 2: 39:58

I actually do. I have an is called ultimate multi, which has the B complexes, the antioxidants, the vitamin D, a little mag, the pure vitamin E and some other good you know ingredients.

Speaker 1: 40:15

Are there any other supplements that you can think of off the bat that you would recommend?

Speaker 2: 40:22

You know, DHEA has become kind of a bigger supplement out there and I tell people it is a hormone and you do have to be careful Like maybe you don't need it, you know.

Speaker 1: 40:31

So this is kind of one of those things where there are so many supplements out there and it's like it's going to make you a new woman or it's going to make you a new man, but does your body really need it?

Speaker 2: 40:41

You got to be kind of careful with it, but DHEA, in a very low dose, I think would be helpful for a lot of people. Again, there's some contraindications. Check with your provider, your health care provider, before starting some of these things, just because we want to make sure you're healthy, you know, if you're pregnant or if you have a history of cancer or things like that. You know those are things to watch out for. But DHEA has become, you know, a really great supplement that works really well. It helps support estrogen, testosterone, progesterone. It helps energy, it helps libido, it helps metabolism. So it's not the magic wand supplement, but it definitely helps.

Speaker 1: 41:21

And one that I keep hearing about and I attempted to take and could not keep it down, oddly enough and I'd like to hear your thoughts on is maca root. I mean it is one that is coming up everywhere and being suggested ever. I think I even had a doctor, one of my OBGYNs, kind of just throw it out there. Thoughts on that.

Speaker 2: 41:44

Macaroon is. It's been around, I mean, for probably what? Like 300 years. It's been around forever and it's something that you know, you can try, you can add it's supposed to help with vitality, it's supposed to help with energy, it's supposed to help with libido a little bit. It's supposed to help with brain health, cardiovascular health. It's something, again, in moderation.

Speaker 1: 42:06

Before we go, I want to get your opinion on my 365 days of orgasms journey I did last year. On the 1st of January last year I made a resolution to have an orgasm every day for the entire year. I managed to do that and it really it has made me more orgasmic. I went from taking 45 minutes to orgasm to you know I can knock one out in a good five or 10 minute session. I found my G spot. My G spot is awake. It's never been awake in my whole life.

Speaker 1: 42:38

I found my A spot, p spot, like. Basically it ignited my whole vagina, my pussy, my vulva. It's almost like it's awake in a way that it literally has never been throughout my whole life. Now I believe that some of the reason why I didn't have as much sensation had to do from trauma in my younger years and stuff like that. But I am curious as a doctor, do you feel that there's any, maybe medical significance to that? Is there something to having done that for myself every day that could have helped increase my libido, my pleasure, my ability to orgasm?

Speaker 2: 43:25

So we know that orgasms we know we call it it increases oxytocin, and oxytocin I call it the love hormone. I mean it's that stimulation, it's that stimulation, it's those endorphins that are flying, and you know orgasms just in themselves have so many health benefits. It helps increase estrogen. It helps I mean everything from, I mean when we're talking about oxygenation and blood flow. It helps decrease cardiovascular risk. It helps skin health. It helps improve, improve, you know, emotional wellbeing, increase happiness, feeling closer to your, to yourself, to your partner.

Speaker 2: 44:05

It has so many pieces to so many things in your life and you know, not only starting with you first, but also just in general of things that you know lifestyle for you. But you know it helps even with metabolism. How many calories do you think it burns when you have an orgasm? How many it helps you sleep better. I mean we can put a number to that, we can put any number we want to that I think Right, it helps the sleep. You know those endorphins and all of that. You know oxytocin that's going on in your body. It even helps. And if you're getting good sleep, you know those endorphins and all of that, you know oxytocin that's going on in your body, it even helps, and if you're getting good sleep, you're having more energy to have more sex.

Speaker 1: 44:47

Yeah, see that's. It's interesting because I've gotten a lot of interesting reactions over the year of people saying Don't you think that's excessive, or maybe you have an addiction, blah, blah, blah. And I'm like I feel like an orgasm is the equivalent of a multivitamin, multivitamin each day. It really. From what the research again, I am not a scientist or doctor, but from what I was reading and listening to you, it really does have health benefits, legit, I think it's the other heartbeat of a woman's body. Oh you just wrapped this up.

Speaker 2: 45:22

If it's not beating you're not alive, right, right.

Speaker 1: 45:25

Yes, that's perfect. I think you just summed this entire podcast up. A woman's orgasmic life, libido, sex drive is her other heartbeat, and it's one that we need to listen to and care for, and I just appreciate you taking the time to talk to me. I want to sum it up with just a reminder take away, when you get off of this podcast, when you are done with it, some things that the doctor has said that you can do if you want to start working on your libido right now.

Speaker 1: 46:00

Obviously, if you're struggling, find someone to talk to, find a medical professional to talk to who's really going to listen to you, who isn't going to send you away when you ask to have your hormone levels looked at and even if you're 20 or 30, your hormones could be off. This is not something that is only for women in their midlife or older women, so go and ask to have them checked. Look at your lifestyle. There are hormone replacement therapies that can happen. There are some supplements, and then there's Cleovana. Talk to find a professional who can offer that. Can you take a moment to tell people where they can find you, where they can find out more information about you, maybe reach out to you if they want to, and then find your products.

Speaker 2: 46:52

Absolutely so. My practice is located in Walnut Creek, california. My actual practice name is InnovativeWellnessInccom. That's the website you can go to to get all of the information of where you can contact me. You can call us directly. We have a live person. My staff is fantastic. They're ready to just start a relationship, start a conversation and, you know, meet your needs wherever those need to be. We also have some, you know, a tele video visit option too. So if you're out of town, you know the area to commute here that you know we can address that as well and make that available to you.

Speaker 1: 47:33

You can actually watch this podcast. On my YouTube, I've already given you the handle Annette Benedetti. You can find me on TikTok Locker Room Talk Podcast. You can find me on all the socials Locker Room Talk and Shots on Instagram and Facebook. Join my personal Instagram at beingbenedetti. So until next time. Thank you so much for joining me. Get out there, fire up your libido. We all deserve to get our fuck on. So until next time, cheers. I'll see you in the locker room Ring loop.