Summer is flirting season and, if you like fruit salads, apparently it’s also the season of the le aphrodisiac. The first question you have is, was Katy Perry serious about carrying rose quartz crystals to attract men? Yes, she was and no, that is not the same thing as an aphrodisiac so much as wishful thinking and a childlike imagination. Secondly, you might ask, are aphrodisiacs real? Do any of them actually work?
The way “science” explains how an avocado might give us a lady boner is this, ” There are those that create sexual desire by working on the mind, and there are those that create desire by affecting parts of the body. For example, something that increases blood flow in the sex organs might simulate the feelings of sexual intercourse and have the effect of creating desire. Likewise, there are things that can make our bodies produce more of the chemicals associated with sexual desire.”
An aphrodisiac may work because it makes you think about sex and that may make you want to have sex (the placebo effect), it also may work if the food can increase testosterone, estrogen or other sexy physiological chemicals responsible for sex drives in men and women. While researchers have found that some foods do stimulate the chemicals associated with sex, it’s unclear if there is enough to actually affect us in anyway, meanwhile the FDA has wholly declared aphrodisiacs a myth.
Pomegranates
Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, and the origin of the word aphrodisiac, planted the first pomegranate tree in Greek mythology. A small study found that pomegranates can lower your cortisol levels and thus raise testosterone up to 30%. Your genitals are going to go crazy from drinking those Pom juices.
Papayas
This summer fruit, rampant in bodegas everywhere, is estrogenic, meaning it has compounds that mimic female estrogen. It is said to help with menstruation, producing milk, childbirth and increasing the female libido.
Asparagus
French grooms would dine on asparagus before weddings to raise the libido for consummation. In the Kama Sutra asparagus is recommended to be eaten as a paste. The delicious veggie, that makes your pee smell weird, is nutrient rich in calcium, vitamin E and potassium which help to clean out the kidneys and urinary tract. Less ammonia in the system means less fatigue and more energy which can clear the way for a higher sex drive. No one is horny when they’re sleepy.
Oysters
Oysters raise sperm and testosterone production because they’re high in zinc. Ooooooo, somebody is going to get pregnant and it’s not going to be from listening to “Partition” on repeat.
Cucumbers
Not just a great makeshift dildo—I kid—but eating cucumbers is said to increase blood flow to the vagina.
Honey
In ancient Persia couples drank honey for a month to get in the “mood” (bow chica bow bow) for their husbandly/wifely duties. Honey’s b vitamins and boron help to raise testosterone and metabolize estrogen respectively.
Chocolate
The Aztec ruler Montezuma supposedly drank 50 goblets of chocolate everyday to make him better in bed. Meanwhile, I just read Cosmo magazine a lot when I was in middle school. The Mayans worshiped the Cacao tree for a reason, yo. Researches have found that chocolate contains those “feel good” chemicals like phenylethylamine and serotonin that make your brain feel euphoric or lovey-dovey. Chocolate is also said to mimic the feeling of getting high off your older brother’s pot stash as it contains “anandamide” a neurotransmitter also found in marijuana. It’s not enough to get you as high but enough to make you feel irrationally “good.”
Bananas
They don’t just look like giant yellow Ds, they taste like ’em too. JK. Bananas are rich in potassium and b vitamins that are necessary to sex-hormone production. I eat a banana everyday, I am also a ho. Coincidence?! JK.
[Sources: PBS/How Stuff Works/Yahoo/Shutterstock]
