Foods for Love

Ok, so here's a Valentine's inspired blog post.....

Throughout the millenia, different cultures have believed in the power of aphrodisiacs to stimulate the senses inspire feelings of desire.

The word aphrodisiac is Greek in origin, derived from the name of the goddess of love, Aphrodite.  Some ancient aphrodisiacs include rhino horn, arsenic and hemlock!

While there is no scientific evidence to show a link between certain foods being a pre cursor to a night of mad passionate sex, there are some substances in food that make you think you are feeling more sensuous;  zinc in oysters, Vitamin C in oranges, phenylethylamine found in varying degrees in chocolate & alcohol, and asparagus contains Vitamin E.  Want to heat things up a bit more? Ironically fire hot chilli pepper is believed to do just that, by releasing feel good endorphins into the brain!

Cocoa was popular with the Mayan & Aztec cultures, used in religious ceremonies to induce euphoria to ahem, greater heights amongst it's participants.  This chemical is found in chocolate today, more plentiful in the darker, more concentrated varieties rather than your bog standard milk chocolate variety.

High in Vitamin E, calcium, phosphorous which induce good moods, Asparagus was considered a staple diet for a groom before his wedding night in 19th century France.  I shall ignore any references to the shape of Asparagus :)

Moving onto perhaps the most well known aphrodisiac;oysters.  They have been linked to Aphrodite since ancient times, as she is said to have risen out of the sea in an oyster shell.  Oysters contain high levels of Zinc, which if deficient in men, can lead to a lack of libido.

Honey is used in the Karma Sutra, mixed with milk as a drink prior to sex, as it is said to get the lovers in the mood.

Want to know what the literal translation of the Aztec word for Avocado is? Testicle!!  It is said to increase masculine desires, and in the Aztec culture, all nubile maidens were forbidden to go outside whilst the men folk harvested them.  On a side note it is great too to achieve a smooth skin if used internally and topically.

So there you have it, a brief run down on some foods thought to instill a flaming desire in your loins.  Play safe people!