It’s hard to think of maple syrup as health food. But this seductive sweetener is a natural energy booster. And maple syrup benefits also include some surprising nutrients. Best of all, maple syrup is considered an aphrodisiac food.
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The aphrodisiac power of maple syrup
When you stop to consider it, it’s easy to appreciate maple syrup’s seductive attributes. Its flavor is far more complex than corn syrup, its color dark, rich and somewhat mysterious. Like honey, it can give the body that quick fix of energy at a key moment but it adds a more distinctive flavor to foods than its golden cousin.
RELATED: Honey – Aphrodisiac and Health Benefits
There’s even something romantic about the way maple syrup is produced. It is the sap of the maple sugar tree. The trees are tapped and the sap is collected then boiled down to make this deep amber syrup. It is truly a simple gift from Mother Nature.
How maple syrup can benefit sexual health
Maple syrup’s attributes are more extensive than its obvious charms. Although it’s loaded with sugar, you can (sort of) say that maple syrup is good for you.
This sweetener is a great source of manganese. Seriously! A serving has more than 100% of the recommended daily intake. And in case you didn’t know, manganese not only fights free radicals but is specifically essential to the health of the reproductive system.
RELATED: Manganese and Health – why your sex drive needs it to thrive
Although arguably too high in sugar to be called a health food, maple syrup is also a source of zinc, a nutrient essential for healthy blood flow (without which, orgasm becomes an impossibility). And it’s worth mentioning that zinc is also important in the prevention of prostate cancer.
Just keep in mind that a 1/3 cup of maple syrup translates to 60 grams of sugar. And excessive use of sugar – even natural sugar like maple syrup – is associated with many health problems including type-2 diabetes and heart disease. And these health problems will also negatively impact sex drive and sexual performance.
One additional word of warning: There is an urban myth that maple syrup will improve orgasm when it is used as sexual lubricant. This is not true and maple syrup should never be used as a sexual lubricant by anyone, ever.
Additional maple syrup benefits to overall health
Maple syrup contains trace amounts of several nutrients to support overall health including calcium, potassium and iron. But more remarkably, it may be a rich source of antioxidants. According to the Canadian Forestry Service, one study on Canadian maple syrup revealed 24 different antioxidants.
As an occasional sweetener, maple syrup’s antioxidants probably don’t offer much benefit. But by replacing table sugar and high fructose corn syrup with maple syrup, you have the potential for reaping some anti-aging benefits while enjoying the sweet taste of nature’s syrupy gift.
A (small) maple syrup health benefit is that this sweetener has a lower glycemic index than table sugar. This means it is less likely to cause a blood sugar spike and crash. (Please keep in mind that too much maple syrup can still spike blood sugar.)
Obviously, the best way to avoid a sugar spike is to reduce sugars altogether but when you’re craving sweet, maple syrup is clearly a superior choice to table sugar.
So is maple syrup good for you? This is tricky to answer. It has some clear benefits to sexual health and overall health. However it must be used in moderation, preferably as a replacement for other sweeteners that are lacking in nutritional benefits like table sugar and artificial sweeteners.
If you have any question about what moderation means for you, please consult a medical professional.
Using maple syrup
If you want to get the most from the benefits of maple syrup, you should start using more of this rich sweetener as a replacement for less nutritious sugars and chemical sweeteners. And before you start adding maple syrup to your cooking, you should know about the grades of maple syrup.
Understanding maple syrup grades
In the United States, maple syrup is divided up into A grade and B grade. There are three different categories of A grade maple syrup. There’s light amber, medium amber and dark amber. Here’s more information on all three ambers as well as info on how the U.S. grading differs from Canadian.
The B grade is darker and has a more pronounced flavor. If you’re going to bake with maple syrup, this is the type you probably want to buy. But for a cocktail like this hot cider cocktail recipe, you’ll probably want an A grade.
Recipes
Homemade Chocolate Almond Creamer
Spicy Sweet Potato & Bean Burgers
Brown Rice Salad with Golden Leeks & Kale
Roasted Winter Squash with Whole Grains
Discover more of the world’s greatest aphrodisiac foods
This article was written in 2011 and most recently updated in January 2022.
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