Oxytocin: The ‘Love Hormone’ That Heals—And Why Sex Alone Isn’t Enough

We’ve all heard of oxytocin, the so-called “love hormone” released during hugs, touch, and intimacy—but there’s much more to this powerful molecule than most people realize.

In this episode, Dr. Trip Goolsby and LeNae Goolsby, co-founders of Infinite Health Integrative Medicine Center, unpack what oxytocin really does for your brain, heart, and longevity, and explain why sex alone isn’t enough to sustain healthy oxytocin levels.

You’ll discover:

• The critical role oxytocin plays in reducing stress and inflammation
• Why connection, trust, and safety are key to lasting oxytocin release
• How modern lifestyles suppress oxytocin—and what to do about it
• Practical ways to naturally increase oxytocin for better mood, energy, and vitality
• When medical oxytocin therapies may support your health optimization plan

If you’re ready to cultivate deeper connection and experience the healing power of oxytocin in your daily life—not just the bedroom—this episode is for you.

👉 Learn more about integrative hormone optimization at YourInfiniteHealth.com

Transcript

LeNae Goolsby (00:05)
Okay. Makeup.

So we're doing video. Okay. So, ⁓

How's it going, Tripp? Good, you wrapped up clinic and I was able to harass you to come do a podcast episode. Yes, dear. Well, we haven't done any any in a while. I had to take a break. was kind of getting burned out. So we had a break and I have a list of things that I want to. ⁓

Talk about but today well, I'll get today. I'll get to what I want to talk about today in a minute I have a joke No, I know but you didn't see that coming. No, I did not see that Okay, I bet you don't know what kind of shoes toads wear Hold on. I might have messed my joke up

I did have a message to go. I'm going to have to go to the next one. I gave the answer to that in the question. Okay. I have a list. I just built an ATM that only gives out coins, but I don't know why anybody thought about it because it just makes sense. Pretty soon it won't be making pennies.

According to the Trump administration's anti penny rule Because it it takes three cents to make one cent penny allegedly That's what I hear Wow. Yeah. Anyway, that is that's not what I wanted to talk about I wanted to talk about the love hormone ⁓

aka oxytocin. came to mind because I made a post on my Instagram ⁓ page about it recently because you put me on it and I don't know everybody around me says that it's working but we'll have to go into that in a minute but I wanted to talk about it because I got criticized.

by some crazy woman on the internet who decided to shred me up and down and tell me that sex should be sufficient for releasing oxytocin. ⁓ I chose not to engage with her because she was stupid.

⁓ But anyway, it makes for a good podcasting topic. tell everybody about oxytocin and why we ⁓ offer it, the benefits and cons and I don't know all the stuff. Let's talk love hormone.

Okay. Look, I know I kind of caught you off guard You didn't really know what we're gonna be talking about today and I know you are kind of a perfectionist about making sure you get the data just so ⁓ but I'm gonna say

Talk to the listeners like they like the way that you would talk to a patient and you wouldn't be spouting out citations to patients. So relax. Okay. And let's just have a conversation like you would a normal person who did not go to medical school. Okay. so oxytocin, oxytocin is I guess a peptide that

that has been found to enhance relationships, enhance, decrease anxiety and to help in ⁓ social situations actually amongst other small...

things that it does, that's become the, became the kind of the dominant focus of its use about a decade ago, I guess, maybe a little less. And it's, it really has been shown to help in enhancing relationships and patient association with other people. Now I have

a couple of patients that have used it very productively. One I just actually saw more recently that

has there are some tests that because like all things like all things in in medicine and anything that enhances or engages a reaction in the body it's modulated by its its ability to to fix on to certain receptors and to then engage in a reaction in the body by communication between cells so

So this patient had gone so far as to have her oxytocin ⁓ receptor levels assessed by an experimental blood test, which showed her to be actually deficient. And this had caused her to become actually really kind of paranoid and ⁓ depressed, ultimately anxious and depressed.

So when she came to me, she had already done the blood tests and asked me if I would ⁓ actually help her by prescribing her or assisting her in the administration of oxytocin. And we engaged in that treatment. Now she was also on ⁓ multiple antidepressants and...

psychiatric medications that were in the process at this point of tapering because her response has been, ⁓ for me, just seeing her over the last month or two months being on the oxytocin ⁓ via a nasal spray that we prepared for her. She has actually ⁓

kind of flowered from a personality standpoint in actually becoming ⁓ much more engaging, happy. ⁓

relaxed and that's some of the purported ⁓ effects of oxytocin in a kind of a social setting is that it will increase trust and decrease maybe the creation of scenarios in our minds, what if, what if, what if, and it's been really an engaging result I've found in her.

So not that that will have the same effect in everybody, but if her receptor levels are deficient or not responding as well to the presence of oxytocin, it may be that ⁓ increasing those levels ⁓ in her.

clinically has had a very positive effect and we've been able to decrease and stop two of her, the two antidepressant medications that she was on. So really interesting stuff, ⁓ although ⁓ needs proper supervision. This is in her case has been, ⁓ it's been a wonderful aid in her socialization, let's say.

Well, that's awesome. And then you started giving it to me. Am I anti-social? No, dear. I'm selectively social. There. ⁓ Well, what would you say to that crazy woman that said you shouldn't be taking anything. You should just be having sex. Well, so, you know, sex obviously results in an increase in oxytocin levels and kind of the

But that is probably a somewhat ignorant statement in that ⁓ everybody is not the same and our genomes are not the same. And so our receptivity to the effects of oxytocin for each of us may be significantly different.

And so making a broad-based statement like that, I ⁓ would seem to say to me that you should be having sex all the time if your receptor levels are ⁓ inadequate or they're dysfunctional. So ⁓ that would not be a very, ⁓ very mindful statement. It would just be kind of off the cuff and... ⁓

and would kind of beg the question, you know, if

we should maybe look a little bit deeper into a response, spontaneous response like that, as opposed to just blurting something out without looking up the real information. You're so politically correct. I try to be. There are moments I don't. You do better than me. All right. Well, that's cool. think, ⁓ I hope you found this

informational, educational, somewhat entertaining and if you have any questions reach out. If there's anything you want us to talk about reach out. Otherwise, until next time.