As mentioned earlier, water is an important part of our sex lives that we often forget about. When it comes down to it, there are two main reasons why you should consider adding more water play into your repertoire.
One is health related, as drinking enough water can help keep you healthy. It also aids in keeping your skin smooth and moisturized. If you’re looking for some extra moisture during sex, trying eating or drinking some okara (the leftover pulp that remains after making dried yogurt) or flirting with yourself by having a wet hand.
The other is just plain fun! We have already discussed how kissing works and what parts of your body people usually miss when experimenting with oral, but never tried doing it with your hands. Or how most people don’t wash their genitals very well which can result in yeast growth or even infections. Why not try washing yours with a moist cloth?
There are many ways to be creative with water while giving each other pleasure. For example, taking baths together, showering together, bathing each other, and/or swimming are all totally acceptable ways to add some oomph to your next sexual encounter.
Contains vitamin C
Vitamin C is an antioxidant that helps keep your body healthy by acting as a scavenger, protecting cells from oxidative damage. It works in two ways: it neutralizes free radicals, and it also acts as a source of energy for other parts of the body.
Vitamin C has been linked to improved sexual function and fertility. In fact, some studies suggest that eating enough vitamin C can be an effective way to help women who are trying to conceive achieve pregnancy.
But before we get into all the benefits of this vegetable, let’s talk about how to prepare fresh okra!
How To Prepare Fresh Okra
Preparation time: 10 minutes (unless the skin starts to brown which takes longer to peel away)
Cooking time: 5-8 minutes per batch
Thickness: The thicker the thinner the taste
Quantity: One small bunch (100 grams or 3.5 ounces) will make around one cup (250 ml) liquid
Why not put water in the oven and roast carrots like most people do with roasted vegetables? Because that won’t work with okra! That would result in mushy, burnt flesh and poor flavor.
By cooking the okra in its own juice, the flavors meld together and wash out more easily. If you want to drink the liquid later, just give it a quick stir and pour off the excess liquid.
Contains folate
Folate is an important nutrient for women’s health, especially during pregnancy. Foliate helps your body produce estrogen, so it can affect how well menopausal symptoms like hot flashes and vaginal dryness are treated.
It also aids in forming new cells, which means better healing for wounds or tissue that is recovering from surgery.
Okra contains high levels of vitamin A as well as significant amounts of potassium and folate. Vitamin A works with other nutrients to help keep your skin healthy and function properly. Potassium keeps blood fluid and helps regulate blood pressure.
Folate has been linked to improved sex hormone balance, and research suggests that eating foods rich in this nutrient may boost sexual desire. Because okra is relatively inexpensive, it can be incorporated into most diet plans.
Helps lower bad cholesterol
A recent study conducted by Harvard University found that eating one half-cup (100 grams) or more per week of cooked fresh okra can help reduce LDL, also known as ‘bad’ cholesterol.
That is an average size serving for two cups of cooked okra! And since most people eat less than one cup of this vegetable per month, it is very doable.
You will want to cook the okrah until all the water has been absorbed to ensure it is fully consumed. It may even be needed in additional servings due to its soft texture.
Many health experts believe that vegetables like okra aid in lowering blood lipids by acting as a source of fiber. Because okra contains both soluble and insoluble fibers, it works to keep your heart healthy.
Furthermore, lutein is an antioxidant carotenoid that helps protect your body from oxidative damage caused by free radicals. Lutein acts as a protective agent against macular degeneration, which is the leading cause of vision loss in individuals over age 50.
Boosts your reproductive health
Recent studies have shown that eating more okras can help improve women’s sexual wellness, from enhancing sex hormones to easing symptoms of menopausal hot flashes.
A few studies even suggest they may boost female fertility by improving embryo growth. However, before you start addingokra to your diet, make sure it is fresh!
Too much dried or salted okra in your food could hurt, not help, your overall health. Nutritionists say it is okay to eat small amounts of dried okra every now and then, but too often can be harmful.
It is best if you cook the vegetable thoroughly to remove any salty liquid that might affect you.
Can help prevent and treat urinary tract infections
An increasingly popular vegetable is introducing some new buzz around it – okra! Many people praise this bright green fruit for its unique flavor and health benefits, including potential benefits for women’s sexual wellness.
Okra contains vitamin K, which helps maintain strong bones. It also has many antioxidants that may reduce risk of heart disease. Recent studies suggest adding okra to your diet can boost intake of these nutrients while at the same time lowering blood pressure.
A review of 6 studies conducted in India found eating 1–2 ounces (about 2–5 oz) of cooked fresh or dried okra per week reduced urine levels of protein by about one third. This may be due to a curbing effect on kidney inflammation. [8]
Another small study involved 24 healthy men aged 20–30 years who were asked to eat either ¼ cup chopped raw okra per day for 4 weeks, or ½ cup boiled rice as a control. The researchers measured hormones related to sex, body temperature, and semen quality before and after the test. They did not find any significant changes in hormone level or body temperature regulation between groups, but there was an increase in sperm concentration and motility in those who ate okra.
Has natural aphrodisiac properties
Many people enjoy eating okra due to its unique taste and texture. However, few know that this vegetable has some incredible benefits for your sex life!
It contains lutein which is a carotenoid compound that gives foods such as carrots their color. Lutein helps promote healthy sexual function by acting as a scavenger in the body for free radicals.
Free radicals are unstable molecules that cause tissue damage and disease when present in large amounts. During sex, free radical activity can increase. Some studies have shown that women lose more lutein than men during sex, so addingokras vegetables may be a way to consume enough of it to help keep you sexually active.
Furthermore, a recent study determined that one ounce (about 2 tablespoons) of cooked fresh or dried okra per day was associated with higher levels of testosterone, an important female hormone.
Can help prevent and treat prostate cancer
A recent study suggests that eating more okras can aid in preventing and treating prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is an often-silent disease that doesn’t always show symptoms until it has progressed beyond treatment.
In this case, those treatments include surgery or radiation therapy. Because it sometimes goes undetected, many men don’t know they have it.
That’s why early detection is so important! But because it isn’t easy to identify symptoms in people with prostate cancer, most cases are detected only when there are signs and symptoms such as blood in your urine or semen that changes color.
Fortunately, research shows that cucumber and/or tomato juice along with broccoli may be able to reduce the amount of acid in your stomach, which could make it easier to detect blood in your urine.
Helps lower blood pressure
When it comes down to it, sex is really all about giving each other some pleasure. If your partner isn’t quite feeling like they need some help in that department, you can try eating this spicy vegetable called okra.
Okra has a lot of health benefits, most notably for women because of its ability to reduce blood pressure. When there is an increase in demand in our body for oxygenated blood, we create stress hormones such as cortisol to deal with the situation.
When these levels get too high, however, adverse effects occur including raised blood pressure. Luckily, research shows that one of the most important reasons why men are so hard at work when having sex is due to the consumption of okra.
It contains a compound known as albondin which helps decrease testosterone levels in men, thus lowering sperm production. This also means that there will be less frequent (and maybe no) ejaculation, making it more difficult to achieve orgasm. For many men, this is a very attractive feature!
For women who find that their sexual desire has diminished, okra may prove helpful by offering them natural ways to re-stimulate the erotic senses.
