Food for love

The sweetest of all the sounds is that of the voice of the woman we love, so cook some aphrodisiac food for her will win her for you and will give you the happiness of your life. Food for love takes on a whole new meaning with aphrodisiacs. Known to have a direct impact on your sex life, aphrodisiac foods affect your hormones, brain chemistry, energy and stress levels and increase the blood flow to your genitals, making it a sure shot way to up the action in the bedroom. So here is some aphrodisiac foods-

Honey

Honey is aphrodisiac and boosting your libido may be as simple as adding honey to your diet? It’s been known that a simple food like honey has beneficial effects on sexual health. It promotes testosterone production in men and the mineral boron present in honey aids the use of estrogen in women. In addition, a scientific study found that a three-ounce dose of honey significantly increased the level of nitric oxide, the chemical released in the blood during arousal. These findings are not surprising as from time to time, Benefits of Honey would receive unsolicited mails that point us to honey as a potent home remedy and tonic for erectile dysfunction sufferers. Many of them attested to honey's effectiveness in improving overall energy level, blood circulation, and stamina.

The use of honey as an aphrodisiac today can be traced back to many cultures and traditions whereby the sweet sticky liquid is popularly shared between lovers as a sensual food. It is often associated with blissful times, romance, union in marriages, and honeymoon. In Indian weddings for instance, the bride offers honey to the groom as a symbol of sweetness in life. According to ancient Viking tradition, honey is a fertility booster. Daily, the newlyweds would drink a cup of honeyed wine, called mead in their first month of marriage. Particularly in Eastern European traditions, the making and gifting of honey cakes was associated with rituals of courtship and romance. In ancient Chinese wedding ceremonies, a goblet of honey and a goblet of wine are tied together with a red thread, and the bride and the groom would take sips and then exchanged the goblets in their bridal chamber to symbolize their union of love. Today, the practice of honey gifting permeates through many cultures and modern wedding celebrations - small jars of honey are given away as favors.

Actually, as far back as 500BC, honey has already been known as an aphrodisiac food. It was said that Greek physician Hippocrates, one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine, prescribed honey for sexual vigor and advocated the taking of milk and honey to induce love and ecstasy. And finally, it's also worth noting that Avicenna, another great ancient healer and philosopher who is known as the Father of Modern Medicine, apparently recognized the superb value of honey to the human body as he described the golden liquid as "the food of foods, the drink of drinks and the drug of drugs", and specifically advised that honey could be mixed with ginger and pepper and consumed as a sexual stimulant.

So if you are looking for an agent to awaken the senses and a libido-arousing element for sexual intimacy, there is little reason not to give honey a try.

Garlic

Yes we know it's stinky but it is also full of allicin, an ingredient that will help increase the blood flow significantly from the medical point of view. The upshot? High arousal level. Garlic is completely herbal and most remarkable home remedy, which is very beneficial in the treatment of erectile dysfunction and impotence.

Improve the blood circulation. Medical researches proved that garlic in certain forms could stimulate the production of NOS particularly in individuals who have low levels of this enzyme. An enzyme called nitric oxide synthase (NOS) is primarily responsible for the mechanism of erection.

Folklore dating back centuries has hailed garlic as an aphrodisiac and now studies have also proven this legend to be true. We are aware that garlic aids in blood circulation and keeps veins and arteries youthful, but that is only one way it helps with impotence.

Garlic contains hundreds of minerals and nutrients. It is very likely that no one ingredient is the "active ingredient". To obtain an erection an enzyme is required called nitric oxide synthase, and compounds in garlic stimulate the production of this enzyme in people who suffer from low levels of it.

It is an herbal, natural and harmless aphrodisiac. According to an eminent sexologist of the United States, garlic has a pronounced aphrodisiac effect. It is an herbal medicine or tonic for loss of sexual power due to any cause, and for sexual debility and impotency resulting from sexual overindulgence and nervous exhaustion. Researchers recommend that two to three cloves of raw garlic should be chewed daily.

 Asparagus

The secret to asparagus is in more than its shape. This pencil-sized vegetable is also packed with nutrients needed for healthy hormone production, including an injection of vitamin E–also great for your skin. It’s also a source of foliate–important for reproductive health, ladies. Lastly, you might be surprised to learn that asparagus is one of the antioxidant rich foods and will help fight the aging process.

Asparagus is considered to be a great source of folic acid, which boosts histamine production. Roughly translated it helps you reach the heights of an orgasm. So well know are the aphrodisiac properties of an asparagus that bridegrooms in the 19th century were served a three-course meal of asparagus at the prenuptial dinner to boost their sexual performance.

Bananas

The very shape of the fruit indicates a sexual connection but apart from the obvious, bananas have a lot to offer to the world of romance. Bananas contain chelating minerals and bromeliad enzymes which are said to enhance the male libido. They are also loaded with potassium and vitamin B, both of which aids sex-hormones production.

Bananas originated in Asia, where they became one of the earliest cultivated fruits. In India, where their aphrodisiac nature was embraced early on, bananas were said to be a favorite fruit of the sages. Even today, bananas are included in Indian offerings to the fertility gods.

Their sexy reputation extends to many other cultures. In Islam, the banana, not the apple, was believed to be the forbidden fruit of the Garden of Eden.

