Monday, May 4, 2009

Greek Yogurt with Honey and Walnuts

According to the Global Sex Survey done by Durex, a British condom maker, every year, Greece has ranked No. 1 as the most sexually active nation in the past few years. My husband, whose native country is Greece, said, “This might not be accurate because Greek men are more likely to exaggerate how macho they are.” He may be right. It is difficult to tell this survey is correct since the questions are so intimate and it is impossible to verify the results are true.

It is said that this simplest Greek dessert, Greek yogurt with honey and walnuts, is an aphrodisiac. Couples eat this sweet before going to bed. Is this dessert really an aphrodisiac?

Surprisingly, yogurt, honey and walnuts contain high amounts of “fertility vitamins”, such as vitamins C, E, essential fatty acids (EFA), and zinc.

As stated by Bell Online:
Vitamins C, E and EFA are important for women.
Vitamin C “helps to protect cells and strengthen the immune system.“
Vitamin E may increase egg quality. “
EFA can help the health of your reproductive system, insulin levels, heart and brain.”

For men, Vitamins C, E and zinc are essential.
Vitamin C has been shown to reduce DNA damage in sperm by 91%. It is also shown to reduce agglutination and abnormalities.”
“Studies show that vitamin E can increase sperm potency by 2 ½ times.“
“Even a mild zinc deficiency can cause drastically lower sperm counts. Zinc may also improve sexual function.”

Yogurt is rich in zinc. Walnuts are high in EFA and also they contain some good amounts of vitamin E. Honey is an excellent source of vitamin C. Some vegetables and fruits are high in vitamin C. However, after harvest, they rapidly loose their vitamin C potency. As compared with these vegetables and fruit, honey keeps its vitamin C well.

So, is Greek yogurt with honey and walnuts an aphrodisiac? Honey is rich in tyrosine, which helps reduce stress. Eating this simple, yet, extremely healthy dessert may help relax. As result, people may feel intimate with their partners and this may be consistent with the results of the Global Sex Survey.
Greek Yogurt with Honey and Walnuts Recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup Greek yogurt
¼ cup walnuts
3-5 tbsp honey

Directions:
Place the Greek yogurt in a bowl. Add the walnuts and honey. That’s it. Enjoy it!

5 comments:

  1. Please do a more thorough fact check. Honey is not rich in vitamin C. It contains trace amounts of it. 0.5 mg is less than 1% of the daily dose recommended by the USDA. And having a single wrong fact like that throws all the others into question.

    A quick wikipedia search for each ingredient will yield you basic averaged nutritional information. While it won't be exact, because the nutrition in food varies, it will be close enough.

    Individual batches of honey may have more or less vitamin C, depending on the flowers that were the source of the nectar, however they will still hardly be "rich in vitamin C".

    http://en.wikipedia.com/wiki/Honey#Nutrition

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  2. Factual errors aside, my girlfriend and I love this recipe. Thanks for posting it!

    And sorry about the tone of my previous comment. Factual errors like that are a pet peeve of mine. I sometimes let my annoyance at finding them get the better of me.

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  3. Dear Daniel,

    Thank you very much for your comment. I am always happy to receive comments and valuable feedback about my postings.

    Please note that I am not a nutritionist or a professional cook. I am just a regular person who has a passion for natural and healthy eating, cooking and learning anything related to healthy living. One of the purposes of this blog is to collect and publish useful ideas, tips and facts about healthy and enjoyable cooking and diets from books, the Web and food experts. I do that so I can go back anytime to remind myself of healthy eating and, at the same time, assist others who may have similar interests with me.

    Now, regarding the issue of vitamin C in honey, as you mentioned, some honey but not all, may indeed contain less than 1% of the daily vitamin C dose recommended by the USDA. However, I found multiple statements that “honey is rich in vitamin C” in both English and Japanese sources. The following links are just some of them:

    http://www.honeybeepollen.com/IncredibleHoney.html
    http://www.amazing-green-tea.com/honey-nutrition.html

    The above sources describe some well-documented scientific studies run by world-renowned experts (professors in reputable US universities) in this field. These studies indeed emphasize the strong relationship of honey and vitamin C.

    Perhaps, the fact that honey keeps its vitamin C content for a long period of time compared to vegetables and fruits is the reason why independent sources on this subject conclude that “honey is rich in vitamin C”. Indeed, a container with orange juice, which contains 100% of vitamin C, looses its vitamin C content at a very rapid rate right just after it is sealed off! You may want to know that I still vividly recall a chemistry experiment in high school which had shocked me very much regarding how quickly orange juice lost its potency of vitamin C soon after we had opened the container. Since then I have been very conscious about oxidization and freshness of food products.

    In addition, I always eat raw (unprocessed) honey, which I purchase from a local farmer here in Louisiana. Raw honey contains lots of bee pollen and since it is not processed, I bet it maintains lots of its vitamin content too (and not only on vitamin C). I do not know how much this particular raw honey contains bee pollen and vitamins, but bee pollen is an excellent source of vitamin C. Another factor might also be the specific flowers the bees visited to harvest the pollen and perhaps even the time of the year.

    I hope the above have clarified the situation and enhanced your appreciation of that simple and nice desert I posted on yogurt, honey and walnuts even more!

    I am glad to know that some people, who are really health conscious and serious foodies read my blog. As they say, “we are what we eat” :)

    Again, thank you very much for your comment and please feel free to inquiry about any other issue I may be help for.

    Yours, -- Jupoigirl

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