Our diets are a huge part of our life. Diets rich in processed foods including excess sugar and poor fats will not only make one gain weight, which will affect their overall confidence and self esteem, but will have a negative impact on their overall mood and energy level due to poor glucose control and hormone levels resulting in crashes throughout the day. A healthy diet consisting of lean all natural proteins, the proper fats, and plenty of fruits and vegetables will keep us at our proper weight, help us maintain our energy level by having balanced glucose and hormone levels, and have a positive impact on our mood. In addition to this, a poor diet not only leads to obesity but is often a precursor to diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems, thyroid problems, and even cancer.
Food impacts our relationships (love life) in many ways. The first thing to consider is if your spouse/ partner has any particular food related health issues. For instance, if you or your significant other are gluten intolerant, then you must go to restaurants that have a gluten free menu or the person could risk getting sick. You also would be sharing a pantry together and cooking meals together and the partner without the problem has to be cognizant of this or the one with the problem will feel uncomfortable. That feeling of being uncomfortable could show you don’t care and have a very negative impact on the relationship. This is not only true with gluten but also high blood pressure, diabetes, food allergies, or even just a weight problem.
Then you also have to consider that foods also affect our moods. This is done by effecting what we call our sex hormones: testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone. If these hormones are out of balance it causes depression, irritability, hypersensitivity, and low sex drive. These symptoms would obviously have a very negative effect on any relationship.
If these hormones are not in balance and we are acting with the above traits, it directly effects our actions and prevents us from being a fun partner. That will have a negative impact on the partner who is in balance, putting a severe strain on the relationship. Also if the hormonal imbalance is lowering your sex drive it has a negative effect on a relationship. Nobody wants to hear they are very nice but not good in the bedroom.
So if you are having no love luck it very well could be what you are eating is affecting your mood and nobody wants to be with someone in a “bad” mood most of the time.
(In response to specific foods I separated it by gender)
For men: Tofu, edamame, soy beans, flax seeds, whole wheat, barley, oats, rye, and prunes lower testosterone levels and have a negative impact on their love life. Lean meats, beans, yogurt, milk, cheese, shitake mushrooms, mackerel, sockeye salmon, olives and olive oil, raw pecans, and avocado increase testosterone levels which will positively impact one’s love life.
For women: Foods dense in sugar like sodas, cookies, and cakes, or high in simple carbohydrates like pasta or French fries, or high in fats like gravies, sauces, bacon, and butter have a negative impact on progesterone production, which leads to estrogen dominance (too much) which leads to mood swings, irritability, depression, and loss of sex drive which will negatively impact your love life. Lean beef, pork, poultry, fish, eggs, walnuts, sunflower seeds, avocado, banana, spinach, and tomatoes aid in progesterone production, lower estrogen dominance, and helps one’s mood and sex drive which has a very positive effect on one’s love life.
If you look at the food in common with both genders that lead to good relationships and good health they are lean beef, pork, poultry, fish, avocado, as well as most fruits and vegetables. So eat healthy, have a great love life, and reduce health risks while doing it.
This is a preview to an article that will be published in 36 of Sun Media’s newspapers this week.
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