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What's the sexiest food?
By Patrick Holford, Evening Standard Last updated at 00:00am on 13.02.03Patrick Holford, the founder of the Institute of Optimum Nutrition answers your questions.
What are the sexiest foods to eat on Valentine's day?
This depends if you are a man or a woman. For men, the old adage about oysters is spot on because they are by far the richest known source of zinc, which is the most deficient mineral in our diet. The average man gets a 7.5mg compared to the RDA of 15mg. A man can lose up to 3mg of zinc per ejaculation, since sperm is loaded with it. Of course, this means that any man having sex three times a day has blown it. One oyster, however, provides 3mg of zinc. So, if you want to keep your man well loaded, give him half a dozen oysters and hope he rises to the challenge.
Women respond best to sex when their phenethylamine levels are high. This is a critical chemical, found in the blood, that helps the body make noradrenalin, the stimulating hormone associated with being in love. The higher the phenethylamine level, the higher the sex drive. So what ups a woman's phenethylamine? Chocolate. It's not ideal nutrition but for one night of unbridled passion, a 70 per cent cocoa bar of chocolate helps light the fire.
