Crazy, Sexy, Garlic?

Claire Fountain

Say you’re on a hot date and dinner is being ordered. Rule of thumb to secure that everything goes smoothly later is that if you eat garlic, make sure your date does, too. Or for a safe beat, garlic should be avoided all together. Stay away from the stinking rose and you’ll be fine, right? Nothing sexy about garlic. A hairy and cold weather loving bulb that lives for savory and not sweet dishes, garlic does not have a shining reputation as most desirable hot food on the block. Before you run off and stock up on peaches, oysters and plenty of dark chocolate, read how garlic might be on your sexual side and you just might want to reconsider the chicken with forty cloves of garlic tonight.

And every night for that matter. Garlic may be exactly what you do want for your sex life and more, though consistency of consumption and specific amount you need is going to make a difference. Follow with me now as garlic comes of age, keeping in mind what makes for an…alright, let’s be blunt: A great sex life, free of issues that keep the mood from coming up and full of blood flowing goodness.

Historically garlic has been praised and worshipped by some, like the Egyptians, and shunned or feared by others. Feared in a good way though, as garlic was awarded the believed power to ward off vampires and evil spirits. Honored by Greek and Roman brides, garlic bulbs and herbs were tied into bouquets and carried during marriage ceremonies instead of flowers. The aphoristic properties were brought about by ancient India and by Greek scholars as you’ll see. Thought to possibly inflame passions, garlic eating was even forbidden to Tibetian monks. [0] How’s that for a history of pain and pleasure to start things off?

The health benefits of garlic are every where these days, with statistics showing garlic is now the most popular “herb” on the planet. Technically a vegetable and a member of the onion family who’s name came from the Anglo-Saxon word for “spear-leek.” Vegetable or herb, over 2,500 scientific studies have been preformed in the last few years alone to study garlic’s health benefits. Garlic has been shown to lower cholesterol, decreases risk of cancer, reduce the formation of clots, and lover blood pressure.[1] Garlic increases immunity and as mentioned in the New York Times, can ward off colds and flus.[2] History shares with us that garlic has been used for these immunity and wellness purposes by ancient Greeks to keep athletes healthy. Nothing can ruin the mood like sniffles, body aches or illness. Since bed rest usually does not include daily romps with a loved one, it is safe to say healthy people have better sex lives. This “health” side trickles down in that folks who feel better are also more likely to be able and willing to work out. Body image changes for the better just by exercising whether that working out changes your body composition or not according to a University of Florida study.[3] Score another point for the body feeling good and a body that is well and in shape leads to better sex. If you feel good about yourself, you are also more likely to feel secure about relationships, which includes sexuality.[4] So garlic holds a good supporting role in your overall sex life by supporting a healthy body and lifestyle, but how else can garlic really get things going?

Wild garlic’s papery skins can often have a blue or purple tint. Speaking of blue, Viagra has gotten to be known as the little blue answer for many men. According to The Truth about Food, “an estimated 20 million men in the UK, and around 20 million in the USA, suffer from impotence or ‘erectile dysfunction.’”[5] Viagra works by increasing the flow of blood and oxygen to the genitals by way of relaxing the smooth muscles’ arteries in, ehem, certain regions. This relaxing is triggers by a process that takes a signal from the brain, down nerve fibers to the point where the blow flood needs to change in the artery, the NANC nerve cell, which is able to create nitric oxide. Nitric oxide codes for the enzymes that produce the chemical that tells those muscles to relax. [6] Avoiding long names and words, nitric oxide is needed for this process, and lucky for us without prescriptions, nitric oxide is in many foods. Nitric oxide is produced by the break down of L-Arginie (amino acid), which is found in grains, fish and meats. Micro nutrient break downs show the highest levels of L-Arginie in foods such as soy beans and many crustaceans like crab, shrimp, lobster and crayfish. It is also in things you would not readily eat like whelk mollusks… though you might if flavored with garlic. Garlic happens to also be high in nitric oxide by means of having a high level of arginine (for a vegetable at least.) [7]

I first heard of the garlic-sex connection, namely the way garlic can help men achieve and maintain a strong erection, inThe Truth About Food:What You Eat Can Change Your Life by Jill Fullerton-Smith. The garlic chapter of this book shared that in Natural History written by Phi the Elder, a Greek scholar over 2,000 years ago included sixty-one cures and uses for garlic. Asthma, snake bites, blisters, headaches…and the list goes on for the incredible garlic held in high esteem in many healing remedies as well as its aphrodisiacal properties. Most notably, the book ties together the need for proper blood flow for a good erection. Sadly most of our country, men are at risk or might already have blood cholesterol problems, a major factor in heart disease. Poor blood flow due to high cholesterol does not make for a zippy upbeat sex life for men, and does not leave them feeling very energetic in a physical sense either. Garlic has already been found to be an anti-cholesterol aid in a 1992 European study. Again the health benefits of garlic lend themselves to making you well and thus making your sex life more vivacious.

