• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Rethinking CAncer

Alternative Cancer Therapies

Header Right

Foundation for Advancement in Cancer Therapy
Non-Toxic Biological Approaches to the Theories, Treatments and Prevention of Cancer
2023
Our 52nd Year
  • Resources
    • Articles
      • A Different Concept of Health and Disease
      • Balanced Diet
      • Food as Medicine
      • Detoxification
      • Emotional Healing
      • Understanding Body Function
      • Adjunctive Therapies
      • Miscellany
      • Long-Term Recovery: Case Histories
    • Cancer Forum Magazines
    • Audio Presentations
    • Video Presentations
    • Bioprepair & Cancer FAQ
    • Recipes
      • Drinks & Shakes
      • Breakfast Ideas
      • Hors d’Oevres
      • Soups
      • Dressings, Sauces & Dips
      • Salads
      • Entrees
      • Vegetable Side Dishes
      • Desserts & Snacks
      • Miscellaneous
    • Book Reviews
    • Recommended Reading
    • Research Studies
    • Books
  • News
    • Foods of the Week
    • Spice of the Month
    • Rethinking Cancer Newsletters
  • Film
    • The Bio-Repair Patients
    • The Physicians
    • Filmmakers
    • Rethinking Cancer Film Credits
  • Practitioner Directory
  • About Us
    • About Biorepair
    • About FACT
    • About Ruth Sackman
  • Donate
  • Search
  • Shop
  • Cart
  • Resources
    • Articles
      • A Different Concept of Health and Disease
      • Balanced Diet
      • Food as Medicine
      • Detoxification
      • Emotional Healing
      • Understanding Body Function
      • Adjunctive Therapies
      • Miscellany
      • Long-Term Recovery: Case Histories
    • Cancer Forum Magazines
    • Audio Presentations
    • Video Presentations
    • Bioprepair & Cancer FAQ
    • Recipes
      • Drinks & Shakes
      • Breakfast Ideas
      • Hors d’Oevres
      • Soups
      • Dressings, Sauces & Dips
      • Salads
      • Entrees
      • Vegetable Side Dishes
      • Desserts & Snacks
      • Miscellaneous
    • Book Reviews
    • Recommended Reading
    • Research Studies
    • Books
  • News
    • Foods of the Week
    • Spice of the Month
    • Rethinking Cancer Newsletters
  • Film
    • The Bio-Repair Patients
    • The Physicians
    • Filmmakers
    • Rethinking Cancer Film Credits
  • Practitioner Directory
  • About Us
    • About Biorepair
    • About FACT
    • About Ruth Sackman
  • Donate
  • Search
  • Shop
  • Cart
Alternative Cancer Therapy

Aphrodisiac Plants?

May 7, 2020 //  by RethinkingCancer//  Leave a Comment

Can a plant create feelings of arousal, contentment, receptivity? Did Mother Nature, in her infinite wisdom, design vegetation with sexually appealing traits not only to enhance our health and vigor, but also to ensure our continual interest in procreation of the species?

According to award-winning garden writer, Helen Yoest, the answer is a blushing “yes.” Her new book, Plants with Benefits: An Uninhibited Guide to the Aphrodisiac Herbs, Fruits, Flowers and Veggies in Your Garden, looks at history, folklore and ethnobotany to understand the “hot” reputations of 50 plants. She discovered that some plants derive their “zsa-zsa-zsu” from their suggestive shape. Others affect brain chemistry, increasing flood flow to certain regions. Others mimic human hormones or are affecting simply because of their richness in certain supernutrients. It’s a fun, fact-filled volume, including photos, growing tips, recipes – the first book about the sex appeal of garden plants!

Here are some of the author’s findings, as told to Penelope Green of the New York Times:

Q: What led you to write about this topic?
I didn’t set out to write a horticultural Kama Sutra. It was sort of an accident. I was researching an article on avocados and learned that the fruit was considered an aphrodisiac. I wondered why. Was it the nutrients, the shape? Turns out their reputation dates back to the Aztecs who observed how avocados grew in pairs and named the plant “the testicle tree.” I was fascinated to learn that during the harvest, the ancient Aztecs would lock up their virgin daughters. That’s how it all began.

