Recipe for better sex: What to eat to add spice
By Forbes.com staff
Updated: 1:16 p.m. ET Dec 11, 2006
Need to spice up your sex life? All the ingredients you need may be found at your local grocery store.
Like many aspects of health, our sex drive is affected by what we put into our bodies. Certain foods affect the body in different ways. Depending on what you consume, wining and dining a date can induce more sleep than romance. A big, fancy dinner, a bottle of wine and fine chocolates may sound sweet — but such meals are actually little more than empty calories.
To really get your blood going, consider circulation-enhancing dishes. Food that's high in Omega-3 fatty acids such as mackerel, salmon and wild salmon are best. "Omega-3 makes your nervous system function better," says Dr. Barbara Bartlik, assistant professor of psychiatry and sex therapist with the Human Sexuality Program at Weill Cornell Medical Center. "Sex is really about circuitry." Multivitamins and minerals will help, too. Both improve neurological function, which contributes to good circulation...
I doubt
there are any randomized, double-blind controlled studies on this.
Such a study would be hard to do, because the placebo
response rate tends to be high in these things. Still, it
makes sense to do what you can to protect your neurological and
cardiovascular health, if your sex life is important to you.Maybe that is the key to motivating people to take good care of themselves. If they won't do it to treat their bipolar disorder, maybe they'll do it for sex.
Oh, and the chili peppers? Those are supposed to be good, too.
Chili peppers can stimulate the nervous system and enhance the feelings of sexual arousal.But I can't mention all this without adding a serious note. Sexual dysfunction can be a sign of a serious medical problem, such as diabetes. So don't mess around with the salmon and chiles if you have a change in sexual function. See your doctor.
Comments
One spicy salmon filet, coming up....
Posted by: Seth Anderson | December 18, 2006 12:33 PM
Independent anecdotal verification here; whenever we go out and eat at our favorite sushi buffet, where we also eat considerably above average amounts of wasabi and kimchi, well, the rest is left as an exercise for the reader, although my boyfriend and I are the ones getting the actual exercise. Ooh la la, or whatever the equivalent is in Japanese. :)
Posted by: speedwell | December 18, 2006 2:14 PM
Seafood & olive oil are chock full of those, right? Now we know why the Mediterraneans are more passionate than Northerners!
Posted by: Agnostic | December 18, 2006 2:54 PM