The best foods for better sex

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It's no secret that the unhealthy Western diet is contributing to an epidemic of obesity. But there's another hidden epidemic that our fatty diets are at the root of: a national sex crisis. Beyond slimming you down, changing what you eat can boost your performance in bed - these great foods ideas will help combat the crisis.
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Snacks for you
Cranberry juice
20 per cent of women suffer from chronic urinary tract infections, increasing their risk of kidney infections. Ward off the painful infection and keep your sex life alive by drinking half a cup of unsweetened cranberry juice, a natural antibacterial, every day. Research shows that tannins in cranberry juice decrease a woman's risk of an infection by 34 per cent.

 

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YoghurtTry yoghurt with "live active cultures." The yoghurt contains probiotic bacteria called Lactobacillus, which helps prevent the spread of E. coli in the urethra. Finnish researchers found that women who ate this type of yoghurt three times a week were almost 80 per cent less likely to have recently developed a UTI than those who ate it less than once a week

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Midmorning snacks: for you and himThese might be foods for kids’ lunches, but it has some very grown-up implications. Here's why:

Celery (mostly for men)
Every stalk of the stuff is packed with androstenone and androstenol, two pheromones that can help men attract women. Every time you chew on a stalk of celery, you release odour molecules, which help boost your arousal, turning you on and causing your body to send off scents and signals that make you more desirable to women.

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Peanut butter Research shows that men with diets high in monounsaturated fat—the kind found in nuts—have higher testosterone levels than those who don't eat enough of the healthy fat. Plus, nuts are also the best food source of arginine, an amino acid that improves bloodflow throughout your body—including below the belt.



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Fuel your libido
PorridgeUnsexy oatmeal has a hidden talent – whole grains increase testosterone, which boosts sex drive. Serve porridge with honey: it contains boron, a mineral that has libido-enhancing effects. This, in combination with B vitamins (needed to make testosterone), and fructose (which aids stamina) can explain that "honeymoon" thing – ancient Persian newlyweds drank mead, an alcoholic drink made with honey, every day for a month after they married.

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Sashimi Fish high in omega-3 fatty acids (like salmon and tuna) keep sex-hormone production humming along. Tuna is also good source of selenium (a mineral that increases his sperm count). Serve it with pickled ginger and edamame. “Ginger aids circulation, and edamame contains phytoestrogens, which help lubricate the vagina,” Paget says.



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Coffee People who enjoy a brew have higher libidos and hit the sheets more often, according to a study by Southwestern University, US. Skip sweetner for real sugar. “Sugar releases serotonin, a neurotransmitter that provides a brief euphoric feeling,” says psychologist Dr Abby Aronowitz.



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Foods for him
Chicken Chicken contains a powerful combo of vitamin B6 and zinc – both essential for the production of testosterone, vital for the health of his libido, sperm and erectile function. Chicken is also a rich source of arginine, which “triggers the body to make protein and may enhance sperm production”, says nutrition expert Sharon Natoli.



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WatermelonBoost his boner with this sweet fruit. US researchers have found that watermelon’s citrulline and arginine boost production of a compound called nitric oxide that relaxes blood vessels – the same thing that little blue pill does, but for a way better price.



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Get him in the mood
CinnamonThe scent of baked cinnamon buns turns a man on. This was the conclusion of neurologists following a unique experiment in which they monitored penile blood flow in 25 medical students while the students sniffed different smells. The researchers exposed the students to a wide range of fragrances, from lily-of-the-valley to rose to musk, but found that cinnamon buns turned men on most. The scents of pumpkin pie and black liquorice also ranked high. Researchers speculate the smells may evoke a nostalgic memory that relaxes a man, making him more aware of sexual cues.



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Original aphrodisiacs...
FigsConsidering their resemblance to female genitalia, it’s no surprise the fig has long been lauded as a sexual symbol. Adam and Eve used its leaves to cover their privates, the ancient Greeks celebrated the arrival of the fig crop with sex rituals, and Cleopatra declared them her top snack.



