Hi and happy Feel-Good Monday!
This is where we share our favorite tips, tricks, secrets, and ways to "think like a healthy person" so that you can find your own delicious path to healthy living.
"Feel-Good Mondays" are meant to help us get back into that place of feeling energized, nourished, and ready to take inspired action for the week ahead.
In honor of Valentine’s Day this week, I thought we’d get a little intimate today. Could your libido use a little lift? Look towards your dinner plate.
We might not think of looking in the fridge to put us in the mood, but the foods we eat provide us with the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients we need to keep our libido revved (and our hormones balanced). That also means that having a lack of certain foods (or too many less-than-healthy foods, like excess sugar, processed foods, alcohol, or refined carbohydrates) can bring our sex drive to an abrupt, screeching halt.
The key to maintaining an optimal sex drive is to eat a healthy diet and maintain a healthy weight. But if you're already doing that and still feel like you could use more mojo, reach for these super libido-boosters that will make you feel a bit more amorous this Valentine's Day:
1) Wild fatty fish. Don't think fish sounds all that sexy? Think again! Our bodies need proper levels of omega 3 fatty acids to keep our libido humming along nicely and wild, fatty fish is an incredibly rich source of it. If you don't want to plunk down $30 for a pound of wild salmon, reach for canned versions for an easy, inexpensive fix — or add fish oil capsules (2-3 grams per day) to your daily supplement routine.
2) Maca. This South American root has been used for centuries by the Inca to increase strength, stamina, and libido in both men and women (here it's known as nature's Viagra). A little of this stuff goes a long way: start by adding a teaspoon to smoothies or sprinkle it over yogurt or oatmeal to add a little spice to your day.
3) Garlic. These cloves might not produce the sexiest bedroom-breath, but garlic’s aphrodisiac qualities will win you over anyway (garlic helps increase blood flow to the sexual organs). Raw garlic is the most powerful form, but it can leave us with intense garlic breath for hours. An easier way to get raw garlic into your diet (without sending your partner running for cover) is to chop up a clove into small pieces and swallow down with water of juice, like pills. If you don't chew it, no garlic breath!
4) Pumpkin Seeds. Zinc is an important mineral for sex drive, and without enough zinc in our diet, libido will drop off dramatically. Zinc is important for testosterone production in men, and helps sustain sexual desire in women. Pumpkin and squash seeds are a great, healthy source of zinc and they also contain the added bonus of being high in those omega 3 fatty acids, too. That means you're getting a one-two punch of libido-boosting benefits.
5) Chocolate. Everyone's favorite treat can make things a little sweeter in the bedroom, too. The Journal of Sexual Medicine published a study that found that women who enjoy a piece of chocolate every day have a more active sex life than those who don't. Great news, ladies! Chocolate contains the "love chemical" phenylethylamine that gives us a sense of well-being and excitement, and it stimulates the pleasure centers of our brain. Reach for 70% or higher dark chocolate to get the biggest cocoa bang for your buck, and let the chocolate seduction begin.
With love,
Andrea
