Ladies: Feed Your Sexy!

counselorbarb ♦ October 23, 2012

Eating healthy food can do so much for your health, including your sex life! Ladies, remember, the healthier you are, the better you will feel, including energy for a GREAT sex life! In another great post from my friend and colleague, Joy Rupe, Certified Diet Manager, we will learn about all the veggies and other foods necessary to keep us, and our libidos, healthy!

Take it away, Joy…

While we can’t avoid every health issue there is more within our control than we may want to admit. Science tells us that health is based on three things: diet, lifestyle, and environment. Our genes may predispose us to certain conditions but do not mandate that we will have them. Put another way, genetics load the gun but environment – the quality of our food, water, air, and lifestyle – pulls the trigger.  Here are three things we can do something about.

Breast Cancer risks increase with age due to longer exposure to toxins, estrogen, and lifestyle choices.  Strengthen your health with Vitamin D-rich foods, also a powerful player in bone health. Not many foods are naturally high in vitamin D but a few good sources are salmon, cheese, beef liver, and egg yolks. Fortified foods such as milk products like yogurt are sources and a small amount is in mushrooms. Leafy greens such as kale and spinach are your new best friends. Others are variety of vegetables – particularly cruciferous – such as cabbage, cauliflower, bok choy, broccoli, kale, collards and Brussels sprouts. Plus healthy oils like olive oil, Omega 3-enriched eggs and cold water fish such as salmon which also increase Vitamin D. By increasing your intake of Vitamin D-rich foods you also knock down your risk of colon cancer, osteoporosis, and multiple sclerosis. Your best source of Vitamin D – the sun. Improve your environment by getting outside and exercise regularly.

Cardiovascular Disease is the number one killer in America according to the Mayo Clinic, and it’s not just a man’s disease.  Magnesium is key to good cardiovascular health and you can find it in whole grains, nuts, seeds, lentils, legumes and dark leafy greens – did I say kale and spinach?  Ditto on Vitamin D and Omega 3 fats which come easily from the foods mentioned above.  Giant leaps towards cardiovascular health include maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking, and getting plenty of exercise which benefits circulation.

Safe Food. Every day we vote with our forks and wallet by the food choices we make. Starting today, buy your chicken raised organically.  Just say NO to genetically modified foods and say YES to leafy greens, vegetables, fruit, whole grains, omega 3-rich foods every day. Be sure to choose organic for those fruits and vegetables that cannot be peeled before consumption as this is where the highest concentration of pesticides are (strawberries, cherries, peaches, celery, blueberries, etc.).  If you choose conventional produce buy US-grown which may have fewer pesticides than foreign produce. Plus we manufacture and export pesticides to countries that grow our produce which they send right back to us.

Lastly, remember to see your health care professionals regularly. Prevention is much better than cure.