Bring Sexy Back With These Libido-Boosting Foods

Whether you're on the lookout for foods that boost your energy or aphrodisiacs in the traditional sense — foods that put you in the mood, so to speak — maintaining your sexual health by eating well is something that every adult should know how to do.

Now that's summer, many of these foods are in abundance, which makes it really easy to incorporate these essential items into your diet. 

As if you needed another reason to eat your fill of berries this summer, consider the effect they have on your sexual appetite. Raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries are all full of vitamins C and E, which make your skin softer to the touch. Blueberries can help prevent bloating and promote blood flow, two things you definitely want under control in the bedroom. 

Thanks to the research of Dr. Max Lake, an Australian winemaker and surgeon, we now know that dried Champagne and a few select wines contain compounds similar to human pheromones — the chemicals found in our sweat and other bodily fluids that are believed to produce a response from a potential mate. 

A study published in Food Research International found that women who made a daily habit of eating dark chocolate (70 percent cacao and higher) had a higher sex drive than women who did not. The effects are thought to be related to the presence of phenylethylamine, a chemical known as "the love drug," which is related to amphetamines and causes us to feel alert and content.

In the Amazon, muira puama is known as the "potency wood," and the bark from this tree is thought to promote sexual activity. It has been used to treat low sex drives in both men and women. The Republic of Tea's Get Passionate Herb Tea contains the extract, along with ashwagandha root and Peruvian maca root, two more herbs that have been used in traditional medicine to "invigorate a lagging libido."

Okra contains a good deal of magnesium, a natural relaxant that is used to treat cramps and even asthma attacks. It's also full of vitamins B and C, plus zinc and potassium, which are all great for your sexual organs. If you cook it right, okra doesn't need to be slimy.

"Oysters provide the essential mineral necessary for testosterone production," says Dr. Mike Fenster, a cardiologist and the author of The Fallacy of the Calorie. "This hormone is responsible for the sex drive of both sexes. Not to mention the fact that oysters in the shell resemble testes and an open oyster on the half shell resembles the female equivalent. That's about as racy as I can get for general consumption."

The connection between salt and sexuality goes back to the goddess Aphrodite herself, who is said to have been born from sea foam.

In scientific research, the story is little more detailed. For starters, animals experiencing a lack of sodium tend to have more trouble reproducing. In humans, researchers found that skimping on salt led to "frequent complaints of fatigue and sexual impotence among patients assigned to severe sodium restriction (70 millimoles per day)."

Therapy to reverse these complaints in patients of "impaired concentration, attention or memory abilities, and reduced libido," not surprisingly, consisted of prescribing increased dietary salt.

In a sample of adult males living in Chicago, a month-long study found that a number of scents were effective at triggering "odor-evoked recall, a phenomenon wherein an aroma triggers memories and associated feelings."

Out of 30 aromas, the most effective trigger of a physical reaction — increased penile blood flow — was the combined odor of lavender and pumpkin pie. The next two most successful smells were a combination of black licorice and doughnut, and pumpkin pie and doughnut. Cranberry, which came in last, still produced a two percent increase in blood flow.

The poster-boy fruit of the summer is also one that has "Viagra-like effects to the body's blood vessels and may even increase libido," according to a study from Texas A&M's Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center. Citrulline, a nutrient found in watermelons, is "converted to arginine through certain enzymes." The resulting amino acid has the ability to relax blood vessels and promote circulation.

"Watermelon may not be as organ-specific as Viagra," said Dr. Bhimu Patil, director of the research center. "But it's a great way to relax blood vessels without any drug side effects."