Q: I was amused that you quoted Virgil on arugula (“the rocket excites the sexual desire of drowsy people”) since I eat the stuff every day. And I was most surprised to learn of boring old celery’s properties as an erection-enhancer and pheromone-jogger. What were you most surprised by?
I would have to say something like the studies on lavender or almonds. Honestly, if I smell almonds it’s like, “Wow, what’s happening?” What makes something become an aphrodisiac? The main thing is if its shape is suggestive – if it looks like a duck and acts like a duck. We didn’t invent sophomoric jokes about bananas and figs. We’re just carrying the torch.

The other thing that surprised me was the plants that mimic human hormones. Of course, we don’t know how much you have to eat of say, coriander, to get the “boing” factor. The F.D.A. hasn’t weighed in.

Q: Can we talk about the lavender studies? You cite a study in which men were exposed to various food aromas and then their level of sexual arousal was recorded by measuring the blood flow to their genitals. The scent of lavender increased blood flow by 40 percent, as compared to cheese pizza, which increased it by only 5 percent. Um, pizza? Do you recall what other aromas were tested?
The other biggie was pumpkin pie. And licorice, specifically Good & Plenty. It just drove men wild.

Q: Which plant is the best aphrodisiac for women?
Almonds. It’s not just the scent. Almonds contain amino acids, which are known to increase arousal.

Q: And for men?
After licorice, garlic is another really interesting one. It has a long reputation for increasing sexual drive. In India, ancient laws forbade Brahmins from eating garlic. Today, Tibetan monks are forbidden to eat it because of its arousal properties. Which I think is just really unfair. They can’t have sex or garlic.

Q: Which plant should require a prescription?
After licorice, I’d say nutmeg, which in large quantities is hallucinogenic.

Q: You say your ideal pre-sex meal is Champagne, almond soup, quinoa salad and chocolate. What about a meal made with only the plants you’re able to grow: what might that consist of?
I live in Raleigh, N.C., which is Zone 7. Certainly asparagus. That’s another one with a suggestive visual. As are carrots. Basil is aromatherapy. In ancient times, women would rub dried basil on their bodies to make themselves more sexually attractive.

I can grow figs. I might make a celery soup, or something with arugula. Definitely fennel, which comes at you from every direction: it has pheromones, phytoestrogens and an estrogen-like substance called estragole. It’s been tested on rats for its libido-enhancing properties.

Cucumbers: Those are a good, all-around healthy food. You know how the Viagra ads say you should be in good health for sex? Cucumbers are rich in potassium, which helps with hypertension, which helps with erectile dysfunction. Studies have shown the scent of cucumbers really increases arousal in women. Whereas men were just fine with Good & Plenty.

Source: New York Times.

Category: Food as Medicine

Previous Post: « What Is A Friend?
Next Post: Does Apple Cider Vinegar Each Day Keep the Doctor Away? »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Watch Our Movie

Rethinking Cancer The Movie

Newsletter Sign-up

Amazon Smile Rethinking CAncer

E-book Editions

detoxification

Available to buy on:
Amazon | iTunes | B&N

triumph over cancer

Amazon | iTunes | B&N

healing cancer

Amazon | iTunes |
B&N

Featured Posts

  • Being Smart With Your Smart Phone
  • Bentonite Clay — The Gentle Cleanse
  • A Really Good Brownie
  • Rethinking Cancer Newsletter #78
  • Healthy Ginger Snaps Recipe

Footer

F.A.C.T.

Established in 1971, the Foundation for Advancement in Cancer Therapy (FACT) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization that supports non-toxic, biologically sound alternative cancer therapies. FACT is the creator of the documentary film Rethinking Cancer and rethinkingcancer.org.

Contact Us

FACT
PO Box 1242
Old Chelsea Station
New York, NY 10113

info@rethinkingcancer.org.

twitter facebook youtube

Amazon Smile Rethinking CAncer

Menu

  • Alternate cancer therapy Resources
  • News
  • Film
  • Alternative Cancer Therapy Practitioner Directory
  • About FACT
  • Donate to Rethinking Cancer

Copyright © 2023 Rethinking Cancer - Alternative Cancer Therapies · All Rights Reserved · Web Design by Conceptstore.co.uk