Spice up your love life with the great sex diet

By Valerie Frankel

updated 10:39 a.m. ET March 3, 2008

Food is love. Food is comfort. What Grandma didn’t tell us and probably didn’t know: Food is also sex. Certain consumables can light up your lovemaking. For the record, I’m not talking about the so-called aphrodisiacs that resemble human genitalia, such as oysters and figs. The way a food looks might be visually arousing or psychologically compelling — bonbons and Champagne no doubt conjure up thoughts of seduction and romance. But for your body to respond to sex like a well-oiled, orgasm-primed machine, none of them does a hell of a lot.

So what foods will help you have mind-blowing sex?

Like you, I craved such information. Sex with my husband, Steve, was still good after six years. But once you’ve done it with the same person a few thousand times, you need a little extra something to go beyond a run-of-the-mill encounter. I knew that many women — as many as 30 percent, actually — don’t experience orgasms at all, so I considered myself lucky. Yet I was also keenly aware of the difference between the exhilarating sex Steve and I had during our first year and the kind we have now. Sure, we’ve tried to keep things hot, but toys (mine) and reading erotic texts (his) aloud haven’t revived that early excitement. I longed for the instant arousal, nonstop passion and physical blastoffs that once made my head spin. Wouldn’t it be awesome to get that back simply by picking the right meals? Because I had to eat to survive, I figured eating for kicks would kill two birds with one bite.

Taking it from the top
The journey from lifting a fork to increased gratification begins in the brain. “From a psychological standpoint, if you take care of your body by eating well, you’ll have a better attitude about sharing it. You’ll be more open to sensations and experiences,” says Lou Paget, author of several best-selling sex guides, including “The Great Lover Playbook” (Gotham). No doubt we all know women — heck, we may have even been such a woman — whose sex life went down the tubes when scarfing nachos during “Lost” became a substitute for healthy meals. But if a woman eats well, she’ll feel better about herself and, Paget says, “Her sexual attitude can improve immediately.”

But that’s not the only benefit of eating well. Certain nutrients can enhance your mojo, says Lynn Edlen-Nezin, Ph.D., a clinical health psychologist who co-wrote “Great Food, Great Sex: The Three Food Factors for Sexual Fitness” (Ballantine Books). “You can absolutely eat your way to better sex. As a rule of thumb, what’s good for the heart is good for the genitals,” she explains. “If your plumbing — your heart — is clear above the waist, you’ll also have better blood flow and more sensation below.”

First item on the menu? Nitric oxide. “NO is a two-atom gas made by the endothelium tissue in blood vessels in the lining of sex organs,” Edlen-Nezin says. “When you become sexually aroused, a neurotransmitter sends a message to the lining of the genitals to release NO, which causes blood vessels to expand.” Without an adequate amount of it, guys can’t get erections and women can’t become engorged and lubricated. Ergo, Edlen-Nezin suggests that you say yes to arginine, an amino acid the body uses to create NO. Ingesting additional arginine has beneficial effects on blood flow, which, in turn, can improve your cardiovascular health, according to two studies done in the 1990s. The International Journal of Cardiovascular Interventions published a report noting that supplemental arginine may improve blood flow in coronary arteries, and an article in The Journal of Clinical Investigation showed arginine significantly improved circulation in young adults with high cholesterol.

Although this research is not the definitive word on dietary arginine, Edlen-Nezin claims that adding it to your diet will improve your sex life. “I call foods high in arginine the Staminators,” she explains. “It can contribute to prolonged arousal.” To find arginine in the supermarket (sadly, not among the cupcakes), swing by the nut aisle and toss bags of almonds and walnuts into your cart, then cast your eyes toward the seafood counter for salmon, cod and halibut. An added benefit to fish: Omega-3 fatty acids, which can improve cardiovascular health and lower triglycerides and may increase dopamine production and reduce the risk for depression — all pluses for the libido and orgasm potential. Edlen-Nezin recommends salmon and herring. (Non–fish lovers can have omega-3-fortified eggs.)

Fuel up on healthful foods
The other major ingredients in a sexually souped-up diet are antioxidants. “They keep your plumbing clean and your cells healthy by mopping up free radicals, molecules that wreak havoc on the body in a process called oxidation,” Edlen-Nezin says. Her advice is to load up on antioxidant-rich produce in all colors of the rainbow, including tomatoes, red peppers, garlic, spinach, broccoli, beets, berries and red grapes. Another good source is dark chocolate. In fact, a study of 163 women in The Journal of Sexual Medicine found that those who consumed at least one cube of chocolate daily reported significantly greater desire and better overall sexual function than the individuals who abstained. The reasoning: High-flavonoid chocolate consumption has been linked to improved circulation. More chocolate equals better sex? You don’t have to tell me twice.

I felt encouraged by my new shopping list. It looked a lot like my old one. Unwittingly, I’d been following the Great Food, Great Sex diet for years. Perhaps that explained why my sex life is already satisfying. “Unfortunately, the vast majority of Americans aren’t eating lean meat, fruit and veggies,” Edlen-Nezin says. “They’re having a steak and baked potato with butter for dinner tonight. They’ll fall asleep on the couch with their belt undone.” And not in a sexy, loosen-up-my-buttons kind of way.

“One of the first things I tell women is to take the best care of their bodies: to exercise and eat healthfully,” Paget says. “It’s elementary. Give your body good fuel and it will operate better. Fill it up with garbage fuel and it won’t run.” Adds Edlen-Nezin: “The Great Food, Great Sex diet isn’t a fad. It’s a guide to eating basic, healthy foods, which, as a culture, we don’t eat enough of. Load up your plate with lean, bright, beautiful foods and you’ll have a dynamic sex life.”

MORE FROM DIET AND NUTRITION

Diet and nutrition Section Front

Overweight? Blame the Internet 6 tips for overcoming holiday diet fears Decode your food cravings 6 celebrity fad diets you won’t believe Obesity rates highest in Southeast, Appalachia 15 best (and worst) foods for immunity Exotic juice health claims: Pulp fiction? 11 ways to beat winter flab Mon Dieu! French women do get fat, study says Healthy ice cream? Scientists set out to create it Diet and nutrition Section Front   Add Diet and nutrition headlines to your news reader: