CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?

If you’re trying for a baby, eat fish

There have been rumours since Roman times that eating fish increases sexual excitement in women – so a US study set out to see if it’s true, and why.

The study found not only that fish excites women sexually, it excites men in the same way.

Scientists in Boston, US, feared the toxins that can accumulate in fish could harm the chances of conception in fish eaters.

Surprise, surprise! On examining 500 couples who were trying to conceive they found quite the reverse: those who regularly ate seafood became pregnant significantly quicker.

Most of the effect seemed to be explained not by the positive effects on health of eating fish, but by the effects on sexual desire.

The findings are extraordinary. Men who ate more than nine servings of fish a month had 22% more sex compared with those who had less than two servings.

On a day when both members of a couple ate fish, the odds of them having sex increased by 39%.

Audrey Gaskins, who led the study, suggested that fatty acids in fish lowered the risk of fertility problems such as erectile dysfunction.

But her other explanation is interesting too.

Such couples share more meals and hence have more sex, she said. If you’re sitting down together for a plate of oysters, you could be seeing it as foreplay.