Following a heart-healthy diet not only boosts your sex drive this Valentine’s Day but also optimizes different body functions. A well-balanced diet is vital to improve one’s energy levels and mood, supporting overall health and sexual wellness.
Foods to Consume
Foods such as nuts, legumes, seafood, whole grains, leafy vegetables, and fruits are good for the heart. They promote optimal blood circulation and good circulatory system function, which in turn, promotes increased sexual response in both men and women and overall sexual health.
According to Shena, registered dietitian, nutritionist at www.peaceandnutrition.com “A bonus, these foods are also typically filled with water ensure adequate hydration. Specific fruits and veggies to put you in the mood can include: Strawberries, artichoke, asparagus and watermelon.” It’s important to remember that staying adequately hydrated (at least 64 ounces per day) will play a huge role in sexual performance.
Looking after your cardiovascular health by ingesting these foods also helps enhance your stamina. In essence, if it’s good for the heart, then it’s good for your sex life.
Foods rich in L-arginine and L-citrulline amino acids help enhance blood circulation, lower blood pressure, and increase sexual mood because they are key ingredients in the body’s production of nitric oxide.
Nitric oxide promotes blood vessel relaxation and good blood flow, thereby sustaining harder erections among men. Foods rich in L-arginine include fish, almonds, walnut, leafy vegetables, fruits, and whey, while watermelon is known to be rich in L-citrulline.
Foods rich in zinc content such as oysters are known to boost libido levels. Zinc is a mineral that is vital to overall cell function and in the regulation of testosterone levels. Food rich in zinc that boost libido levels include red meat, lobster, crab, pine nuts, eggs, fish, and pumpkin seeds.
You can incorporate foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids into your diet plans such as salmon, sardines, mackerel, chia seeds, and flaxseed.
The list is endless, according to Tara Skubella, a relationship expert at Earth Tantra “My favorite food, Food of the Heart & Gods, to encourage sexual connection is cacao. Ancestral civilizations, like the Olmecs, Mayans and Aztecs, used cacao for fertility and love connections. Cacao is an aphrodisiac and offers a gentle yet body opening magic qualities.”
Alcohol vs. Sex Drive
Keep your alcohol intake to not more than 1-2 glasses of wine or servings of alcohol. While it can make you feel less inhibited, anything over can decrease actual abilities to perform in the bedroom for men (make it more difficult to get or sustain an erection) and for women by making it more difficult to have an orgasm.
Foods to Avoid for a Healthy Sexual Appetite.
- Fried foods
- Foods high in fats (red meats, cookies, doughnuts)
- High in refined sugars.
- Foods high in sodium content.
- Spicy foods, beans, excess dairy, any unknown foods that may cause stomach problems.
While a little bit of these choices is okay to enjoy on valentine’s day, consuming them in excess will leave you feeling sluggish, and quickly depleted of sexual energy. Too much bad cholesterol in the body can cause the formation of plaque in your arteries, limiting the proper flow of blood. Foods high in sodium content can limit your blood flow and increase your blood pressure.
For men, this can lead to erectile dysfunction, and for women, it can reduce the flow of blood to the vagina.
Contributing Authors:
- Dainis Graveris Certified Sex Educator & Relationship Expert at SexualAlpha: https://sexualalpha.com/
- Shena, Registered Dietitian and health activist at www.peaceandnutrition.com
- Caleb Chen, The Highest Critic (www.thehighestcritic.com)
- Tara Skubella, relationship expert and founder Earth Tantra