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WalnutsThe Romans allegedly tossed walnuts at newlyweds as a symbol of fertility. Nuts contain fats that your system creates cholesterol with – and your sex hormones need cholesterol to work properly, says



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Bottled water industry

Resourse: Yahoo7 News

Australians spent more than half a billion dollars on bottled water last year, but was it worth it?

We all know that drinking water is good for you, and plenty of us are happy to pay for it.

Bottled water is promoted as being fresh and free of impurities, but just how true are those claims?
A growing campaign is trying to stop the flow of the bottled water industry.

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• Lifting the lid on bottled water
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• Imports overtake Australian food

The mouth-watering $60 billion bottled water industry turns over more than half a billion dollars in Australia alone.

In fact we drink 700 million litres of bottled water each year.

Jon Dee from Do Something is an active campaigner against bottled water. “It would cost them less than a cent to get the water out of the ground, and yet you're paying $2.50 to $3 a litre, or more for bottled water. That's twice the price of petrol."

According to Geoff Parker from the Australasian Bottled Water Institute, when it comes to bottled water, it’s all about convenience. “Our research shows the number one reason why people buy bottled water is for convenience."

Convenient? Sure. But is bottled water any healthier than what we can get out of the tap?
Today Tonight commissioned two independent labs to analyse seven unidentified samples. Six were high-selling bottled waters, and the other everyday tap water.

The lab tested for:

• mineral content
• sodium
• potassium
• magnesium
• chloride
• sulphate
• phosphate
• flouride

The second lab looked at contaminants and bacteria.
The results were surprising.

Tap water had lower sodium levels than some of big name brands, and slightly high levels of calcium. Otherwise there was hardly any difference, and no major signs of contamination.

On a country paddock, outside Wagga Wagga, at Big Springs water well, liquid gold bubbles to the surface. In this area spring water is just a couple of metres below the ground, and the water is so clean it's ready-made to be mined and pumped.

Big springs has been used by settlers for almost 200 years, but has sold to the public for the just twenty.

 “We consume about five per cent of the well’s capacity. so there's an abundance that flows further down into the creek system," Big Springs’ Greg Hanson said.

Greg Hanson and his partner Pat Wilson run Big Springs. He water is pumped from the well by a simple system, similar to a pool pump. Every day Wilson loads it into a 25 thousand litre tanker.
In this fast turn-around business, it’s “48 hours from the ground to the table," Wilson said.

The tankers unload at the company's $1 million dollar processing plant. Most of the business for Big Springs is in big bottles for offices, and some smaller water bottles.

“The water is filted to 0.2 of a micron, and then we sanitise it,” Hanson explained.

The water costs 50 cents to a dollar a litre to produce. Outside this factory the price can rise five times.
“Unfortunately for us it gets marked up a lot after it leaves our manufacturing plant. And I think some cafes sell if for what they think they can get for it, rather than say ‘I'm only going to put 100 per cent on this," Wilson said.

Canberra University has become the first university in the world to ban bottled water sales. Vice Chancellor Professor Stephen Parker says “I think we're the largest community where there's no bottled water available for purchase."

“We couldn't see the case for selling bottled water in circumstances where you’ve got freely available tap water. So we discontinued the sale of all bottled water on campus," he explained.

140,000 water bottles used to be sold here. These have now been replaced with free water bubblers and low- cost flavoured and chilled water dispensers.

Up the road from the University is Bundanoon - the first town in the world to ban bottled water sales, replacing them with tap water.

Parker however is critical of bans, on health grounds, and says “UK research shows that once you remove bottled water as a sale option, 75 per cent of people will move to higher calory options."

Sales of bottled water have plateaued in the past year, as communities, schools, and governments consider ditching bottled water for everyday tap water, or for filtered options.

“At the end of the day it's water in a plastic bottle with a little label. Bottled water is undoubtedly a total rip off and Australians need to wise up to that scam. We have some of the best tap water in the world, and it's about time we starting drinking it," Dee concluded.