Right Tweakleters, here’s Part 2 of foods that are great for sex.

In Part One we covered some of the obvious performance-enhancing foods like oysters and chocolate. Today we’re stepping into unknown territory with a few interesting additions.

First is watermelon. What? Well, this juicy fruit contains loads of citrulline, and amino acid that the body turns into arginine which helps to keep the blood pumping in your sex organs in much the same way as Viagra!

Ok, so that’s a juicy piece of information. But now to a couple of everyday foods that might surprise you, in terms of their role in your sex life.

Spinach. I agree this leafy green is not sexy but it is rich in magnesium which for men boosts testosterone, and it contains iron which helps women with desire, arousal, and sexual satisfaction,

Then there’s avocado. No obvious sex appeal there either. But this creamy green fruit is packed with heart-healthy fats and fibre that can deliver lasting energy in the bedroom. And it contains B6 which is helpful in reducing bloating and fatigue and crankiness. All of which are helpful for getting women into a romantic mood.

So Tweakleters, I hope you try some of these tiny food tweaks and have fun seeing how they improve your sex life!

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I love pasta but I am always looking for a quality low-carb alternative. I’ve done a lot of spiralising vegetables but sometimes I just want a quick solution and luckily an Australian friend reminded me about Konjac.

There are some very weird-looking root vegetables but konjac is one of the weirdest. Hard to imagine you can make any kind of meal from Japanese veggies but you can. Konjac is sold commercially as both a pasta and an Asian noodle substitute. It comes in liquid-filled pouches and is quite readily available.

Konjac contains a soluble fibre, GLUCOMANNAN – in fact it has the highest weight and consistency of any known dietary fibre.

Because Konjac is water soluble it is very low carb and low calorie and it can help to strengthen your digestive system. Great for anyone who suffers from constipation and haemorrhoids.

And it’s this same soluble fibre that helps regulate blood sugar, if you’re diabetic, helps to absorb minerals and boost your metabolism, another plus for managing weight.

What I didn’t know is what a heavy hitter Konjac is. It also helps to stabilise blood pressure and its anti-bacterial properties and antioxidants, boost your immunity. It can even improve your eye health and your teeth!

One word of caution – if you have a sensitive tummy or real digestive issues Konjac can cause bloating and even diarrhoea so it’s something to be aware of.
So fellow pasta and noodle lovers, if you haven’t tried Konjac check it out for yourself.

That’s it for today’s tiny food tweak from Tweaklets.

I’d love to hear your comments.

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We talk a lot on Tweaklets about using food to heal or prevent health issues.

But today let’s talk about sensual sustenance……culinary aphrodisiacs. Oh Let’s just get down to it – we’re talking about foods that are great for sex!

If you want to increase your sex drive and experience greater pleasure, here are the top ‘performers’…

Top of the list are Oysters. We always joke about them but actually oysters are loaded with zinc which help your body make testosterone, and testosterone is vital to your sex drive and being “in the mood”.

When you think of romance you think of chocolate right? Chocolate releases serotonin, a hormone that encourages feelings of happiness and it contains another important brain chemical associated with lust!

Dip some fresh strawberries into that chocolate and you’ve got a real mood-setter as strawberries release oxytocin, the love hormone that is directly linked to sexual arousal and orgasm.

One thing you might not have added to your sex-boosting-food list is pomegranates. Yep, apparently these funny seedy fruits boost your mood, up your testosterone levels and improve blood flow.

Ooof it’s getting hot in here! This is just the start of foods that are great for our sex lives but I think we need a little break – at least to give you enough time to plan your next bedroom picnic!

I’ll come back with part two of our food sex fest soon!

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If you’re not a fan of oatmeal or porridge but have heard about benefits of oats, here’s a new option with no cooking involved!

Overnight oats……as the name suggests are made the night before. Choose good quality whole oats if you can. Nutritionally there’s not much difference to the chopped up fine oats, just that they haven’t been overly processed.

Oats are rich in fibre and protein and contain a number of valuable vitamins and minerals. Part of their soluble fibre has been shown to lower cholesterol so they are helpful for heart health. Oats are also helpful for weight loss and gut health, in the sense that they move through the digestive tract slowly, keeping you fuller for longer.

Soak your oats in milk – my choice is almond, oat or spelt milk. Add some sweetness to taste – maple syrup, honey or stevia. In a separate bowl soak some almonds and sunflower seeds.

Now when you soak grains or nuts what you are doing is making them easier to digest but it also releases their full nutritional value and allows your body to absorb it quicker and easier. Plus not cooking your oats means there’s no heat killing off the nutrition.

In the morning top your overnight oats with berries or fresh fruit. Add your soaked nuts and seeds. And get creative with your toppings! Make them sweet or savoury, nutty or fruity. There are so many options. And then dig in Tweakleters! Who knew oats could taste this good!

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I am focusing again on Water in this episode. I don’t think there is anything more important to our health than drinking water.

It hydrates our cells which means it boosts the body’s ability to regenerate and rejuvenate. It flushes out toxins and prevents our system from getting sluggish and storing things it really should be eliminating.

