Weirdest Foods to Boost Your Sex Drive

When it comes to libido-boosting foods, you can always expect to find dark chocolate, wine, and oysters topping the list of aphrodisiacs. But if you’re only nibbling your Hershey Bar, you’re just getting warmed up. There’s a whole world of exotic/weird/kind of gross food out there that, if you have the stomach for them, they may just put your love life in overdrive.

Tiger Penis Soup

From Korea to Cambodia, many have long indulged in this delicacy. The penis of a tiger, usually dried and consumed orally, in soup or straight up, is said to increase virility to levels that defy reason. This is an especially controversial aphrodisiac however, because of the enormous demand and there’s only so much tiger to go around. The white tiger, which is supposed to be best for this purpose, has been put on the endangered species list thanks, in big part, to growing demand for its genitals.

Fugu

The sea offers a bounty of strangely arousing aphrodisiacs. One of the weirdest is also one of the deadliest sea creatures known as the blowfish or fugu as it is heralded by Japanese chefs who must be specially licensed to prepare and serve this potentially-deadly delicacy.

Wild fugu contains Tetrodotoxin (a toxin more lethal than cyanide) in its little fishy organs, and if trace amounts of this compound are consumed it causes a distinct tingling in the body, particularly in the extremities. It is this sensation that has made fugu a purported aphrodisiac, despite the fact that if the chef is having a bad day, there’s a good chance you won’t live long enough to enjoy those tingles.

Toad Venom

Another high risk aphrodisiac that has killed those foolish or desperate enough to try it, Love Stone or Black Stone originated in the West Indies and is made from dried toad venom.

Fatal if ingested, this highly toxic compound is thought to ensure a heart stopping performance for any man; unfortunately it often just stops the man’s heart.

Durian Fruit

Would you be willing to try an aphrodisiac that is supposed to be pretty powerful yet smells and tastes like an old gym sock?  Well, that’s the reputation of the durian fruit, a fruit so pungent that it has been banned from hotels and buses in southeast Asia where it grows.

Its odor has been described as being akin “…to pig manure, turpentine and onions garnished with a gym sock.” The Javanese however,  believe the durian has major aphrodisiac qualities, and imposes a set of rules on what may or may not be consumed with it or shortly thereafter. A saying in Indonesian, durian jatuh sarung naik, meaning “the durians fall and the sarongs come up”, refers to this belief.

Bois Bande

Made from the bark of the Richeria grandis tree in the Windward isles of the Caribbean, Bois Bande is considered to be so potent an aphrodisiac that it is believed to cause priapism, a often painful state of male arousal.  Maybe that’s how this potion got its name–”Bois Bande” means “Hard Wood”.

The bark is usually tossed into wine or rum with other herbs and allowed to mellow for several weeks before being consumed. It’s rumored that Bois Bande’s chemical properties were the basis for the research on Viagra, Levitra and Cialis.

Asses’ Milk

Though the name has a lot to be desired, asses’ milk was a renowned aphrodisiac for ancient Arabs and Romans. Legend has it that when men applied this on their penis, ”the virile member would become ‘uncommonly strong and vigorous’”. Women who rubbed the milk on their genitals also felt stimulated by its effects. Supposedly the wife of Nero bathed in the milk twice a day.

Balut

Balut is a popular Asian dish served with love in mind. However, it’s totally not for the faint of heart! Balut is a fertilized duck (or chicken) egg with a nearly-developed embryo inside.

The egg is boiled and served nestled within its broken outer shell. This dish is said to have Viagra-like properties so it is of particular interest to men. Supposedly its effects are so potent that once the fetus or embryo is consumed, the stimulation is thought to begin.

Spanish Fly

Some people will do anything for love—even ingest a potentially lethal substance that makes the privates swell up, itch, and secrete a bloody discharge. Ingesting Spanish fly is a famously historic way to stimulate the libido–its use as an aphrodisiac goes all the way back to the ancient Roman world.

The Spanish fly, actually a beetle, would be crushed and eaten for a substance it produces called cantharidin. Humans dispel this substance through urine which is how it comes to irritate the genitals. Of course, Spanish fly enthusiasts are lucky if all they get is an itch. A moderate dose can lead to death by causing fever, convulsions, and seizures.

Caterpillar Fungus

Caterpillar fungus has been revered in the east as an aphrodisiac extraordinaire. This most extraordinary fungus is a parasite of sorts–it invades the brains of caterpillar larva and grows there eventually replacing native tissue with its own. One can wonder how its aphrodisiac properties were discovered, but this mushroom has been a popular libido-booster for centuries.

Phillipine Cobra

The Philippine Cobra, or as it’s called locally “ulupong”, is one of the most venomous and dangerous snakes in the world killing hundreds annually. But even if this reptile is very dangerous, their population has decreased dramatically due to extensive snake hunting for their meat which is believed to be a very strong aphrodisiac. The snake’s meat is usually cooked adobo style but preparation of this recipe is very sensitive and delicate due to the toxicity of its venom. It’s advised that only an expert should prepare it.