Stir your tastebuds with feel good food

There is food that turns you on, that puts your hormones on a roller coaster! HT Style gives you a sneak peek.

The feel good food. Food that makes you feel romantic and passionate and on a high, all at one time. Aphrodisiacs or food with aphrodisiacal qualities are perfect ingredients for an ultimate turn-on.

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They stimulate and intoxicate your senses. Aphrodisiacs get their name from Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of Love. The Chinese and Indians were perhaps the first to develop a passion for determining the aphrodisiacal quality of different foods, and their culinary history is rich with recipes for libido-enhanc- ing powders, salves, and potions. In China, edible aphrodisiacs such as ginger have been often used in dishes.

This Valentine, surprise yourself and your man (or woman) by laying out the perfect passion meal and then wait for the magic to turn on. Even restaurants use most of these ingredients, like strawberries, in their special dishes served on Valentine Day to lovers. We give you a high down on food that serves as aphrodisiacs or passion food:

Walnuts: Throughout the Roman Empire, walnuts were believed to improve fertility. Even now, chefs use walnuts in food they consider 'romantic' or 'aphrodisiacs'.

Onions: Thought to have powerful aphrodisiac qualities by ancient Greeks, Romans, Hindus, Arabs, Egyptian and many other cultures, onions provoke a physiological response. Though there is no real evidence the response is also sexual. One rule of thumb about the roman- tic qualities of onions: never eat them raw before lovemaking. You are certainly going to end up with bad breath! Always have them in a well-cooked dish.

Grapes: Grapes earned a reputation as an aphrodisiac even before wine. They even have a God named after them by the ancient Greeks. And most men know how romantic it is to lie down like a pasha and have a girl feed you grapes. Now you couldn't achieve the same effect with say, green grams.

Oysters: Because of high concentrations of zinc (very unromantic, right?), oysters have high aphrodisiacal quality. Zinc increases the production of testosterone and vaginal lubrication. Eaten raw or cooked, there is no middle ground here; you either like them or you don't.

Sensuous Spices: Ancient Indian folklore states that numerous spices have a few characteristics of an aphrodisiac. Some of them: cloves, garlic, ginger, nutmeg, salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme and vanilla. S

Weet Syrupy Fruits: Like vegetables, folklore says that several fruits have aphrodisiac qualities. Some of them: apples, oranges, cherries, apricots, dates, bananas, pears and peaches.