Hormones play a big role in a person's sex drive.
A simple blood test can reveal why a person has a low sex drive.
Dr. Laura Glenn NMD with Rejuvena Health & Aesthetics says there are a lot of reasons hormones could be tested, and libido is just one of them
"People always think of testosterone as being the big driver of your sex drive," Dr. Glenn said. "For women, in particular, that's not the only one - so your estrogen and progesterone can play a big role in libido as well."
Ideally, Dr. Glenn says hormones should be balanced.
"You don't want things too low or too high," Dr. Glenn said. "They can cause different symptoms."
If a woman has too much testosterone, Dr. Glenn says her sex drive might be fine, but she could have more acne, oily skin and be more irritable or aggressive.
"If estrogen levels are too low, they might be a little more weepy depressed not thinking clearly," Dr. Glenn said.
Cholesterol is also very important in libido because cholesterol makes all of the sex hormones.
"You want good cholesterol numbers -- you don't want them too low," Dr. Glenn said. "There's this huge push of 'We've got to get cholesterol low low low' -- from a heart perspective that can be true, but you also don't want to drive it so low that you're not having enough to make your hormones."
If levels are out of whack, Dr. Glenn says don't worry.
For her younger female patients, she improved their levels with herbs and vitamins. For her older female patients, Dr. Glenn says, she will use bio-identical hormones.
For low testosterone, Dr. Glenn says the solution is often as easy as physical exercise.