It also improves the alkalinity of our system and you might remember from other episodes – disease and inflammation thrive on acidity and absolutely cannot live in alkaline conditions. This applies to every type of disease and inflammation so why wouldn’t we do our best to maintain an alkaline system.

Well, there are a couple of practical things about increasing your water intake – some people, like me, need to go to the bathroom a lot when we drink even moderate amounts. Given that we need to spend some time in the day doing other things than visiting the bathroom, it can be an issue.

But I do find that once I’ve been in the habit of upping my water intake, this levels out quite a bit so it’s worth persisting.

Some people say they don’t like the taste of water. To you dear folks, I say “Do your best to build a bridge and get over this hurdle” because this really isn’t a good reason.  Don’t substitute other liquids for water, although some herbal tea is OK and you could make your own lemonade with some freshly squeezed lemon juice, water and stevia to sweeten.

If sparkling water is your thing, some sparkling is OK although carbonation of any kind does rob your blood of oxygen. So bear that in mind.

So what sort of quantity are we talking about – 8 to 10 glasses is a good guide. Keep water with you all the time so that you remember to drink and if need be set a reminder on your phone.

It’s a good idea  to drink a large glass of water when you first wake up before taking anything else in and you can also help curb your appetite by drinking water before a meal.

But basically Tweakleters, just drink a good amount of water throughout each day.  Your body will thank you and you WILL notice a difference in how you feel. Remember, your body is your best guide, so pay attention it will let you know what it needs.

Thanks for watching! I’m off to get a drink of water!

See you next time!

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Some people are going to want to run in the other direction today because I am going to talk about Celery and celery is one of THE most hated vegetables in the world!

I love pretty much all foods so I am very curious when people express a strong dislike of something and celery is one that comes up often.

People who hate celery are generally not picky eaters. They will often say I eat everything, just not celery!

Those of us who like it can’t understand what all the fuss is about. We know it contains excellent fibre and makes a great crudité to use in dips. It’s virtually calorie free, so that’s a bonus and medicinally it’s been used for centuries because of its anti-inflammatory properties to treat things like gout, arthritis to lower cholesterol and to provide pain relief. Celery helps protect our hearts our livers prevent ulcers and improve digestion.

Lovers of celery think it tastes quite sweet and mild, with no particular smell. Celery haters describe a strong soapy, dirty rainwater taste and an odour that cannot be masked even when wrapped and bagged and stuffed way in the back of the fridge or sneakily buried under a strong tasting sauce!

And if you try to convince a celery hater to give it another try, all they hear is BLAH BLAH BLAH as they try to block out what you’re saying.

I am not mocking you celery haters, honest. In fact you’ve inspired me to do more research on foods people hate, so thank you. I am only sorry I have not found any useful research on why celery tops the hate list.

It is a member of the Umbellifer family and as well as carrots and parsnips, other members include spices like dill, parsley, caraway, cumin (which some people have an issue with. Someone I know says cumin smells like sweaty armpits!) and another member of the same family is Coriander, which in its leafy state is another food that’s top of the most hated list! Is there a correlation between Celery and Coriander? I don’t know. But one of you might, so if you have some good information on this topic, please let me know. And if you have a violent dislike of any particular food I’d love to hear about that too.

So dear Tweakleters I will leave you in peace. I won’t go on any more about celery, at least not today!

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There was a cheesy TV commercial when I was growing up about car oils with two guys speaking in terrible New York accents and the punchline was “oils and ain’t oils”.

It was cheesy but memorable ad! And I mention it today because this also applies to cooking oils. Some commonly used cooking oils are very bad for our health. So here’s some information about oil that I’ve learned.

The first one to avoid is anything labelled vegetable oil. Usually this is heavily refined soybean oil, or possibly heavily refined cottonseed, safflower, corn or grapeseed. Obviously it’s the heavily refined part that is of concern – they are processed under high heat pressure and using industrial solvents!

The other big issue with these vegetable oils is that they are mostly composed of polyunsaturated fats, which is the most reactive type of fat). This means they are prone to oxidation and free radical production, when exposed to heat and light.

What this means for our body is that these oils cause inflammation which can in turn lead to many internal problems and even serious disease such as cancer and heart disease.

There are a number of other unhealthy oils, like Canola and Margarine, which we’ll tackle in Part Two. For now let’s look at the top three HEALTHY alternatives.

Virgin coconut oil – because it is very stable at medium to high temperatures and full of healthy fats that provide great health benefits.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil which is good for low temperature cooking and to use in your lovely homemade salad dressings.

Real Butter – particularly grass fed butter which contains important nutrients, vitamins and omega-3s.

So remember my fellow Tweakleters OILS AINT OILS and when you’re cooking, baking and making dressings, consider ditching the vegetable oil and explore some new alternatives.

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I love buying fresh fruit and vegetables but one thing I have been guilty of is not being well informed as to how best to wash it when I get it home. Mostly I just run rinse it in running water before I use it and I know that whilst that gets rid of some pesticide residues it is not the best form of cleaning my precious produce.

