Loss of sex drive: The surprising nut that can boost your libido

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Foods that help improve libido (i.e. sex drive) are known as aphrodisiacs – named after the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite. A certain nut contains the key mineral that may get your juices flowing.

Medical News Today note how the mineral zinc can help “regulate levels of testosterone” – the male sex hormone.

The pine nut, for example, contains high levels of zinc, which could boost your libido.

Harvard Medical School confirmed that testosterone is responsible for a person’s sex drive – in both sexes.

“As men age, testosterone levels drop very gradually, about one percent to two percent each year,” stated Harvard Medical School.

Symptoms of testosterone deficiency in adult men include low libido and impotence (the inability to achieve an erection).

For women, low testosterone levels may lead to decreased libido, poor concentration or depression.

Dietician Maggie Michalczyk said: “Pine nuts contain about 6.5 grams of zinc per three-ounce serving.

“Throw them on a salad, or toast them and add to roasted veggies for a nutty dose of nutrition.

“You can also use them for a hearty pesto with some walnuts and spread on cheese, toast, or pasta.”

The Department of Internal Medicine, at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Michigan, studied the zinc status and testosterone levels in men.

Enrolling 40 healthy men, between the ages of 20 to 80 years old, they measured serum testosterone before and after induced zinc deficiency.

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For their five-month experiment, the researchers restricted access to dietary zinc intake.

The researchers found that dietary zinc restriction in healthy, young men was associated with a significant decrease in serum testosterone after 20 weeks.

In addition, nine elderly men (on average, 64 years of age – plus or minus nine years), were found to be deficient in zinc at the beginning of the trial.

These men, in particular, were supplemented daily with 459 μmol/d of zinc for six months.

Zinc supplementation resulted in increased serum testosterone levels by nearly double.

Some men had increased of serum testosterone from 8.3 to 16 in the six months of supplementation.

Thus, the researchers concluded that zinc may “play an important role in modulating serum testosterone levels”.

Other foods high in zinc content include crab and lobster, certified Medical News Today.

Relate – the relationship people charity – highlights the important of your lifestyle in increasing sexual arousal.

This includes keeping physically fit by exercising, staying hydrated (by drinking two litres of water daily) and managing stress.

Other noteworthy factors include getting enough sleep, and cutting down or not smoking at all.

To keep things more interesting in the bedroom, the charity also adds that “having fun” could be the way forward.

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