When it comes to sexual performance, no food will magically boost it on its own, but some can go a long way working in synergy with other efforts, helping you be your best, healthiest and sexiest self.
Hormone Balancing Foods
With the increasing amounts of hormone disrupting toxins in the environment and lifestyle problems like excessive stress and lack of quality sleep, hormonal problems have been increasing for decades, which also has a considerable negative impact on our sex life. But there are dietary allies that can help in balancing sex hormones.
Vitamin D Boosts Estrogen
Foods rich in vitamin D help maintain normal levels of estrogen in women and also aid our bodies to function properly in different ways, from improving bone density to fighting depression. Non-vegetarians are in considerable advantage when it comes to dietary intake, with the best sources being oily fish, like salmon, mackerel, and sardines, on top of egg yolks, red meat, and liver.
However, there’s a great food hack for vegans – mushrooms are full of a compound that is a precursor to vitamin D, and exposing them to sunlight greatly boosts levels of this micronutrient, making them an important dietary source. It might be smart to supplement vitamin D regardless of your dietary intake, as the research shows that as much as half of the population is deficient, with most people being unaware of the condition (which doesn’t mean their health is not impacted).
Zinc & Vitamin B6 for Male Potency
For males it is also quite important to consume foods rich in zinc, which plays multiple roles in boosting sexual health, from maintaining the lining of reproductive organs to increasing testosterone levels in blood. Zinc is plentiful in seafood, especially oysters, but also red meats and poultry, while vegans and vegetarians can find it in foods like nuts, legumes and whole grains.
Apart from zinc, foods rich in vitamin B can help boost your testosterone, and thus potency. Vitamin B6 is especially important, as it is speculated to help the body become more efficient in recycling the testosterone it produces. Good sources for carnivores and pescatarians are fish and some organs (especially beef liver) while others can find it in potatoes and starchy vegetables, as well as various fruits (apart from citrus fruits).
Nitric Oxide for Genital Blood Flow
Increasing nitric oxide production in your body lowers blood pressure and increases blood flow in the genital area (which is basically how Viagra works), thus promoting stronger erections in men and more clitoral and vaginal sensitivity in women. Nowadays there are many supplements on the market that claim to significantly boost your nitric oxide levels, and some are more convincing than others, but the truth is that they are not really necessary because you can go a long way in regulating your nitric oxide with diet. Foods like fruits and vegetables (especially green, leafy ones) are an excellent source of nitrates that get metabolized into nitric oxide. Eating a salad or drinking a green smoothie serves as an excellent source of nitrates, while also providing you with a bunch of other useful nutrients (vitamins, minerals and antioxidants like carotenes, polyphenols and chlorophyll).
Even as simple of a dietary hack as drinking a glass of beetroot juice (which happens to be another great source of nitrates) is documented to have a considerable effect on nitric oxide levels. However, not all dietary nitrates are made the same, and while cured meats are also often listed as a significant source due to nitric acid salts added to aid the curing process, the nitric compounds get metabolized as carcinogenic nitrosamines and are to be avoided as much as possible.
Chocolate Is a Natural Mood Enhancer
All sorts of love-themed chocolate products are made to be sold around Valentine’s Day, yet there might be more to the connection between love and chocolate than a simple marketing scheme. Research shows that four chemicals get released when we eat chocolate: endorphins, dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin. The very same ones that play a role in everything from improving our mood and experiencing pleasure to falling in love. So sharing some chocolate with your date before sex might actually be a simple and pleasant way to add to the mutual experience. For the best effect, aim for the darker chocolates with higher proportions of cocoa.
