Instructions: If you like doing what comes naturally the way Mother Nature intended, head out to your back yard and pluck some figs or pine nuts. Certain mythic edibles have always been imbued with heart-pounding qualities (read sexual desire).

Another theory, advanced by Pliny the Elder, a Roman nobleman and historian, was the idea of "looks like, therefore it must be good for ..." The theory was simple, if a food looked like a body part involved in amorous behavior, then it must be good for that body part. Welcome figs and oysters (for women), asparagus and bananas (for men) to the list of foods that intensify love.

Here are more foods believed to intensify ones appetite for love:

Aniseed: Popular since the Greeks and the Romans. Sucking on the seeds is said to increase desire.

Almond: The aroma is thought to induce passion in a female.

Apricots: Traditionally eaten by Chinese brides to increase fertility.

Avocado: Aztecs thought the fruit hanging in pairs on the tree resembled ... well, you know.

Chocolate: The Aztecs called chocolate "nourishment of the Gods," but chocolate has more practical explanations. It contains chemicals thought to stimulate neurotransmitters in the brain.

Carrots: Used by early Middle Eastern royalty to aid seduction.

Chilies: With a large amount of vitamin C, red, green and cayenne pepper chilies stimulate circulation, which aids in lovemaking.

Coriander: The book of The Arabian nights tells of a merchant who had been childless for 40 years but was cured by a concoction that included coriander.

Garlic: The "heat" in garlic is said to stir desire.

Pine nuts: Zinc is a mineral necessary for male potency and pine nuts are rich in zinc. Used as aphrodisiacs as far back as Medieval times.

Pineapple: Rich in vitamin C and is used in the homeopathic treatment for impotence.

Truffles: This rare and expensive fungus is said to stimulate and sensitize the skin to touch.

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