As we have seen above, the beneficial nitric oxide in garlic mirrors that found in Viagra, but unlike Viagra, garlic increases all over health. [8]

In the book, The Orgasmic Diet, by Marrena Lindberg, garlic is touted as an aphrodisiac among avocados, figs, carrots, peaches, truffles and sage. Written for women unlike the writing for garlic as erectile dysfunction assistant, this book could easily be used by many men, too. Omega-3s also play a large role in sex drives and garlic happily can be used in cooking many of these foods, such as oysters, salmon, meats and eggs. Though it might not be the top inducer of sexual power, garlic is again is a great cheerleader. Wash down that meal with a glass of red wine as “garlic and red wine consumed by candlelight are effective for seducing men and women” according to botanist Jim Duke, author of The Green Pharmacy Anti-Aging Prescriptions.” [9] Pliny the Elder also made note of this wine and garlic connection for sex lives in the above mentioned Natural History, by way of crushing the garlic and adding fresh coriander and mixing with wine.

Before you start taking raw garlic the way Rocky took raw eggs, let’s figure out the dreaded garlic breath. This “breathe” peaks about 6-18 hours after a meal due to a sulfide that is produced while digesting garlic according to On Food And Cooking, which also recommends eating a salad or apple to help. Residual chemicals from the garlic can be turned odorless, by the browning enzyme found in raw fruits and vegetables. Mouth wash could help some but any sulfides from the digestion process are out of our control. Breathe can naturally be helped with parsley no matter what you consume or pop a few fennel seeds. These are also great for digestion, helping to rid bloat. Since you cannot have sweet thoughts on a sour stomach, fennel can help your love making ways even more after those daily meals of garlic.

Though the nitric oxide aspects of garlic and any statistical data for garlic fueled erections, sexual vigor or quality of sex life with and without garlic have not been fully tested or supported by science, the material surrounding garlic’s power seem to speak for themselves. Adding garlic to your diet has been found to benefit health, a reason worthy in itself as we all know. Go for raw garlic if possible, finely minced and tossed into salads or dressing. This crushing or chopping of the cloves will help release the helpful enzyme (allicin to be exact,) and try to be moderate in cooking the garlic; even adding it to a dish in the last five to ten minutes of cooking. As a side note, I also encourage you to source out local garlic or hard-stem (also called hard-neck) garlic, found in farmer’s markets or specialty groceries. The bulbs you normally see in super markets are the soft-stem (soft-neck) variety and store better but for variety and taste, hard neck garlic is delicious. Also, for those in colder climates, it keeps with the local eating, as soft-neck garlic grows in places closer to the equator or warmer climates. No matter what garlic you choose, I suggest you stock up for all your adventures, be them in the kitchen or in the bedroom.

*Eat Me*

In keeping with the garlic and sex life theme, here are a few recipe ideas

that take advantage of all that was mentioned in the above article:

–Olive oil roasted salmon with fresh parsley and garlic pesto

–Oysters Rockefeller made with extra garlic

–Raw garlic blended with lemon curd and olive oil for dressing a salad of raw kale, top with a goats cheese

–Roast broccoli toasted with butter and minced garlic, top with a squeeze of lemon

–Make a pungent garlic aioli by blending 1 egg and 1 yolk with lemon juice, a teaspoon of dijon mustard and 2-3 cloves garlic. Stream in 2 cups olive oil while blending. Put on sandwiches, pizzas, flatbreads or fatty fish.

Sources:

[0] Larry Ervin. Garlic-History and Heart Healthy Benefits. April 5, 2009.

[1] Wright State University. http://www.wright.edu/admin/fredwhite/pharmacy/popular_nremedies.html

[2] Anahad O’Connor. “The Claim: Garlic Can Be Helpful in Warding Off a Cold.” Oct. 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/health/20real.html

[3] Journal of Health Psychology Sept. 2009. Heather Hausenblas. University of Florida.

[4]Dulce Zamora. Eat, Exercise, Relax, and Sleep your Way to Better Sex. http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/guide/better-sex-strategies

[5] Fullerton-Smith, Jill. The Truth About Food: What You Eat Can Change your Life. Bloomsbury USA: New York. 2007. 141-144.

[6]Marshall Brain How Viagra Works. howstuffworks.com[7] Garlic’s Nutritional Analysis. http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2446/2

[8] Fullerton-Smith, Jill. The Truth About Food: What You Eat Can Change your Life. Bloomsbury USA: New York. 2007. 141-144.

[9] Duke, J. A.; Castleman, M. The Green Pharmacy Anti-Aging Prescriptions–Herbs, Foods, and Natural Formulas to Keep You Young; Rodale Press: Emmaus, PA, 2001