It is a common saying that an apple a
day keeps the doctor away. But beyond the health benefits of apple for
both men and women, it seems to have a lot to contribute to the sexual
satisfaction of women, as it has been found to improve their sex lives.
Thus, there is a link between apple and sexual performance for women.
Previous findings have shown that eating
apple has many benefits, including its ability to reduce the risk of
diabetes and heart attack, ward off breast cancer, lower blood fat
levels in post menopausal women and reduce the risk of stroke.
In fact, eating apple everyday for six
months was found to cut cholesterol by almost a quarter, apart from the
fact that it prevents dementia (loss of brain functions that occurs with
certain diseases) and improves neurological health by reducing cellular
death. These were attributed to its high-fibre content and that it
produces more saliva to reduce tooth decay and detoxify the liver.
Interestingly, apple is not the only
common edible item that can help women to be aroused, some previous
studies revealed that red wine and chocolate also help women to become
aroused, because of the resveratrol compound found in both and the
presence of sexually stimulating polyphenols and antioxidants in them.
However, beyond all these heart-warming
benefits, study by researchers at Santa Chiara Regional Hospital in
Trento, Italy, showed that daily apple consumption enhances the sex life
of women and helps them to be sexually satisfied. They believe that the
compound phloridzin present in apples play a large role in sexual
arousal and vaginal lubrication in women and ultimately their sexual
satisfaction.
The researchers indeed found that women
who eat apples regularly are more likely to have better sex because of
some nutrients in the fruit, even though many people, especially women,
eat apple for fun, without necessarily understanding its impact on their
sexual life.
In the study, which lasted for eight
months, the researchers, who sought to find a link between daily apple
consumption and sexual libido, studied 781 Italian women aged between 18
and 43.
The researchers established that these
women had no history or complaint of sexual disorder or depression and
they ascertained that none of the women was taking prescription
medications for the two ailments.
Thereafter, they were divided into two
groups, with one section instructed to eat between one and two apples a
day and the other section told not to eat any. Then, the participants
were asked to fill a Female Sexual Function Index, a form, which asked
19 questions about their sexual activities including orgasm,
lubrication, frequency of sexual intercourse, overall sexual
satisfaction and were asked to report on their daily consumption of the
apples as instructed.
The researchers found that eating an
apple a day was linked with higher FSFI scores by the participants,
which suggested that it increased their overall sexual function or
pleasure.
They found that the women who consumed
apple daily had higher scores on the sexual function index, especially
in the lubrication and sexual performance categories, than those who
didn’t eat apple, suggesting that those women who ate apples on a
regular basis had a greater sexual function, thereby reporting higher
levels of arousal and satisfaction.
The extent to which sex would be enjoyed
by a woman depends largely on how lubricated the vagina is, because it
reduces friction that may arise from the man’s penile penetration.
Inadequate lubrication may put the man and the woman in serious pains
and either of them could sustain injuries on their genitals.
The researchers established that apples
contain phloridzin, a crystalline glucoside that is structurally similar
to a female sex hormone, estradiol, which plays a huge role in vaginal
lubrication and sexual arousal. Hence, the phloridzin, which is
extracted from the bark of fruits like apple, improves female sexuality
and lubrication.
According to the study, published in
Archives of Gynaecology and Obsterics, the fruit also contains
polyphenols and antioxidants that can increase blood flow to the
genitals, hence, boosting arousal and sexual performance.
“We found that women who regularly ate
apples, at least one a day, had better quality sex life,” Tommaso Cai,
one of the lead researchers, told The Local.
Cai said that while good physical health
and daily intake of vegetables also help boost women’s sexual desire,
the most important factor is floridazina, a compound found beneath the
skin of the apple that is similar to the hormone estradiol, which plays
an important role in female sexual arousal.
He said, “All the women who included an
apple or more a day in their diet ate them unpeeled and they scored
higher on the sex-related questions.
“But fear not ladies, you don’t have to
restrict yourselves to fruit and vegetables to feel aroused, wine and
chocolate are also aphrodisiacs. A research few years ago found that the
antioxidants in wine and chocolate also help improve sex.
“Apples contain polyphenols and
antioxidants, which can increase blood flow to the genitalia (the
genitals), as well as phloridzin, a type of estrogen similar to the
female sex hormone estradiol that improves vaginal lubrication.
Consequently, the more apples women consume, the higher the level of
lubrication and sexual function.
“It’s also possible that the sexual
health benefits come more from apple peels, which have high
concentrations of helpful phenolic compound, than from the apples
themselves.
Reacting to the study, a consultant
endocrinologist, Dr. Michael Olamoyegun, said estradiol, which is the
main hormone in females, enhances vaginal lubrication and sexual
performance, adding that anything that contains it or the ingredients
needed for its production would give the same benefits.
“If apple contains a compound that has
similar structure with estradiol, it may probably have the same sexual
benefits for women; lubricating the vagina and increasing libido because
those are the functions of estradiol or oestrogen.
“Also, anything that will enhance
further synthesis of estradiol will still serve the same function
because even if apple does not contain estradiol but contains the
ingredient from which it would be produced, then, apple would increase
the concentration of the compound in the body and enhance those
functions.”
He explained that if there is
lubrication, there would be enhanced sexual performance, noting that the
absence of the lubrication is what makes sex painful for women who have
reached menopause because of the dryness in their vagina.
“In menopausal women, the oestrogen or
estradiol is low and that is why they have tightness and dry vagina.
This explains why they have pain while having sex and that is why we
tell them to use cream that contains estradiol for lubrication,” he
added.
Olamoyegun explained that almost all
fruits contain polyphenols and antioxidants and eating food items or
fruits that contain these compounds would increase blood flow.
“If apple contains high concentration of
polyphenols and antioxidants, it will increase blood flow, and once you
have blood flow to a particular organ, it will enhance its elasticity
such that the place tends to expand during sexual performance and there
won’t be pain, as it would also increase satisfaction,” he added.
Also commenting on the study, a
nutritionist, Dr. Okunola Oladimeji, said even though the study had not
been done in Nigeria, the study is true because of the many benefits of
eating apple.
“Apple has powerful antioxidants and it
contains so many things that are good for health, so I want to agree
that it is possible,” he said.
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