As with many aspects of health -- including a healthy sex life -- what you put in your body makes a big difference. What counts in sex is circuitry -- as in nerves -- and circulation -- as in blood. And if you're overweight -- lose it!

    That's why researchers recommend food high in Omega-3 fatty acids such as mackerel, salmon, wild salmon and chili peppers.

    "Omega-3 makes your nervous system function better," says Dr. Barbara Bartlik, assistant professor of psychiatry and a sex therapist with the Human Sexuality Program at Weill Cornell Medical Center. "Sex is really about circuitry."

    Multivitamins and minerals will help, too. Both improve neurological function, which contributes to good circulation.

    Improved circulation results in greater erectile response.

    To accomplish that, reach for food rich in L-Arginine, such as granola, oatmeal, peanuts, cashews, walnuts, dairy, green vegetables, root vegetables, garlic, ginseng, soybeans, chickpeas and seeds.

    Studies show that L-Arginine is helpful for improving sexual function in men. There haven't been studies done on women -- but remember, erectile response is something both sexes share.

    "Women have erections too: in their clitoris and the tissue surrounding the vulva," says Bartlik.

    It used to be in America a young woman trying to snare a husband was advised: "The best way to a man's heart is through his stomach."

    Dr. John Mulhall, director of the Sexual Medicine Program at New York Presbyterian and associate professor of urology at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University, agrees that what a man puts in his stomach is important, but the heart is the key that opens the door to sexual performance. 

    "From an erection standpoint, anything that's good for your heart is good for your penis," says Dr. Mulhall.

    Too much saturated fat can clog arteries and prevent an adequate flow of blood from reaching the genital region. This not only interferes with the ability to perform, but also with sexual pleasure. Too little fat, on the other hand, is also bad.

    "You need fat to produce your hormones," says Beverly Whipple, professor emerita at Rutgers University and president of the World Association for Sexology. "Cholesterol is metabolized in the liver, and you get your testosterone and estrogen, which you need for your sex drive."

    Whipple says olive oil, salmon and nuts are optimal sources of the "good" kinds of fats -- monounsaturated and polyunsaturated.

    Foods that promote weight loss also hold libido-boosting potential, according to Dr. Ridwan Shabsigh, director of the New York Center for Human Sexuality and associate professor of urology at Columbia University's medical school.

    "There has been very solid research showing that obesity is a risk factor for erectile dysfunction and low testosterone," says Shabsigh. "Reducing weight results in an increase of testosterone, and thus an increase in sexual function."

    As for aphrodisiacs such as rhino horn, bear bile, tapir testicles -- go see Mel Gibson's "Apocalytpo" -- or the bones of tigers, forget it.

    Named for Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of sex and beauty, these include an array of herbs, foods and other "agents" that are said to awaken and heighten sexual desire. But the 5,000-year tradition of using them is based more on folklore than real science.

    "There is no data and no scientific evidence," says Leonore Tiefer, clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine. "Product pushers are very eager to capitalize on myths."

    (Agencies)