Foods You Thought Were Unsexy But Actually Enhance Your Libido

The poor man's Viagra...

Foods You Thought Were Unsexy But Actually Enhance Your Libido

When you think of garlic and oysters, sex probably doesn’t spring to mind. However, if you really want to improve your stamina—or give your hormones a natural boost—that may soon become the case (as long as you remember to brush your teeth afterwards).

Max Lugavere, author of NY Times best-seller #GeniusFoods, recently took to Instagram with some handy (nutritional) advice for those looking to spice up their lives in the bedroom. According to him, if you want better sex there’s no use hitting up Cosmo unless you’re eating the right foods.

High on his list was nitric oxide, a gas produced in your blood vessels which causes dilation (and better blood flow). Accordingly, many of these foods support your nitric oxide pathways, or providing some other compound, acid or vitamin which contributes to you not only looking better in bed, but also ~performing~.

“Aside from helping you look better naked, food is information that can support blood flow to your sex organs (including your brain—heyo!) and stimulate production of your body’s sex hormones,” (Max Lugavere).

“Viagra and other impotence medications,” Max goes on to point out, “Work due to their action on this (nitric oxide) pathway. One cause of erectile tissue dysfunction is unhealthy and aged arteries that feed blood to the sexual organs. Viagra (and these foods) work by influencing enzymes and supplying raw materials to the nitric oxide pathway.”

He also added a note for the ladies, saying that although the effects of Viagra are more “noticeable” in men, “You rely on healthy blood flow as well; these foods are not just for the dudes!”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Want better sex? Eat the right foods. — NITRIC OXIDE ➡️ BETTER SEX 🐦🐝 — Aside from helping you look better naked, food is information that can support blood flow to your sex organs (including your brain—heyo!) and stimulate production of your body’s sex hormones. 😍 — Many of these foods support your nitric oxide pathway. Nitric oxide is a gas produced in your blood vessels which causes dilation, thus more blood flow. — Viagra and other impotence medications work due to their action on this pathway. One cause of erectile tissue dysfunction is unhealthy and aged arteries that feed blood to the sexual organs. Viagra (and these foods) work by influencing enzymes and supplying raw materials to the nitric oxide pathway. — Ladies—though the effects of Viagra is likely more “noticeable” in men 🍆, you rely on healthy blood flow as well 🍑. These foods are not just for the dudes! 💁‍♀️💁‍♂️ — Tag someone to eat these foods with. 😏 • • • • • #healthyfood #cleaneating #nutrition #geniusfoods #protein #healthyeating #healthychoices #healthylifestyle #exercise #sex #healthyliving #fitfood #instafit #intimacy #organic #glutenfree #gymlife #iifym #gains #wellness #muscle #breakfast #flexibledieting #paleo #supplements #itsalifestyle #foodfacts #science

A post shared by Max Lugavere (@maxlugavere) on

Watermelon

Anyone who’s ever had food poisoning in Bali, or even just sunk their teeth into an slimy, flocculent piece of watermelon knows how gross this summer staple can be. But, as Max tells us, it is also, “A top source of citrulline, a nitric oxide precurser.” So throw it out once it gets sickly sweet, but make sure you keep a crisp couple of slices by your bedside (or in the fridge, safely stored in cling wrap) from now on…

Rocket (Arugula)

Like watermelon, Arugula is a great source of nitrates which become converted to nitric oxide. Unlike watermelon it is green, and a vegetable, and thus requires no explanation as to why you might find it gross.

Beetroot

Beetroot, the taproot portion of the beet plant (known in North America as ‘beet’) is also—you guessed it—high in nitrates. So if you’re not Australian (in which case you’d already be doing this), whack a few slices of purple-red goodness into your next burger.

Oysters

Aside from the fact that Casanova himself is famed to have eaten 50 oysters a day for sexual stamina, oysters contain d-aspartic acid, NMDA and zinc—compounds which raise testosterone and oestrogen levels, thereby boosting ­sexual desire.

Turkey

Yes, yes, we know: cold sliced turkey is not everyone’s cup of tea. Hell, to many a green juice supping Yuppie, this almost counts as spam. Yet turkey is a top source of nitric oxide precursor L-argenine. The more you know…

Dark Chocolate

It’s hardly on the same level as whipped cream or a luscious Lindt fondue (for two), but cracking up a few slabs of high cocoa dark chocolate could be as sexy as it is bitter. This is because the flavanols it contains boosts the nitric oxide in your blood vessels.

Citrus

This one is more of an accompaniment to the rest. You see, there’s no point eating a bunch of nitric oxide if your body can’t process it. Which is why it’s important to also eat some oranges, or grapefruit—fruits high in Vitamin C—which enhance nitric oxide synthesis.

Red Meat

Contains CoQ10, a compound which extends the life of nitric oxide, meaning your body has more time to absorb it. So if you thought steak and chips wasn’t the most romantic of meals: think again…

Garlic

Last on the list we have garlic, a food which conventional wisdom would have you avoid up to three days before a date, due to the inevitable halitosis it inflicts upon its victims. However you now have good reason to head to your favourite Italian (and gargle some Listerine) because garlic boosts nitric oxide production via nitric oxide synthase.

RELATED: Snacks You Thought Were Healthy But Actually Damage Your Diet