I first wrote about Marenna's orgasmic diet in December. I was intrigued by the diet itself, but even more intrigued by the tenacity of Lindberg in tackling an area where most of us mere mortals fear to tread - scientific research. In effect, she became a citizen scientist to prove her theory. So, whether you believe a diet can make you multi-orgasmic or not, it's still a hell of a story. And here's an interview with its author, Marenna Lindberg.
Do you consider this a "diet" in the most used sense of the word, like Atkins or South Beach? In other words, is weight loss a part of the plan at all or is it more like eating for optimal sexual performance, regardless of how much you weigh?
It has nothing to do with weight loss, although of course you could lose weight on the diet (and some women have). I haven't. It only has to do with optimal sexual performance.
Is the resistance advice absolutely necessary? Could you get similar results by extensive kegeling?
Kegeling does not work very well. A couple women who did hundreds of Kegels a day were astonished to find out how weak their muscles were using resistance. I frequently use the analogy of weightlifting. The PC muscles are muscles, like your biceps are muscles. Invalids can build up their biceps simply by flexing their arms, but to really put on muscle you need resistance. That's why I recommend using a resistance device. I prefer the Gyneflex device because it's more comfortable and easier to clean, but the Kegelmaster 2000 will work too. However many women have gone on my diet and not done the exercises. The diet alone will improve libido but it will not improve vaginal orgasmic ability. I strongly recommend the exercises.
Have you found all of the funding for your study yet? How's that going?
I was close to having funding until the day after the magazine hit the stands, and then suddenly they were not interested. I am working with someone at the NIH for potential sponsors.
Is there a book in the works about the diet?
Yes, I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Hopefully a publisher will be interested.
Do you own the domain name www.orgasmicdiet.com or did someone else snatch it up? (pun intended) If you do own it, why is the domain not active now? It looks like material was up at one time but has been taken down.
Yes, I own it and had the website up with a forum, but I found that women took me more seriously if I went to them instead of expecting them to come to me. So I am active on a number of female sexuality boards, where women post questions. The essentials of the diet are not that long to post.
Are there any foods that make you orgasmic on their own?
I believe optimal sexual function is dependent on high dopamine levels balanced with moderate serotonin, robust free testosterone, good circulation and strong PC muscle tone. No one food is going to do all that, and that is why my diet is a bit complicated, to hit all of those things in a synergistic way. That said, the closest thing to an orgasmic food is high-dose fish oil, which is why my initial study is only examining that one variable. To replicate the amounts, a woman could eat a sizable salmon steak (not smoked) from the ocean rather than farm-raised (farm-raised has much less omega-3 fatty acids). However it wouldn't be healthy to do this all the time, as the polluted oceans cause seafood to become contaminated. Fish oil is safer because the contaminants like mercury are filtered out during processing.
What would you think would be the most likely culprit if someone followed your diet but did not notice any of the effects?
There have been some women who have not responded, and I certainly would like to know why. I think the most likely cause is low total testosterone. The diet helps improve free testosterone by lowering sex-hormone-binding globulin, but it needs a pretty good level of total testosterone to start off. The diet does help somewhat with that, but some women with endocrine problems might need to see a doctor for hormone replacement therapy, if blood tests show low total testosterone. The diet works very well in tandem with testosterone supplementation.
You contend that your new orgasmic state broke up your marriage. How would you advise other women to prepare for the change, if it does occur?
I think that having different libido levels can cause stress in a marriage, whether it is the man or woman who has a high sex drive. I now know how to slow down the effect, whether by drinking coffee or eating high-carbohydrate meals. Also a woman can let her muscle tone lapse. For me it was more after so many years being made to feel deficient because it took me too long to orgasm, to then be told I was a freak for orgasming too quickly was more than I could bear. And there were other problems with the marriage too.
How would just taking testosterone supplements compare to your plan?
Testosterone supplementation on its own does not work very well. Intrinsa failed clinical trials. The problem with TRT is that after an initial period the body compensates by raising sex-hormone-binding globulin. So although the total T gets a big boost, the free T (which controls libido) remains the same. My diet keeps SHBG to a healthy minimum.
Also even with high free T, other things are necessary for high libido in women. T treatment does not address neurotransmitter levels. I believe high dopamine is even more critical for female sexual response than high free T.
Has the Elle magazine article given the diet much more attention?
Hard to say. My e-mail address is out there, including your blog, but I'd say only about fifty women have e-mailed me about it so far, and now there's a new issue of Elle on the newstands. And it did kill my funding. On the other hand, as I said I am active in lots of places online, and the Elle article did give me more credibility, I guess, because more women are trying the diet in those places, and that's the important thing. I am very evangelistic; I think all women should at least know about it. And Jay Leno made a joke about the diet on the Tonight Show, which was fun.
I've seen you say in several places that your new orgasmic state scares the hell out of some men? Have you traded one problem in relationships for another?
Yes, I suppose I have. Also I am not emotionally ready to date; my divorce was final just this past summer. As I said above, though, there are ways to modify the diet if women find that the orgasmic state is a problem, mellow it out.
I've seen a lot written about your orgasmic diet for women, but not much for men? How does the diet differ for each of the sexes?
Men don't need the extra iron or calcium. Also they can get away with caffeine and other stimulants because they naturally have higher dopamine levels than women. PC muscle exercise can be done by draping a towel over an erection and doing "lifts," or, if men are open to it, they can try using the Aneros device.
I've seen posts of yours on message boards that say that having regular sex for you isn't very satisfying sometimes because you cannot find a man who can feel orgasms as deeply. Can you explain a little more about that?
That has to do with your next question.
What are intense heart chakra orgasms?
I have had some sort of tantric awakening, I think because of the sheer number of vaginal orgasms I have been having daily over the past several years. It's kind of hard to explain the sensations, but I miss the corresponding tantric ability in men. Heart chakra orgasms are a feeling of tantric energy being released from the center of the chest, and cause feelings of strong emotion along with intense sexual pleasure. Which is why I need to get back in my groove; that sort of thing doesn't mesh very well in a non-intimate sexual situation.
I've also seen written by you that the dark chocolate does not have the same effect on men. Why do you think so?
I think because men have naturally higher dopamine levels.
Thanks so much for the opportunity to interview you.
My pleasure, thank you for mentioning my diet on your blog.
Will you be next? If you have an urge to be interviewed, whether you have a blog or a site or, hell, you've just never been interviewed before and would like to cross it off some imaginary list in your head, e-mail me at shawn.lea@gmail.com. (I promise the answer will be yes.)
