Features

Nutrition labels on food are designed to make it easier to achieve a healthy diet, but with two systems in use, which is the most helpful? By Juliette Kellow.

Spot the difference

Nutrition levels on food offer a wealth of important information – but it can feel like you need a PHD to understand them. By Juliette Kellow.

Eat the rainbow

Eating brightly coloured fruit and vegetables can keep you fit and healthy and protect against certain cancers, arthritis, heart disease, cataracts and even premature ageing. As children we might have been told to ‘eat our greens’, but now health experts agree it’s just as important to eat our reds, oranges, yellows, blues and purples, too, reports Juliette Kellow.

Gut reaction

If you believe the TV ads, the message is clear: drink probiotics and you’ll become happier and healthier. Christina Quaine reports.

Losing your shine?

It sounds heavy – and no, we don’t mean the likes of Metallica, but heavy metal toxicity is threatening our health. By Helen Renshaw.

Reaction time

New research suggests that almost half of us suffer from food intolerances and allergies. Medical writer Jo Revill looks at this growing problem.

Eat your way to better sex

Whether you’re looking to spice up your sex life or get pregnant, the food you eat can make a world of difference, says nutritionist Angela Dowden.

If you’re happy to settle for a hot water bottle and cup of cocoa instead of a steamy night with your partner, you’re not alone.

“Our estimate is that at any one time, several hundred thousand women in Britain are troubled by a lack of libido,” says Dr David Delvin, a GP and family planning specialist for Net Doctor. Although men are much less likely to suffer from low desire, figures from the Sexual Dysfunction Association suggest as many as one in 10 males has impotency problems.

Whichever way a less-than-sparkling sex life manifests itself, the causes are often the same, with stress, tiredness, a young family, depression, illness and relationship problems being major passion-killers. But while you can’t always do much about your lifestyle, it’s quite possible to make changes to your diet that could have a bearing on your success between the sheets.

“Though there are a lot of myths about aphrodisiac foods, it’s logical that eating well and keeping up your energy will aid sexual well-being, as it does other aspects of your heath,” says Dr Sarah Schenker of the British Nutrition Foundation.

For women in particular, low iron levels can impact on energy levels and therefore the stamina a romp under the duvet may entail. Of women in their early 20s who took part in the Food Standards Agency’s National Diet And Nutrition Survey, 33 per cent had low iron stores, but it’s a problem that persists in older women, too.

“Our estimate is that at any one time, several hundred thousand women in Britain are troubled by a lack of libido”

The good news is that upping your iron store may be as easy as eating two to three portions of lean red meat (such as beef) a week. Tucking into nuts, wholegrains, pulses, eggs, fortified breakfast cereals and leafy green veg will help, too, but these non-meat sources of iron should be accompanied by a vitamin C source – such as a green salad or a glass of orange juice – to ensure optimal absorption.

One way to spice up your love life might be to add more spice to your food. Ginger, chillies, cinnamon, cloves and fenugreek all aid blood flow and encourage mild sweating: two factors that can heighten feelings of arousal. But think light and appetizing – Thai-style fish or a chicken and vegetable noodle dish, rather than an indigestion-inducing creamy korma.

Oily fish may also help ensure a healthier sex life. Omega-3 polyunsaturates – particularly a fatty acid called EPA found in the likes of salmon and sardines – stops the blood getting too sticky and ensures it flows freely to the parts that matter. Of the 75 per cent of cases of erectile dysfunction not due to psychological factors, poor blood flow is a common contributory cause.

But if sardines seem too pedestrian, a drizzle of unctuous maple syrup or a few squares of extra-fine dark chocolate may be just as important for sexual vibrancy. Both are good sources of manganese, a mineral that is essential for forming sex hormones. You can also get your minimum daily intake from two slices of wholemeal bread.

If getting pregnant is the aim, sprinkle wheatgerm over your cereal – it’s packed with vitamin E, an antioxidant that helps maintain the quality of both sperm and egg.

Despite being clichéd, slippery oysters – reputedly Casanova’s favourite snack – can also enhance fertility, as they supply high quantities of zinc: crucial to both sperm production and female reproductive health. Other sources of zinc are crab and red meat, while nuts and seeds also provide essential fats the body uses to make prostaglandins, which help sensitise cells to sex hormones.

Psychologically, just the appearance or texture of some foods could be enough to get you in the mood with the right person and ambience. Fleshy, plump asparagus is especially sexy eaten simply with melting butter, or try strawberries, mangoes, figs and peaches for their curvaceous shapes and sweet juices that trickle when you bite.

Alcohol also has a reputation for oiling the wheels of passion. But while a glass or two can get you in the mood by increasing mellowness and decreasing anxiety, much more could send you to sleep. For pure sex appeal in a glass, Champagne’s seductive sweaty and yeasty notes are hard to beat.

However, not all that turns us on about food is to do with appearance, taste or texture. According to Dr Alan Hirsch, who heads the Smell & Taste Treatment And Research Foundation in Chicago, the smell of food can also heighten arousal, as measured by increased blood flow.

Bizarrely, Hirsch says one of the most arousing smells for women is that of liquorice combined with cucumber, while men respond to the whiff of doughnut, lavender and pumpkin pie (albeit subconsciously) – which goes to show that the way to a man’s heart is clearly through his stomach.

Foods to get you in the mood (wey hey!)