UP YOUR GAME: Nuts improve sexual function – study
August 06, 2019 • 1 min read
-- Take a handful of walnuts, hazelnuts, and almonds daily – it could be just the thing to lift your sexual performance.
A Spanish study suggests that eating 60 grams of nuts a day (about two handfuls) could be the ticket to improved sexual function.
The small study, recently published in the journal Nutrients, involved 83 participants, half of whom included 60 grams of nuts daily in their standard western diet for 14 weeks.
At the study end, all 83 participants completed an internationally validated questionnaire – called the International Index of Erectile Dysfunction, or IIEF-15 – answering 15 questions regarding their sexual function.
Researchers found that the nut eating group experienced improved sexual desire (libido) and quality or intensity of orgasms.
One explanation for improved sexual function might be related to high levels of L-arginine in the nuts consumed by participants. L- arginine, a precursor of nitric oxide (NO), is a potent compound that leads to increased vasodilatation, or blood flow, to the penis (and muscles generally).
The observation echoes findings from research investigating the impact of beetroot on athletic performance. Dietary nitrates contained in beetroot are converted to nitric oxide, a molecule that dilates blood vessels, helping to boost physical performance by reducing the oxygen cost of exercise and boosting the efficiency of mitochondria, the powerhouses in our cells.
Sexy nuts.