So I researched.

I started with commercial produce cleaners and most sources told me that most of these are not much better than just using water.

The best ways to wash your fruit and veg are with salt water, vinegar water, or baking soda water.

Researchers found that a 10% salt water solution was the most effective. Using full strength vinegar was equally effective but would quickly be very expensive and of course there’s that lingering vinegar taste!

Surprisingly a weak baking soda solution (that’s one ounce of baking soda to 100 ounces of water) was THE most effective way of removing pesticide residues from the skin and below the skin. However it took 12 to 15 minutes of soaking time.

When I want to cook I like to get going so I needed to find the most efficient method to clean my fruit and veggies.

I liked the quick technique of using a salad spinner for leafy greens where you dump in your greens, fill the spinner with water and a teaspoon of baking soda. You soak them for a minute or two, dump out the water and rinse and then spin them dry.

Other hardier veggies you can simply soak them in the water and baking soda solution, scrub them, then rinse them and dry them off.

Most fruit can be washed in the same way. However berries and delicate fruit should be carefully patted dry. You need to eliminate moisture because this accelerates spoilage, microflora, and mold. So it’s good to wash them just before you eat them.

One important thing to note is that even organic produce needs cleaning as it generally carries some pesticide residue as well.

But like anything on Tweaklets, adding this extra step into your food preparation should not be a nuisance so don’t make it a big deal. Find a method for washing your fruit and vegetables that works for you. Even rinsing it under running water has some benefits. And that’s what we’re all about isn’t it – tiny food tweaks that make all the difference to our health!

If you have any other good techniques I’d love to hear about them so write in the Comments below.

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Are you a tea drinker? If you’re not then I might have a few incentives for you to consider.

Next to water, tea is one of the most consumed drinks in the world. Recently green tea has received more attention for its health benefits, than black tea, but actually, they both contain many beneficial substances that boost good health.

So black and green tea come from the same camellia sinesis plant. They are both harvested from the upper buds and leaves of the plant. Green tea is dried slightly and then heated to stop oxidation and enhance the flavour.

Black tea is crushed and rolled and allowed to oxidize and turn a dark colour before it is harvested. This gives it a stronger richer flavour.

Both green and black tea contain large quantities of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds, but different types. What they have in common are flavonoids which protect our bodies against chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer, diabetes and more.

These flavonoids protect the heart and blood vessels to lower cholesterol, harmful plaque and blood pressure.

Green tea has some other powerful protective compounds that help to burn fat, boost the immune system, help with allergies and asthma. It also contains very useful amino acids and trace elements such as calcium, magnesium, chromium, manganese, iron, copper and zinc.

Green and black tea both contain caffeine, generally green has slightly less, and both have less caffeine than coffee. Interestingly though it’s the way tea affects brain chemicals that for many people make it preferable to coffee.

Tea helps us feel awake and alert but in a relaxed state of mind, which is a really beneficial balance for your brain and your general state of well being. Hmmm, I like it – calm and alert! Something to strive for!

If you’re wondering which type of tea to choose, studies show both types of tea contain similar beneficial health benefits, but green tea wins big in terms of the amounts of antioxidants it contains.

So all that’s left to be said is get brewing! As always choose a quality product and work out what feels good when you drink it. Sharpening our intuition around food that suits our body is a wonderful thing to practice.

Green tea, black tea another tiny food tweak from Tweaklets.

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OK boys and girls, let’s talk CHOCOLATE! I say boys and girls because for many of us chocolate brings out our big kid and our inner sweet tooth. But there’s so much confusion about chocolate. We’ve talked about it before and we will undoubtedly talk about it again but today let’s clarify the differences between cacao and cocoa.

Cacao and Cocoa both start off in the same place – from the seeds or beans within the seed pods produced by the cacao tree in South America. The raw bean is very bitter and is usually fermented and dried first.

To maintain the health benefits of the cacao bean manufacturers heat them at a low temperature, which separates the fatty part of the bean from the rest of it. And now it gets chopped up into nibs, just like healthy chocolate chips!

I say healthy because cacao really is! It is one of the most powerful superfoods known to man, that not only boosts our Feel Good hormone levels, but it can also lower our blood pressure, control our appetite,  regulate insulin levels,  boost our good gut bacteria and so much more!

Cocoa starts the same way cacao does. However, during processing, it’s heated at much higher temperatures. This results in a slightly sweeter flavour but, unfortunately, a lessening of its health benefits because of the change the high temperatures cause to the bean’s molecular structure.

So it doesn’t essentially mean cocoa and chocolate made from cocoa is bad, it just doesn’t have the same integrity and is therefore not nearly as beneficial for our health.

Plus in regular chocolate, a lot of other things are often added, like dairy products, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, emulsifiers and those dreaded unknowns called FILLERS. Urgh!

So when that chocolate craving kicks in look for a good quality dark chocolate or take time to seek out some cacao nibs for a purer source of chocolate.

Then you’ll be surprised how satisfying chocolate can be because of its many benefits, including stopping other cravings and helping you get a good night’s sleep.

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