Can Certain Foods Make You More Desirable?

People who commit to eating healthier often do so for specific reasons, whether it’s to feel healthier, live longer, lose weight, or reverse the effects of illness. As it turns out, healthy eating can also make you more desirable. Whether it’s your primary reason or the naturally sweetened icing on your proverbial low-sugar, gluten-free cake, here are some foods that are actually scientifically proven to make you more desirable.

Parsnip

The sex hormones androstenone and androstenol release scents that make you more desirable, and parsnips happen to be loaded with the latter. For guys, parsnips also have boron, which enhances testosterone levels in your blood.

Yogurt

It’s hard to look or feel your best when your digestive system is a mess. Yogurt is rich in probiotics, the good bacteria that keep your gut healthy and happy, which means your body can more quickly absorb the minerals and vitamins that keep you fit. Yogurt’s calcium and protein will also keep your teeth healthier for a better smile.

Apple Cider Vinegar

The vinegar content produces proteins in your body that burn fat, giving you a leaner look in a surprisingly short amount of time (as little as 8 weeks in one Japanese study). It’s also a powerful skin cleanser and has been used to treat various skin conditions for nearly 2,500 years.

Celery

If you think celery’s only nutritional contribution is its high fiber content, think again. It’s packed with both androstenone and androstenol, male sex pheromones that trigger arousal, which in turn causes your body to give off other scent signals that make you more desirable to others.

Fennel Seeds

Bad breath is a huge turnoff, but chewing fennel seeds can work wonders. Besides increasing saliva production that rinses away bacteria, the seeds also neutralize any odors already present. They are also a mild antibacterial that directly fights bad breath germs.

Lemons and Limes

The citrus content in these fruits is a powerful antioxidant strong enough to serve as disinfectants that improve not only breath but body odor in general. It’s all about killing off the bacteria that cause odors, whether in your mouth or your armpits.

Rosemary

This handy herb is great at neutralizing all kinds of body odors through its antibacterial properties. If you’re a fan of Italian cooking, you probably have plenty of it in your pantry, so put it to good use.

Pickles

Snacking on pickles is a great way to boost your weight loss efforts. The super-acidic vinegar is what helps your body burn away carbs up to 40% faster, and you’ve got to burn off the carbs if you want to start burning off fat.

Almonds

According to a study in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, eating a quarter cup of almonds before working out will help you burn more carbs and fat thanks to their high levels of the L-arginine amino acid.

Lavender Oil

Your go-to skin treatment is lavender oil. Besides smelling great, it boosts your body’s production of the three toughest antioxidants: glutathione, catalase, and superoxide dismutase. Lavender oil makes short work of healing all kinds of damage to your skin and can help address any number of skin conditions.

White Fish

Fish rich in long-chain omega-3 fats gives your body all kinds of anti-inflammatory benefits. If you focus in on salmon (which is a white fish despite its slightly pinkish coloring), you’ll also get astaxanthin, a carotenoid antioxidant that addresses sun-damaged skin, especially when combined with collagen.

Ginger

Gingerol is a compound found in ginger that’s a powerful anti-inflammatory that might stave off age spots from sun exposure. In addition, ginger neutralizes bad breath while at the same time easing indigestion that can cause halitosis.

Truffle Oil

Truffles are wicked expensive, but they’re also packed full of the sex hormone androstenone, which can make you quite desirable to others. It doesn’t turn everyone on, though, thanks to research that shows it depends on your body’s OR7D4 odor receptor. But it could have the desired effect on 35% of people.

Whole Milk

When you want to lose some weight, there are approaches that are more effective than just restricting the number of calories you eat. One way to boost your dieting results is to combine calorie restriction with calcium-rich foods such as whole milk. Calcium helps your body store less fat as well as burn off what’s already there more quickly.

Green Tea

Rich in antioxidants, green tea helps your body zap away the free radicals that keep you from looking and feeling your best. Green tea’s polyphenols help protect the collagen your body produces, which is the key to firmer, younger-looking skin.

Pineapple

Pineapples are especially acidic, which means they help the body flush out odors and leave you smelling pleasantly fruity. There’s also plenty of anecdotal evidence that eating lots of pineapple makes your sex fluids taste better, for both men and women.

Kombucha

When you add sugar to black tea and let it ferment, you get kombucha, a naturally carbonated beverage that’s packed with all kinds of powerful nutrition, including vinegar, enzymes, probiotics, B-vitamins, and three kinds of acids (lactic, acetic, and gluconic). Together, they make for more effective weight loss, along with detox and immune support benefits.

Strawberries

Like many berries, strawberries offer plenty of antioxidants and taste refreshingly sweet without wrecking your blood sugar. The antioxidants in strawberries neutralize the free radicals that cause your skin to age prematurely, while at the same time protecting the collagen needed to keep your skin smooth and supple.

Blueberries

Vitamin C is a great antioxidant, and blueberries have plenty, but even better is when it’s combined with another powerful antioxidant— vitamin E. Blueberries have both, and having these two antioxidants working in tandem results in skin that’s more evenly toned and brighter.

Melon

Watermelon contains high levels of lycopene, an antioxidant that resists UV damage. It’s what makes both tomatoes and watermelons red, but watermelon has 40% more than tomatoes.

Kale

As with many of the heartier leafy greens, kale is loaded with vitamin K and iron. The vitamin K content makes your blood clot the way it’s supposed to, which can help prevent vessels from leaking around your eyes and making you look like a zombie. The iron content keeps your skin from becoming so pale that you can see blood vessels, which can also look a little creepy.

Coffee

Java lovers will be very happy to find out that the caffeine content in coffee might actually protect you from melanoma skin cancer, according to the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, with four cups a day being correlated with a 20% lower risk. And men who drink a few cups of coffee a day are also 42% less likely to experience erectile dysfunction.

Pomegranate

The seeds of this fruity powerhouse are loaded with three antioxidants to make your skin as touchable as you want it to be. First up are anthocyanins, phytochemicals that boost your body’s production of collagen, which is key to firm skin. Second is ellagic acid, which reduces inflammation from UV exposure. Last but not least is vitamin C, shown by a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition to combat both dryness and wrinkling by taking out those pesky free radicals.

Lobster

The meat of this underwater crustacean is rich in zinc, an anti-inflammatory useful in treating all kinds of skin conditions, including acne. People who suffer from acne do tend to have lower zinc levels than those with clearer skin. Zinc acts as an accelerant for skin cell renewal.

Walnuts

The omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E found in walnuts have a two-fold effect on your hair, with the fatty acids keeping hair hydrated while the vitamin E helps in repairing damaged follicles. The copper content might also play a role in retaining your hair’s natural color.

Avocado

If you needed a reason to eat more guacamole, here it is. The omega-9 fatty acids and oleic acid found in avocados provide major help to your skin in terms of keeping it hydrated, soft, and supple. And avocado oil provides dieters another fat-burning booster with just three tablespoons a day.