Five Aphrodisiac Foods
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Today, with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, let’s talk about five important aphrodisiac foods. Not only will these foods help you get in the mood for love; more importantly, regular use of these foods will help support your fertility and sexual energy.
First up, cow’s milk. We’ve previously discussed milk in the context of the daily rejuvenative diet. Milk is also revered as a food that supports your reproductive tissue and helps raise libido. When I was a child in the UK, we were all given a bottle of ice-cold school milk at eleven o’clock. It always upset my digestion. When I came to study Ayurveda, I learned that milk should not be taken cold. Instead, it should be warm and spiced and taken separately from other foods. And of course, we want to use organic unhomogenized milk. There are many wonderful bedtime milk remedies to help raise libido. For example, we can boil a teaspoon of ground cardamon in a cup of milk, cool it until it’s drinkable and add honey. Alternatively, we can have a nourishing cup of saffron milk. Soak a pinch of saffron in a little hot water for twenty minutes or more, and then mix the saffron and its soak water into a cup of hot milk. For a variation on saffron milk, fry four or five almonds in ghee, put them in a blender, add a cup of hot milk and a pinch of saffron, blend and drink. If you need a stronger remedy for libido, try harnessing the aphrodisiac power of ashwagandha with that of milk. Stir a teaspoon of ashwagandha into a cup of hot milk and drink one hour before you plan to have sex. Men can also build sperm by using this remedy each morning and evening. And if you need a stronger remedy, for example, for premature ejaculation or erectile dysfunction, mix a teaspoon of ashwagandha in half a cup of water and one cup of cow’s milk and boil back to one cup total. If you don’t take milk, you can substitute fresh, homemade almond milk in these remedies.
Second, ghee, also part of the daily rejuvenative diet. Ghee made from cow’s milk supports sperm production and is considered an important aphrodisiac or vajikarana food. To harness its aphrodisiac effects, you can add ghee to any of the milk remedies we just mentioned. If you are vata, you might enjoy as much as a tablespoon of ghee in cardamon milk or saffron milk; if you are pitta, a teaspoon is good. For kapha, limited amounts of ghee should be taken. You can also use special medicated aphrodisiac ghee preparations such as shatavari ghee and ashwagandha ghee. And for a daily rejuvenative and aphrodisiac treat, combine a teaspoon of ghee and a teaspoon of honey and eat it in the morning.
And, yes, honey is the third aphrodisiac food on the list, as well as being part of the daily rejuvenative diet. What could be more alluringly aphrodisiac than a sacred food made by beautiful bees from the sexual parts of plants? No wonder we like to call the one we love ‘honey!’ Adding honey to the spiced milk remedies we’ve discussed not only makes them more delicious; it also increases their aphrodisiac potential. And you, like Cleopatra can use honey to enhance your beauty as well. For a honey facial, take a couple of tablespoons of honey and apply it gently to your face. Leave it on for fifteen minutes and then wash off with lukewarm water. And for a honey hair treatment, mix a tablespoon of coconut oil and a tablespoon of honey and apply your hair. Wait about half an hour before shampooing it out.
Number four is garlic, a famed aphrodisiac and rejuvenative food. There are many myths describing the origins of garlic as a sacred food. In one version, Garuda, half man, half eagle, the vehicle of Vishnu, the God of Preservation, snatches away the nectar of immortality from the thunder god Indra. While he is carrying the nectar, a few drops spill on the earth. From this nectar, garlic springs up. This lets us know that garlic, its strong smell notwithstanding, is a sacred elixir and a gift of the gods. Include garlic as a seasoning in your diet for its rejuvenative and aphrodisiac effects. Kapha can eat a clove of garlic, chopped, with half a teaspoon of grated ginger and half a teaspoon of lime juice before meals. You can combine the aphrodisiac effects of garlic and milk by making garlic milk. Mix one cup of milk, a quarter cup of water and a clove of chopped garlic and boil down to one cup. Obviously, if you are having this before sex, both of you need to drink it to avoid offending your partner with garlic breath!
Number five; almonds. Almonds support our reproductive organs as well as our overall strength and energy. Take ten soaked peeled almonds daily to strengthen semen production and improve overall energy. You can also blend ten soaked peeled almonds, a cup of hot cow’s milk, a teaspoon of ghee, a few threads of saffron, a couple of pinches of ground cardamon and a pinch of black pepper for a nourishing tonic and aphrodisiac drink. It makes a great breakfast! For a vegan alternative, use ten soaked peeled almonds, twenty soaked raisins, the soak-water from the raisins, together with a few threads of saffron, a couple of pinches of ground cardamon and a pinch of black pepper. This too is a great breakfast.
Next week, we’ll take this topic further, looking at ten aphrodisiac fruits
