Aphrodisiac Foods and Customs
Aphrodisiac Foods and Customs
In northern Han Chinese folk traditions, there is a charming wedding custom called “Scattering Walnuts and Dates.” During the wedding ceremony, after the bride and groom bow to heaven and earth, the maternal aunt carries a tray filled with walnuts and red dates. As she scatters them onto the bed, she sings the “Song of Scattering Walnuts and Dates”: “Double walnuts, double dates, sons bright, daughters clever; Double dates, double walnuts, sons outstanding, daughters graceful.” The meaning behind this chant is that walnuts, hard-shelled and delicious, symbolize strong and capable offspring, while dates sound like “early children,” symbolizing early conception of precious offspring. Local customs strictly stipulate that only the bride and groom may eat the scattered walnuts and dates—no one else is allowed to take them.
Indeed, both walnuts and red dates are aphrodisiac foods. Walnuts are sweet in taste, neutral in nature, and warm. They contain protein, vitamins (A, B1, B2, C, E), calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, zinc, and other nutrients beneficial for sexual function. They help strengthen the kidneys, replenish blood, benefit the stomach, and moisten the lungs. They are used for kidney deficiency-related lower back pain, impotence, premature ejaculation, frequent urination, and female menstrual disorders or leukorrhea. Red dates (dried jujubes) are sweet in taste and neutral in nature. They contain protein, sugar, mucilage, vitamins (A, B1, B2, C), calcium, phosphorus, iron, and other nutrients beneficial for sexual function. Red dates have aphrodisiac properties. Women with qi deficiency and kidney weakness who regularly eat red dates can enhance their libido.
Another common folk tradition in China is eating fried eggs before the wedding dinner. Frequent sexual activity during new marriages leads to high physical exhaustion, and eating eggs helps restore stamina. Eggs are sweet in taste and neutral in nature. They contain protein, fat, various vitamins, zinc, calcium, phosphorus, and iron. They nourish the heart and calm the spirit, replenish blood, and moisturize dryness. Egg yolks contain five times more zinc than egg whites, helping to tonify the middle energizer, nourish the kidneys, and enrich yin. Zinc is essential for sexual maturity.
Besides China’s recognition of eggs as a powerful aphrodisiac, foreign cultures also acknowledge this: Indians advocate that couples consume rice porridge made from eggs, milk, and honey before sex. Arabs traditionally eat scallion-fried eggs in the days leading up to their wedding to ensure a satisfying first night. Since scallions aid normal secretion of sex hormones, scallion-fried eggs as an aphrodisiac have scientific basis.
In Europe, French people commonly enjoy chocolate soup with celery, while Spaniards regard chocolate as a food that stimulates sensuality. Chocolate’s energy and stimulating compounds enhance metabolism. Due to its chemical compound PEA (phenylethylamine), it stimulates the brain’s pleasure centers.
Even in ancient Rome, people discovered fish—especially shark meat—as an ideal food for enhancing libido, long regarded as a sexual catalyst. Modern medicine confirms that loaches have the ability to nourish the kidneys and generate sperm, due to a substance called “riverlock protein” in their flesh, which promotes sperm formation.