Your Burning Nutrition Questions, Answered

Adele’s dramatic weight loss secret, whether oysters are really an aphrodisiac and why blueberries can do wonders for your memory.

- Jonny Bowden

Why are oysters considered an aphrodisiac? Is there anything to it?

If you’ve ever wondered why oysters have a reputation as an aphrodisiac – and who hasn’t? – blame it on Italian bon vivant and adventurer Giacomo Casanova (you may have heard of him). Casanova’s notorious biography The Story of My is filled with tales of his legendary exploits with women and was fascinating enough even over 200 years later that it was made into a movie. Casanova claimed to eat 50 oysters for breakfast every day and swore they were the reason for his boundless energy and libido. Hence the origins of the belief that oysters affect libido.

Is there anything to it? Probably not. Oysters are a good source of zinc, which is indeed necessary for a healthy male sperm count. But sperm count has little to do with desire.

In 2005, some interesting research came out showing that there are indeed two weird and unusual amino acids found in oysters that were shown –  ask Dr. jonnyat least in animals – to increase testosterone production. Now, testosterone is indeed a hormone that affects sexual desire in both sexes. But desire is complex, and it depends on many factors and circumstances. My opinion is that any tiny boost in testosterone you might theoretically get from eating a dozen oysters is unlikely to matter much.