Why tofu could be the new viagra

AN UNLIKELY food shunned by millions of men might prove to be nature's viagra - with scientists saying that its ingredients could pep up your love life. What is it?

tofu

IT sounds unlikely, but the world's least sexy food - that vegan favourite tofu - could actually pep up your love life.

Tofu, also called bean curd, is made by coagulating soya milk. While widely regarded as soggy, tasteless and a poor substitute for a steak, scientists believe it may be a surprising aphrodisiac.

So say researchers at the University of California, who trailed a group of red colobus monkeys in Uganda for almost a year. They found that those that eat the leaves of the tropical Millettia dura tree had higher than usual levels of the hormone oestrogen.

The oestrogenic compounds in the tree - a close relative of the soy plant - led to a rise in sexual activity and more frequent mating.

The scientists now plan to extend their research to the soy plant to see if tofu could be just the thing to get your pulse racing.

Might this be the ultimate reason to turn vegan?

Other foods that kick-tart your libido include asparagus, almonds and cardamon. See more here