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Foods to make you feel frisky...
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Forget lingerie- eat these eight foods to feel frisky from the inside out:
Bananas
If you want sex to go the extra kilometre, fuel up for foreplay just as you would for a marathon. A big banana is the perfect food for bedroom endurance. Bananas contain B vitamins, which are key for converting carbohydrates into energy and are believed to help manufacture sex hormones such as testosterone. Munch on one a few hours before getting busy to make the most of your monkey business, says Dr Hilda Hutcherson, author of Pleasure.
Celery
Serve your partner celery sticks and he may suddenly seem more irresistible than Brad Pitt in his prime. "Raw celery contains the male hormone androsterone, which can act as a pheromone to trigger female attraction," says Dr Ava Cadell, author of Passion Power . After just a few bites, his sweat glands start releasing the pheromone. If you're feeling too cranky to fool around, nibble a stalk yourself - androsterone has mood-elevating effects in women, according to the Journal of Fertility and Sterility.
Your bloke not a celery fan? On special occasions, splash out and add a few truffle shavings to his meal. Truffles boast even more androsterone - enough for female pigs to detect the precious mushrooms growing as deep as one metre underground.
Dark chocolate
An Italian study found that women who report eating chocolate on a daily basis claim to have more satisfying sex lives. Coincidence? We think not. Willy Wonka's favourite raw material contains a cocktail of chemicals linked to relaxation, intoxication and pleasure, Dr Hutcherson says. Like other sweet foods, chocolate triggers the release of feel-good endorphins. It also provides small amounts of anxiety-quelling tryptophan, arousing caffeine and a couple of groovy substances - anandamide and theobromine - that, in large quantities, work like a psychedelic drug and an opiate, respectively. Of course, you'd have to down several kilos of chocolate to feel the effects, but simply nibbling a few squares after dinner will help transform your mood from tense to toey.
Flaxseeds
Downing just one tablespoon of flaxseeds a day helps increase testosterone production - and that's the chemical with the most direct libido-boosting effect, according to Dr Helen Fisher, author of Why We Love . Besides enhancing sex drive, these nutty-flavoured seeds contain essential fatty acids, including omega-3 and omega-6, which are the major building blocks of all sex hormones. "If you don't have enough fatty acids, your hormone levels may decrease and so will your desire," Dr Hutcherson says. Flaxseed oil has twice the omega acids of fish and two tablespoons of the seeds deliver 140 per cent of your recommended daily dose.
To kickstart your libido, either swallow one teaspoon of flaxseed oil or sprinkle a tablespoon of the seeds on your cereal and salads. Since both can spoil quickly, purchase oil in opaque bottles and seeds in vacuum-sealed packs, since they have longer shelf lives. If seeds aren't your thing, then opt for walnuts, which contain about 90 per cent of your omega RDI.
Ginger
Wondering what to cook for a romantic night in? Make it an Asian stir-fry with loads of fresh ginger. The powerful root stimulates the circulatory system, increasing blood flow to the genitals. "Fresh ginger has a more pungent smell" than the stuff in a jar, Dr Cadell says. So what? Smelling ginger has a stronger effect on penile and vaginal blood flow than actually eating it. When a food or aroma raises blood pressure, vessels in the genitals admit a rush of blood that inflates erectile tissue. The vessels then close off, preventing blood from exiting the erogenous zones, keeping sensitivity levels high.
Honey
No wonder newlyweds' sweaty getaways are called honeymoons. The sticky sweetener contains simple carbohydrates that provide instant energy and fuel for working muscles. "Honey is rich in B vitamins, which are needed for testosterone production, and it contains boron, which helps the body metabolise and use oestrogen - an important part of blood flow and arousal," Dr Hutcherson says. Use a few teaspoons as a natural sweetener in tea or spread it on toast with peanut butter.
Nutmeg & clove
Researchers have found that nutmeg and clove, both from evergreen trees, bolster the sexual activity of rats. Each stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system - helping the little critters, and you, relax - but the effects were greater with nutmeg. Just don't eat too much of the magical spice, as it also has hallucinogenic properties, Dr Cadell says. Just a sprinkle on your cappuccino or hot chocolate should do the trick. But as with chocolate, you'd have to eat a lot (about two tablespoons worth on an empty stomach) before the walls start melting.
Oysters
Ancient Romans pegged this shellfish as a sex-spurring food, and they were definitely onto something. Oysters contain high levels of zinc, a mineral required for the production of testosterone.
A team of American and Italian researchers recently found that mussels, clams and oysters deliver two types of amino acids that spark a rush of sex hormones. Be sure to chew shellfish thoroughly before swallowing to extract more of the mojo-cranking mineral.
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Australian Women's Health
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September 25th, 2008, 01:39 PM
