Food and sex just seem to go together, but many of us don’t really know why. We have been told that foods like oysters, chocolate, chili peppers and figs are all aphrodisiacs. That is to say the way they look, how your partner looks when eating them, or the effect they have on your body will awaken or increase sexual desire, sexual pleasure, or sexual behavior. This quality in certain “foods” can also be taken to the extreme, with some more exotic aphrodisiacs being cobra blood, durian fruit that has been digested by an elephant, or a crab smoothie. It is crazy the things we will do for good sex.
While these aphrodisiacs owe their status to myths and legends, some do have scientific merit. Aphrodisiacs that stimulate the nervous system, create warmth in the body, and loosen inhibitions may have genuine positive effects on the sex drive. Don’t believe me? Try this month’s Beet & Arugula Salad with Spicy Maple Vinaigrette to test the theory yourself. So is it true that certain foods really do make you feel sexier? Let’s take a closer look at the underlying issues that may be involved and the real foods that will make you extra frisky.
Let’s Address the Initial Issue
Let’s first address the main issue: if you are in great health, confident and happy chances are that you are already having great sex and your libido doesn’t need much help. It is only when certain unfortunate realities like stress, fatigue, depression and poor health weigh down on us that we start to feel less up for it, and may even avoid it due to poor body image, poor anticipated performance, or just a lack of energy.
No reasonable amount of any helpful food is going to be a magic bullet because most aphrodisiacs need to be consumed regularly and in great quantity to have any lasting effect. However we know that a number of sexual problems like erectile dysfunction, infertility, impotence, and lack of lubrication can arise due to poor diet. Chronic health conditions such as diabetes, hypothyroidism, arthritis, anemia, cardiovascular disease, or other endocrine or neurological disorders can be the root cause of these issues, and are also influenced by nutrition.
So, if you are serious about getting your mojo back, you will need to create a healthier diet and lifestyle. Make it a priority to get good quality rest, start exercising consistently and practice the WILDFIT® deep breathing exercise for focus and relaxation. Our WILDFIT® philosophy is to focus on getting more of the good stuff rather than trying to avoid the ‘bad’ stuff. Integrating proper hydration into your routine, drinking an Alkagizer® green smoothie each day to top up nutrient stores and filling your plate with natural human diet foods to stimulate healing in your body is a great start.
How Different Parts of Your Body Impact Sex Drive
It is also important to recognize that the brain is actually the most important sex organ. It’s the center of all our emotions, thoughts and the neuroendocrine system of nerves, hormones and other chemicals that are responsible for sexual desires. Making a point to properly nourish your brain with fresh air and healthy fat will go a long way. Going for a 20 minute walk in nature daily and loading up on oily fish like wild salmon, sardines, mackerel, herring and tuna plus avocados, nuts and seeds will be a big help in making you feel sexier.
Interestingly (but not surprisingly), food has similar neural pathways as sex and we are rewarded with the same feel-good chemicals when we get lucky with either. Both are a basic need in the foundation of human nature. Unfortunately many of us in the modern world have gotten ourselves into a difficult situation. We ate so much highly palatable food for pleasure (rather than nourishment) that now our body has a diminished capacity to provide us with sexual desire or pleasure while alone or with others. Since our bodies work in a lot of the same ways when we eat food as when we have sex, those of us who have become sedentary and self conscious would generally prefer or accept the diminished effort of lifting our hand to our mouth than doing the deed any day.
So how do we reverse this terrifying truth? Food and sex are physically connected in the limbic system of the brain, which controls emotional activity and reinforcing behaviour. If we like the idea of having more good sex, we need to reward ourselves for eating and doing things that make us feel sexy. Make a list of everything you eat and do that gets you feeling relaxed, confident, energized, flexible, stronger and otherwise desirable. Then take note of how much time in your day is dedicated to doing those things that make you feel good. If they are not a priority, incentivize yourself by setting up a fun reward for making them a must do.
For example, if you know that you feel more lean and energetic after a luscious, juicy fruit salad but you don’t make time to prepare it, make a deal with yourself that if you do it each day for a week you will buy yourself a new glossy silk skirt. Or, you know that eating fast food makes you feel bloated, gassy and tired but you aren’t motivated to fire up the grill when you get home because it is too cold and dark on the deck. Make a commitment to buy yourself a beautiful patio heater, but that you can only get it if you use it all month to grill healthy protein based meals that make you feel strong and lean. In this way you can rewire your brain to turn the sexy switch back on.
How To Improve Libido
We usually rely on the affirmations and compliments of others to make us feel sexy more than our own self confidence. This often leaves us feeling unfulfilled and undesirable, thus seeking comfort and satisfaction in food. By tuning into what we think and how we feel about the foods we are eating, we can create a certain self possession and composure which is incomparably attractive. We use a variety of senses when consuming food. Taste is a huge one, but we also use our sense of sight, smell and touch. By staying present when we are eating we can tap into what is exciting, sustaining and nourishing to us. Practice discovering exactly what you want and how to ask for or create it in the kitchen, and then take that same skills into the bedroom.
Generally when we imagine the flavor and texture of aphrodisiac foods words like rich, creamy, exotic and spicy all come to mind. Unfortunately, if throughout the years you have been overindulgent with these kinds of foods, it also sounds like diarrhea and sleepy time. A balance must be struck between enjoying these sumptuous elements of edibles and using supportive foods to do so. By digging into our blog you will discover recipes like Luscious Cacao Pudding, Creamy Coconut Cookies, Crab Bisque and Harissa sauce which are all deeply satisfying, work to strengthen your vitality and libido, and actually improve your digestion rather than defeat it. Ultimately, we believe the key to an aphrodisiac is that it is prepared, served and consumed with a lot of care and love.
So it seems that food can make us feel sexier long term, just perhaps not in the way we previously thought. Do you have a go to food that works every time you want to feel more alluring? Let us know in the comments below!