Sugar, Sex and Your Health: The Connection You Might Be Ignoring

When most people think of sugar, they think about dessert — not their sex life. I’m writing this with a bowl of vanilla ice cream beside me, which feels a bit ironic. While sugar feels great in the moment, too much of it over time can damage some of life’s most intimate pleasures.

The Buzz Around GLP-1s

In 2025, there’s a lot of talk about GLP-1 medications — drugs like semaglutide and tirzepatide — that help regulate blood sugar and promote weight loss. They’ve helped many improve not just their glucose levels and waistlines, but also their sex lives, partly due to better sleep and overall energy.

But rather than just focusing on medication, we need to talk about the root cause: our love of sugar and the domino effect it has on mood, metabolism, and sexual health.

Is Your Blood Sugar Normal?

While most people connect blood sugar only with diabetes, many aren’t even sure what “normal” blood sugar looks like.

Here are general guidelines from the American Diabetes Association (ADA):

Fasting Blood Sugar (no food for 8+ hours):

• Normal: Below 100 mg/dL

• Prediabetes: 100–125 mg/dL

• Diabetes: 126 mg/dL or higher

Random Blood Sugar (any time of day):

• Diabetes: 200 mg/dL or higher with symptoms

Hemoglobin A1c — The Bigger Picture

This lab test shows your average blood sugar over the past 2–3 months. It measures how much sugar is attached to hemoglobin in your red blood cells.

• Normal: Below 5.7%

• Prediabetes: 5.7–6.4%

• Diabetes: 6.5% or higher

As a surgeon, I always check A1c before any procedure, especially those involving implants. Elevated levels increase the risk of poor healing, infections, and complications. So managing glucose matters more than many people realize.

How High Blood Sugar Affects Your Sex Life

Sexual health and blood sugar? It’s not a common association — but it should be.

In Men:

• High sugar damages nerves and blood vessels needed for erections.

• It can lower testosterone, decreasing libido and energy.

• For many men, erectile dysfunction is the first noticeable sign that something is wrong — not fatigue or weight gain.

In Women:

• Poor blood flow and hormone imbalance can lead to:

  • Vaginal dryness

  • Painful sex

  • Difficulty reaching orgasm

• High sugar also raises the risk of frequent UTIs, making intimacy uncomfortable.

• Many women wrongly attribute these changes solely to aging, menopause, or stress — rarely suspecting blood sugar.

Treating High Blood Sugar

Diabetes is extremely common — about 38 million Americans have it, and nearly 1 in 4 don’t even know.

Treatment Options:

• Oral medications:
  Like metformin, which lowers liver-produced sugar. Others help insulin release or promote sugar elimination via urine.

• Injectables:
  Insulin has long been used, but it requires careful timing with meals and carries a risk of low blood sugar episodes.

• GLP-1 medications:
  These mimic natural hormones to:

  • Regulate glucose

  • Slow digestion

  • Increase satiety (feeling full)

Originally for diabetes, they’re now widely used for weight loss — and may even boost testosterone in obese or diabetic men.

GLP-1s May Help Hormone Levels

In new research presented at the 2025 Endocrine Society meeting:

• 110 men with obesity or diabetes took GLP-1s (no testosterone therapy).

• Over 18 months, they lost ~10% of their body weight.

• The number with normal testosterone rose from 53% to 77%.

Though preliminary, the data suggests that controlling blood sugar and weight improves not just physical health — but also hormone levels, energy, and sexual function.

Lifestyle: A Harder, But Healthier Option

Before turning to medications, consider this: lifestyle changes are harder — but often more powerful.

What helps:

• Regular exercise improves insulin sensitivity, blood flow, and hormone balance.

• Healthy diet (whole foods, fiber, lean protein) stabilizes sugar and reduces inflammation.

• Better sleep, reduced alcohol, and stress management also boost energy and sexual wellness.

So next time you’re torn between a shot and a sweat session — maybe reach for your gym bag. The results could transform more than your lab reports. They might transform how you feel in your body and in your relationships.

And yes, the next time I grab a scoop of ice cream, I’ll remind myself — it’s not just about my waistline. It’s about my heart, my energy, and even my sex life. And now that I’m done writing, I’m heading to the gym — just like I said.