The Pre-Sex Diet
Need to be at your best? Make a few adjustments and you’ll be off to the races.
Planning to close the deal without watching what you eat is a lot like detailing your car before a road trip and forgetting to fill the gas tank. If you think sex is on the agenda, you should consider making sure that you’re ready to go.
We’ve all heard about the so-called super foods that operate like additives for your body, but not everyone wants to spend their entire day snacking on chia seeds and beets. With that in mind, here’s how you can integrate a bunch of game-boosting grub into your diet without having to actually date an herbalist.
Start the Day With a Boost
Eggs are a source of B vitamins, which – among other things – reduce the number of stress hormones in the body. That’s important. We’re not saying you have anything to be nervous about, but pre-game jitters aren’t unusual.
Breakfast is also a great time to work in some antioxidants, which do you the solid of cleaning the free radicals, a hindrance to hardness, out of your system.You can get these in later in the day with green tea, but switching your orange juice out for pomegranate juice gets the same vitamin levels with better antioxidant content. Don’t have time to cook? Go for oatmeal, which is packed with a compound called L-arginine, which relaxes blood vessels that may have stiffened, aiding blood flow when it matters.
Snack Healthy
It’s not just about calories or staving off hunger. Snack time is the best time to work some extra super-sex foods into your daily routine. Take Zinc, which is essential to proper hormone levels and testosterone production: You can get a big dose by replacing that bag of chips with almonds—or even pumpkin seeds, which have just the right fat content to keep your metabolism working through the afternoon. And while it might seem counterintuitive, celery is actually your secret weapon here. In addition to keeping you hydrated with its water content, it actually gives you a hormone called androsterone, which makes you appealing to women as your body releases it later.
Order Appetizers
Trite as it might be to say, oysters are a great investment in the night ahead. Here’s the thing: They’re not just an aphrodisiac, they’re nature’s best fortification for your libido. Oysters are loaded with zinc, selenium, the right kinds of fat, and about a dozen other things that improve your sex drive and, more importantly, hers. Raw oysters are absolutely the way to go though, since just about any other preparation, from steaming to frying, saps those nutrients. Frying them even adds unwelcome fats and processed grains, which can undo a lot of the groundwork you’ve been laying all day. If you’re somewhere less raw-bar friendly, opt for guacamole. Avocados have a substantial number of benefits, and while they’re neither as concentrated nor as proven as your heroes on the half shell, they’ll help you maintain momentum.
Order Something Green
We know it’s weird thinking that Mom might have been giving sex advice when she said to eat your vegetables, but they’re probably the best thing you can do to get (and stay) up for the big night. Spinach and brussels sprouts both contain folic acid—a B vitamin that’s essential to lower blood pressure. Hypertension and high blood pressure aren’t just stroke risks: they’re one of the main reasons for a blown game night. Additionally, spinach, kale, and other leafy greens contain a bunch of zinc, which is usually found in fattier foods. The added bonus is that you’ll seem like you take care of yourself if you skip the creamed spinach and the fries.
More Surf, Less Turf
Seafoods like crab and lobster are stuffed with zinc and selenium. If you have a shellfish allergy, stick to oily fish, which in addition to some of those minerals carries the Omega-3s you hear so much about. Good fat boosts hormone production, so that salmon steak is doing more for your night than the bacon-wrapped filet. As for the sides, see if you can order yams, which are loaded with potassium.
Don’t Skip Dessert
It’s not just about indulging and rewarding yourself—it’s about her too. Split something loaded with dark chocolate and strawberries. Whether or not either one actually boosts arousal, you’re getting antioxidants, B vitamins, and some time to digest. That said, don’t order another round. In addition to inflaming capillaries and making you sloppy, alcohol actually lowers zinc levels. If she’s the sort who will want another drink, make sure you have a bottle of something back at your place. Hopefully you’ll never open it.
Photos by Getty Images
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