With the season of love upon us, Prevention decided to campaign for more love and sex — they’re super-healthy for you — rather than less. We picked the culinary route and discovered there are many reasons why foods can put you in the mood. It is not just their shape, colour, energising properties, but the erotic sagas around them that make them sexy. Scroll through our list; try them out and tell us if they made you happy!

Strawberries
The saga
‘Fruit nipples’ or strawberries are favourites in erotic literature. In ancient Rome, these little red hearts were considered symbols of Venus. Newly-wed couples in the French countryside were served cold strawberry soup to get them romancing through their honeymoon.

The Science
Strawberries are a rich source of Vitamin C and make you stronger. Do they have aphrodisiac qualities? “They have long been associated with love, sex and Valentine’s because of their sexual signature or appearance,” says well-known sexologist Dr Prakash Kothari. “Strawberries resemble a man’s testicles,” he adds. The thought of sharing a bowlful of little red hearts dipped in cream (or yogurt), with the love of your life — Hollywood style — could be a turn-on!

Cardamoms
The saga
Cardamom has been touted as an aphrodisiac by Arabs for centuries, when they traded with Europe in spices from India, perhaps as a good marketing gimmick, says Amitabh Singh, food and beverage consultant and co-owner of Safari Grills.

The Science
This carminative herb is actually very aromatic; just what you need to pop before or after your tumble in the hay. India’s oldest sexologist Vatsyayan advised that ‘eating betel leaf with cardamom, as you get ready to kiss, makes the mouth fragrant and appeals to the spatial senses’. All spatial senses contribute to heightening your desire, adds Kothari.

Garlic
The saga
Unlikely candidate, given the halitosis you end up with after eating it raw, but garlic has long been considered an aphrodisiac, notes Frederick J Simoons in his book Plants of Life, Plants of Death. He quotes Pliny as saying that garlic gives the body a ruddier colour and when ‘pounded with fresh coriander and taken in neat wine, is considered to be an aphrodisiac’. Greek philospoher Aristophanes too, has referred to garlic’s aphrodisiacal qualities in his account of the Peloponnesian War, describing the Megarans as being ‘in agonies of excitement, as though stuffed with garlic’.

The Science
Ayurveda says that garlic reduces the ‘vaata’ element in the body, the excess of which is blamed for most cases of erectile dysfunctions, according to Kothari. Garlic helps de-clog blood vessels, encouraging the flow of blood in the genitalia, thus improving the quality of erections. However, Kothari suggests avoiding raw garlic. Fry 3-4 pods in sesame oil or cow’s ghee and consume, he advises. Perhaps garlic’s odour may not offend you, if both you and your partner consume it.