Move over sex toys and tantric art, a glass or two of red wine are more than enough to increase a woman`s libido, say researchers.
As for the reason, Italian
doctors, who carried out the study, claim that chemical compounds found in red wine may boost sexual functioning by increasing blood flow to key areas of the body, a news daily reported.
To reach the conclusion, doctors at the University of Florence recruited 800 women aged 18 to 50. None of the women had ever reported a sexual health problem.
The volunteers were split into three groups - those who regularly consumed one or two glasses of red wine a day, those who consumed less than one glass a day of any sort of wine or other alcohol, and those who were teetotal.
In order to avoid the possible confounding effects of drunkenness, females who drank more than two glasses a day were excluded from the study.
The participants finished a questionnaire, the Female Sexual Function Index. It included 19 questions with a total score range between two and 36, with higher scores meaning better functioning.
Overall the red wine drinkers scored an average of 27.3 points, compared to 25.9 for the less-frequent tipplers and 24.4 for the non-drinkers.
From analysis, it was found that levels of sexual desire were higher in women who were moderate drinkers of red wine than in their counterparts who preferred other alcoholic drinks, or were teetotal.
The researchers said, "While this finding needs to be interpreted with some caution, it nevertheless suggests a potential relationship between red wine consumption and better sexuality."
The study has been published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine.