They were introduced to the Caribbean and Central America by early Portuguese and Spanish explorers. The fruit’s aphrodisiac nature quickly took hold and still remains today. In Central America, the sap of the red banana tree is sipped as an aphrodisiac elixir.

 Hot Chilies

Chile peppers have a wonderful attribute in their ability to release endorphins, natural painkillers triggered to put out internal “fire.” Endorphins also cause the high of extreme physical exertion — a floating, energized feeling so powerful in its pleasure that it can cause addiction to spicy cuisine.

Among its additional attributes, chile peppers contain capsaicin, which increase heart rate, doubling the pleasure of a mealtime rendezvous. So powerful is its chest thumping ability, chiles have actually been administered as an antidote for heart attacks.

With a power to raise body temperature and make lips swell to a kissable plump pout, the effects of eating red hot chile peppers can telegraph the visual cues of a sexual flush. It is believed that this sexy physical attribute can put a lover’s mind in the mood with as little as one delicious glance.

Each of the hundreds of chile varieties produces a different level of heat and subtly unique flavor. Chipotles promise a smokiness, from which even the merest whiff is arousing. Habaneros are among the most hot, thereby the most dangerous. The heat of chile peppers is concentrated in the veins. To decrease heat, remove the veins before cooking the peppers.

Historically, chile peppers were used by multiple cultures not only as an aphrodisiac but also as an anesthetic, to promote cardiovascular health and to alleviate chronic pain. Most famously, chile was used a key ingredient in the fortifying chocolate drink the great ruler Montezuma consumed to make his tongue dance and his pulse quicken in preparation for his daily visit to his beautiful concubines.

Chocolate

The Aztecs may have been the first on record to draw a link between the cocoa bean and sexual desire: the emperor Montezuma was said to consume the bean in copious amounts to fuel his romantic trysts.

Nowadays, scientists ascribe the aphrodisiac qualities of chocolate, if any, to two chemicals it contains. One, tryptophan, is a building block of serotonin, a brain chemical involved in sexual arousal. The other, phenyl ethylamine, a stimulant related to amphetamine, is released in the brain when people fall in love. Research proves that many women prefer eating chocolate to having sex so stock up on the feel good aphrodisiac for some action.

Figs

Legend has it that eating a fresh fig while naked in front of a woman is one of the world’s most erotic acts. (Can’t think of, since I’m not in the habit of eating naked in front of other women). Because when its split down the center and cradled by a palm, the fig’s pink flesh is said to resemble a woman’s sweet unmentionables.

An open fig is known to emulate the female sex organs, making it a psychologically stimulated aphrodisiac. The ancient Greeks looked at figs as a sacred fruit that was responsible for love and fertility.

Oyster

According to the researchers, oysters and other bivalves contain rare amino acids (chemical compounds that form proteins)*, which are not commonly found in nature. These two amino acids -- D-aspartic acid (D-Asp) and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) -- play a role in hormone synthesis. D-aspartic acid has been found to temporarily increase testosterone levels and improve sperm motility. NMDA is an agonist (a substance that initiates a physiological response) that can increase neural excitability. When the scientists injected rats with these amino acids, they found increased testosterone production in males and increased progesterone production in females, hormones that increase libido. **

“Spring, when the molluscs themselves are breeding, is best. There is the highest concentration of these two amino acids then... Oysters have to be eaten raw to be most effective. Cooking them reduces the quantity of D-Asp and NDMA molecules.”

Oysters have long had the reputation of being an aphrodisiac. They say that Casanova, the French adventurer/womanizer, used to eat fifty oysters a day. Perhaps that's what helped him get all the ladies! Being a culinary symbol of passion, oysters are best served with a glass of chilled Champagne for some great action!

Basil

Although most of us probably best know this herb as a flavor-booster for foods with an Italian flare, basil was once considered among the earth’s most noble and sacred plants. The basil plant is believed to have originated in Asia, but its use in European culture dates back to Ancient Greece. In Roman times, basil was a symbol of love.

Modern science has traced basil’s flavonoids, illuminating to us the source of the herb’s anti-inflammatory properties. In recent studies, its oil has shown promise in inhibiting antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Although it might come as a surprise to most pesto lovers, basil’s leaves contain a variety of libido-lifting nutrients. It is considered a good source of Vitamin A. It also provides beta-carotene, magnesium, potassium and C.

Avocado

In the beginning, the avocado was deemed an aphrodisiac for its appearance. The Aztecs, the first documented avocado eaters, dubbed the avocado tree ahuacuatl, or testicle tree. If you’ve ever seen avocados growing, you know that the fruits dangle low, often in pairs (testicles)!

Although the Aztecs may not have been equipped to explain it, modern science has given us insight into the fruit’s aphrodisiac reputation. We now know that avocado nutrition delivers a punch of nutrients essential to sexual health, including beta-carotene, magnesium and vitamin E, (which is sometimes called the “sex vitamin“). An avocado also delivers more potassium than a raw banana. It even offers 2.4 grams of protein for every 1/2 cup of fruit, an essential ingredient for a successful late night tango.

Avocado is also excellent as a part of an all-natural beauty regime. According to the January 2001 issue of Prevention magazine, when it is applied topically, it adds shine to hair. The oil can be applied as a treatment for dry and irritated skin. In South Africa, it is mashed and mixed with honey and lime as a facemask and soothing after-sun treatment.

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