5 aphrodisiacs you should 100% try for increased arousal
Let’s face it: the world as we know is not always much of a turn-on. Some days it can be mega-challenging to even keep your food down with the types of stories in the news, the stress of our daily lives (whether related to work, family, friends, or romance), and the whole living within a patriarchy thing, of course. It’s tiring, it’s all-consuming, and it's hard on our bodies and hormones. It’s honestly not surprising, then, that people of all genders sometimes lose their will to bone.
So if stress relief and sexual pleasure sound good right about now but your drive is waning (or worse, non-existent), and you’d like to change that, aphrodisiacs are certainly worth a try.
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Try the following 5 aphrodisiacs to get your blood flowing (literally):
1. Warming spices
Many Ayurvedic practices for boosting libido and metabolism are centered on increasing your ingestion of heat-inducing foods. Cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg are all warming herbs that increase blood flow in the abdominal and pelvic regions, increasing vaginal moisture and intensifying sexual pleasure. That’s because they are vasodilators (they open up the veins and get the circulation going in your body). They are said to stimulate your appetite for both food and sex. Take ‘em in capsule form, tea form, or add them to your cooking. Note: anything with chilis in it will give you a natural high due to its capsaicin, which makes your heart beat a little faster. Also, research has shown that spicy foods increase testosterone levels in men and testosterone is just as important for a woman’s sex drive!
2. Gingko Biloba
This well-known supplement increases circulation and the more blood that gets to your pelvic area, the more aroused you are capable of getting- and the better orgasms you’ll have. We spend a lot of time sitting down these days: whether at desks, in cars, on sofas, or wherever else. All that sitting can lead to a stagnant sex drive, partly because we lose circulation in the places that need it most! Ginko Biloba has been clinically tested on women coping with a low libido and proven to show an increase of desire and the general enjoyment of sex. So that’s something.
3. ArginMax
While many researchers say most vitamins don't do anything much to boost sexual function or prowess, they have found that the combination supplement ArginMax does in fact do the trick for many people. A blend of vitamins A, B-complex, C, E, zinc, Korean ginseng, Ginkgo, and Damiana leaf, it was shown to have a very real effect on women's desire and satisfaction in a blind clinical study. Sounds very worth a try to me.
4. Celery
You heard me. Good ol’ innocuous celery. People have used celery to get in the mood since way back in the Middle Ages, so it must be good shit, right? Celery stimulates the pituitary gland (the pea-sized endocrine gland at the base of your brain), which is one of the most important glands for the release of sex hormones. So no, it’s not weird at all if you and your boo both spend some time chomping on some stalks before getting on down to it.
5. Pomegranates
Renowned as the sacred fruit of Aphrodite, AKA the Goddess of love, the word “aphrodisiac” literally comes from her name, so she must have known what was up. Pomegranates have been used as an aphrodisiac since the time of the Ancient Greeks. Once a commonly recognized symbol of female fertility, romance, and loss of virginity (hello deep red juice that leaves a stain), pomegranates increase testosterone and lower cortisol levels, meaning less stress and more frisky feelings.
When all is said and done, different things work for different people and different bodies. Maybe the most loving thing you can do for yourself and therefore your sex drive (since drive is a sign of health) is to get more sleep or simply eat healthier. Maybe finding ways to deal more effectively with stress or to get better at avoiding it is your ticket to a better sex life. Or maaaybe you just need a partner who is up to the task. Whatever it may be, I wish you the most grandiose, satisfying sex life possible. Because we all deserve to both connect with ourselves and merge with another in ways that feel amazing. To do so can make us better people, simply.