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These foods will improve your sex life!

February 01, 2010 12:45 IST

Here's the lowdown on a few foods that will help give your love life a much-needed boost.

Health experts have recommended adding foods such as avocados, almonds, strawberries and figs to your daily diet, as they help enhance sexual function and experience.

Health magazine Senior Editor Frances Largeman-Roth handed out tips on The Early Show Saturday Edition on certain nutrients in food that can help turn up the heat in the bedroom, reports CBS News.

Avocados

What you need: Monounsaturated fats in avocados

Why you need it: To keep your heart healthy and strong. Most of us get too many saturated fats from our diet, and not enough monounsaturated fats -- avocados are a great source.

What it does to your libido: With a healthy heart, blood flows to all the right places. And as it turns out, men with underlying heart disease are twice as likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction.

Almonds

What you need: Nutrients and minerals found in almonds, like zinc, selenium and Vitamin E.

Why you need it: Important for female sexual health and reproduction. Vitamin E is necessary to make both oestrogen and testosterone.

What it does to your libido: Increases passion, acts as a sexual stimulant and aids in fertility.

Strawberries

What you need: Folic acid found in strawberries

Why you need it: Helps prevent birth defects in women and is tied to high sperm count in men.

What it does to your libido: Aids in reproduction. Also, the colour red is known to boost the libido; in fact, a 2008 study found that men find women sexier when they wear red.

A bonus: If you dip the strawberries in dark chocolate, you''ll reap double benefits. Use chocolate that is 70 percent cocoa. This high-quality, slightly bitter chocolate contains flavonoids (natural chemicals with antioxidant properties) that improve blood vessel function. Enjoy an ounce or two a day to increase libido.

Figs

What you need: Soluble and insoluble fibre found in figs

Why you need it: Important for heart health, and also curbs hunger.

What it does to your libido: Again with a healthy heart, blood flows to all the right places. Especially important for women, high-fibre foods fill you up, which means you can maintain a healthy weight that makes you feel and look sexy.

Citrus

What you need: Antioxidants, Vitamin C, and folic acid

Why you need it: Men's reproductive health. The antioxidants in Vitamin C only have a very short lifespan once they enter our bodies, so males need to have a consistent intake to reap the benefits of citrus. Since most of us aren't eating enough fruit and vegetables, it's a good idea to pay close attention to the amount of citrus you eat.

What it does to your libido: When he's healthy, your man will be able to perform in the bedroom. Heart disease and poor circulation adversely affect a man's performance.

Seafood

What you need: Zinc and omega-3 fatty acids found in oysters and other fish like wild salmon and herring.

Why you need it: Heart health and production of sex hormones. You don't get enough omega-3 fatty acids from your normal diet, so adding more will help you boost sex hormones further.

What it does to your libido: Oysters are one of the best sources of libido-boosting zinc, which is key for making oestrogen and testosterone (a bonus for both sexes). Wild salmon and herring help keep your heart healthy, which means, as we learned with avocados, blood flows to all the right places.

Source: ANI