Juices and smoothies can affect your hormones by creating a healthy balance. For both men and women, too little testosterone, which declines by an average of 10 percent per decade, lessens sexual vitality. The predominantly female hormones — progesterone and estrogen — also affect sexual desire in women, so deficiencies result in lower libido.
Although hormones are essential, you also need to be healthy to enjoy a sustained interest in sex. Insomnia, poor diet, drugs, alcohol, low-grade infections and ill health, and psychological issues all negatively impact your sexual drive. Here's how juices and smoothies can affect your hormones.
Balancing hormones
Like enzymes, hormones are chemical compounds that are produced by specific organs in your body such as the pancreas or the adrenal glands. Unlike enzymes, hormones are released directly into the blood stream. The difference between enzymes and hormones is that hormones carry specific messages to cells, and enzymes act as catalysts, assisting in the chemical reactions of the cells.
Some herbs have been used to increase overall sexual vitality. For example, chaste tree berries balance the pituitary gland and increase sexual energy when it’s low.
For testosterone, zinc is important because it assists in producing both the hormone and sperm. The best juice and smoothie ingredients for getting plenty of zinc are sesame and pumpkin seeds, parsley, oats, yogurt, turnip, ginger, garlic, carrots, grapes, and cabbage. Eat scallops, turkey, and shrimp, as well as raw, cooked, or canned oysters once a week — you can even include canned oysters in smoothies.
To increase progesterone in women, wild yam has shown to be effective. You can add dried wild yam (found in natural food stores) to juice and smoothies.
Seeking out sexy nutrients
Some foods thought to be aphrodisiacs (such as oysters) hold up under scientific scrutiny and others don’t. If you’re eating a whole-foods diet that includes juices and smoothies, you aren’t overly stressed, and you aren’t taking prescription or recreational drugs, you should be pretty virile.
Probably the single most important thing you can do for your sex drive is to consume ten fruits and vegetables a day in as wide a variety as possible. This will provide essential nutrients that will balance all sorts of conditions, as well as your hormones.
Take for example, Vitamin C. It has been shown to improve sperm count, sperm motility, and sperm viability in men. It’s also recommended for both men and women who want to increase sexual function. If you’re eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, you’ll be getting enough vitamin C for all your body’s needs. Juicing peppers, kale, strawberries, citrus fruits, tomatoes, cabbage, and spinach will provide vitamin C.
