The New Naked: The Ultimate Sex Education for Grown-Ups by Harry Fisch, Karen Moline Page B
Authors: Harry Fisch, Karen Moline
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contain high levels of certain enzymes or elements. If you consider how your pee smells after you eat asparagus, you know what I mean! Semen might also taste bad if your partner has a low-grade urinary tract infection.
Bottom line: If his semen tastes off or bad and he hasn’t been eating anything unusual or smoking or drinking too much, he should get checked out by a doctor to rule out infections or other conditions.
Deal with the “Head”: What Affects His Libido?
Now that you know a lot more than you ever thought you’d need to know about penises and sperm, let’s move along to how and how often he uses his equipment. In other words, time to talk about his libido.
A man can have trouble with his libido for many physical reasons, and if he is really unlucky (or lazy and self-indulgent) the reason usually falls into one or more of these categories. I’ve organized this information into an easy-to-remember (and perhaps aptly titled) acronym, HEAD:
H for Hormones
Hormonal imbalances, congenital conditions (such as small or malformed testicles), erectile dysfunction.
E for Eating (Too Much) and Exercise (Too Much or Not Enough)
Weight gain (particularly around the waist), sedentary lifestyle, over-exercising (particularly with weight-training).
A for Aging
Hormonal changes, prostate issues.
D for Diseases, Drugs, Drinking, and Deprivation (of Sleep)
Anxiety, depression, osteoporosis, drug use, self-medication, alcohol use, fatigue, sleep disturbances (particularly sleep apnea).
H for Hormones
Testosterone is to men what estrogen and progesterone are to women. It’s what separates the men from the women. These are the hormones that drive reproduction and sexual desire.
Along with sperm, testosterone is manufactured in the testicles, and a normal range is anywhere from 300 to 1,100 nanograms per deciliter of blood. The only way to check this level is with a blood test. Be sure to tell your partner to ask for a free testosterone workup. That’s not testosterone he gets for free, but what he needs for his body to function properly.
A man with normal testosterone levels tends to have a normal libido. That means he likes sex; he craves sex; and hopefully he has regular, mutually satisfying sex with a partner. A man with low testosterone may have a less intense sex drive and tends to beof the meeker variety (not that this is a bad thing). A man with too much testosterone will make you long for Mr. Meek, because he’ll be aggressive, sexually obsessed, competitive, and extroverted—an in-your-face action man.
Unlike women, though, a man shouldn’t have fluctuating testosterone levels. His testosterone should remain fairly steady. Still, an estimated two to four million men in America suffer from symptoms associated with below-normal testosterone levels, a condition called hypogonadism. It’s very common in men as they grow older, although it can happen to young men, too. Often, it’s due to a congenital issue, such as undescended testicles, which don’t reach the scrotum, or varicocele, an enlargement of the veins in the scrotum. Both of these issues cause low testosterone levels, often leaving a man too exhausted to have sex and unable to get or sustain erections.
Low testosterone is easy to diagnose with a simple blood test. The most common self-inflicted causes are not getting enough sleep, being overweight, and taking certain medications, such as analgesics like codeine.
The primary symptom of low testosterone is low energy. It’s the complaint I hear most frequently. But because so many men are fatigued, they and their doctors often don’t think of this hormone as the root cause of the problem. There are simply so many other possible reasons for ongoing exhaustion. These include the stresses of everyday life, a crummy diet (which can lead to prediabetes or diabetes, a disease that wreaks havoc on energy levels), a sedentary lifestyle (lacking regular exercise to give you energy), too much work, and not
Bottom line: If his semen tastes off or bad and he hasn’t been eating anything unusual or smoking or drinking too much, he should get checked out by a doctor to rule out infections or other conditions.
Deal with the “Head”: What Affects His Libido?
Now that you know a lot more than you ever thought you’d need to know about penises and sperm, let’s move along to how and how often he uses his equipment. In other words, time to talk about his libido.
A man can have trouble with his libido for many physical reasons, and if he is really unlucky (or lazy and self-indulgent) the reason usually falls into one or more of these categories. I’ve organized this information into an easy-to-remember (and perhaps aptly titled) acronym, HEAD:
H for Hormones
Hormonal imbalances, congenital conditions (such as small or malformed testicles), erectile dysfunction.
E for Eating (Too Much) and Exercise (Too Much or Not Enough)
Weight gain (particularly around the waist), sedentary lifestyle, over-exercising (particularly with weight-training).
A for Aging
Hormonal changes, prostate issues.
D for Diseases, Drugs, Drinking, and Deprivation (of Sleep)
Anxiety, depression, osteoporosis, drug use, self-medication, alcohol use, fatigue, sleep disturbances (particularly sleep apnea).
H for Hormones
Testosterone is to men what estrogen and progesterone are to women. It’s what separates the men from the women. These are the hormones that drive reproduction and sexual desire.
Along with sperm, testosterone is manufactured in the testicles, and a normal range is anywhere from 300 to 1,100 nanograms per deciliter of blood. The only way to check this level is with a blood test. Be sure to tell your partner to ask for a free testosterone workup. That’s not testosterone he gets for free, but what he needs for his body to function properly.
A man with normal testosterone levels tends to have a normal libido. That means he likes sex; he craves sex; and hopefully he has regular, mutually satisfying sex with a partner. A man with low testosterone may have a less intense sex drive and tends to beof the meeker variety (not that this is a bad thing). A man with too much testosterone will make you long for Mr. Meek, because he’ll be aggressive, sexually obsessed, competitive, and extroverted—an in-your-face action man.
Unlike women, though, a man shouldn’t have fluctuating testosterone levels. His testosterone should remain fairly steady. Still, an estimated two to four million men in America suffer from symptoms associated with below-normal testosterone levels, a condition called hypogonadism. It’s very common in men as they grow older, although it can happen to young men, too. Often, it’s due to a congenital issue, such as undescended testicles, which don’t reach the scrotum, or varicocele, an enlargement of the veins in the scrotum. Both of these issues cause low testosterone levels, often leaving a man too exhausted to have sex and unable to get or sustain erections.
Low testosterone is easy to diagnose with a simple blood test. The most common self-inflicted causes are not getting enough sleep, being overweight, and taking certain medications, such as analgesics like codeine.
The primary symptom of low testosterone is low energy. It’s the complaint I hear most frequently. But because so many men are fatigued, they and their doctors often don’t think of this hormone as the root cause of the problem. There are simply so many other possible reasons for ongoing exhaustion. These include the stresses of everyday life, a crummy diet (which can lead to prediabetes or diabetes, a disease that wreaks havoc on energy levels), a sedentary lifestyle (lacking regular exercise to give you energy), too much work, and not
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