Q Does exercise improve your sex life? if so, how, and is it really true that there are aphrodisiac foods that make a difference? G Kennedy, email

DR DAN RUTHERFORD WRITES:

Regular exercise improves mental as well as physical health, both of which have a direct bearing on one’s interest in and ability to enjoy sex. The boost of endorphins in the brain that accompanies exercise is followed up by an increased sense of wellbeing and self-esteem that accompanies taking regular exercise. People who feel unhappy with themselves, with their body, fitness level or whose mood is low for other reasons, usually find that their libido mirrors their general feelings.

Reversing that trend doesn’t require you to try to become an elite athlete. Modest regular activity such as a 20-minute walk five times a week will produce noticeable benefits. Remember, of course, that one’s partner’s needs are the same.

The search for natural aphrodisiacs has occupied man (and woman) for thousands of years and if anything worked well we would all know about it already. Chocolate has the reputation of being able to boost our brain chemistry in the right direction. A small amount of alcohol reduces one’s inhibitions. Oysters, basil, figs and a host of foods are supposed to have some effect. I guess the best thing to do is find out what works for you by experimentation. May you enjoy your research.

SARA STANNER WRITES:

Although some people vouch for the effect of certain foods on their sex drive – oysters, chocolate, bananas, avocado, nuts, ginger and olives – claims for the aphrodisiac properties of specific foods or supplements are not supported by scientific studies. However, a healthy diet is important for good nerve function, hormone production and blood flow – all of which are essential for a healthy sex life.

To keep these systems in working order, your diet should be based on starchy carbohydrates, contain plenty of fruit and vegetables and moderate amounts of low-fat dairy products and protein-containing foods. The antioxidants vitamin C and vitamin E are important because they help to strengthen blood vessel walls.

A high intake of saturated fat will elevate blood cholesterol levels and cause a build-up of atherosclerotic fatty plaques on the blood vessel walls. this can restrict blood circulation and impair performance.

Fatigue and depression are common culprits in sexual problems. these can be linked to nutritional deficiencies such as iron deficiency anaemia. Meat, fish, fortified breakfast cereals, nuts, seeds, leafy green vegetables and dried fruit will replenish the body’s iron stores.

Eating a Mediterranean-style diet, reducing calorie intake and increasing physical activity have been found to improve sexual function in people with conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

Avoiding an excess of alcohol, which reduces libido, and quitting cigarettes, which constricts blood vessels, may also help.

TONY GALLAGHER WRITES:

It is generally felt that an overall healthy lifestyle will translate to a healthy sex life. As part of this lifestyle, regular exercise can only improve one’s experience.

Working out regularly will do a lot to encourage and improve your sexual technique, flexibility and endurance. for example, in a Harvard study of 160 female and male swimmers, those in their sixties reported sex lives that were comparable to those in their forties by managing considerable improvements in their endurance.

Exercise increases the blood flow, thereby increasing desire and function. Since exercise produces opiate-like endorphins, making you feel energised and looking better, this leads to better sex and helps prevent erectile dysfunction. Cardiovascular exercise helps by improving circulation and blood flow.

Weightlifting causes the body to produce testosterone, which is the primary precursor for male sex drive. Overtraining can have the opposite effect, however, so balance is the key.

Muscle-building exercises such as push-ups, sit-ups and crunches strengthen the shoulders, chest and abs, with obvious benefits.

Not such an obvious exercise, perhaps, is to contract and relax the Kegel muscles that form part of the pelvic floor area. this can improve control for both men and women.

If you are not inclined to go down the fitness road for improvement in your sex life, then you will be encouraged by the fact that many experts believe that feeling sexy and self-confident is simply a state of mind. So forget about work worries, unwind and do whatever it takes to relax.

SECOND OPINION Dr James Le Fanu

Gut feeling rewards readers

Over the years, Sunday Telegraph readers have made useful contributions to medical science, including the evidence for a highly effective treatment for chronic diarrhoea.

A decade ago, I described a case of a woman who, following a major stomach operation, had endured “40 years of misery” – diarrhoea up to six times a day, resistant to every remedy. Her doctor prescribed cholestyramine, which “mops up” excess bile acids secreted by the gall bladder into the gut – and her bowels normalised.

Nine readers similarly afflicted wrote to say how they had visited their doctor, clutching my article, leading to their taking cholestyramine with equally felicitous results.

Four of them had had abdominal surgery or their gall bladder removed – both of which can increase the amount of bile salts in the gut – this accounts for their improvement with cholestyramine. but four had not, their symptoms being attributed to irritable bowel syndrome or inflammation of the colon. I suggested in a letter to the British Medical Journal that doctors, before labelling their patients, should give them a trial of cholestyramine.

Ten years on, gut specialist Saad Habba of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in new York has just reported his findings from investigating 300 patients previously diagnosed as having “diarrhoea predominant irritable bowel syndrome”. He found a treatable cause in nearly all, including carbohydrate intolerance, coeliac disease and, in nearly half, scans revealed some malfunction of the gall bladder – 98 per cent of whom responded to cholestyramine.

The implications are obvious enough and it is good to think that, as a decade ago, more readers might similarly find their lives transformed for the better.