The key to bedroom stamina might not be what you think.

Sadoya Peynado lays it all out in Sex, You and Food, a book that she promises can help boost, or slow down a person’s libido.

She wrote it because she got tired of listening to men “brag about their sexuality and their performance”.

“You know, they've got all this stamina, but where is the stamina coming from? They don't tend to eat properly to measure up to the stamina that they’re bragging about,” she said.

“And naturally, if you can eat [healthy] food it serves all your body, not just your genitals. So it's a catchy way to encourage people to eat better because it’s the very same food they need for any other purpose.”

Eat For A Stronger Libido: Sex, You and Food is based on “research, testimonies and personal trials”.

Ms Peynado, a teacher who also studied nursing, says that although she is not a dietitian, the recipes and tips are “effective”.

“There are several well-balanced smoothies, juices, desserts, meals and food suggestions to increase stamina and longevity for optimal sex.

“There are also several fun facts throughout the book for deeper understanding. Be reminded that eating right and exercise is important for sexual health, but there is nothing sexier than confidence.”

The book was two years in the making. Her hopes is to encourage people to eat better not just for sex but for their general wellbeing.

“You’re thinking about having sex but you’re forgetting about replenishing your body,” the author said. “So it's just to encourage people to take the next step towards health; to nourish the body so you can serve.

“Make food your medicine before medicine becomes your food.”

The book is the third in a series that shows the link between diet and sexual performance.

Apart from the recipes it includes food suggestions and erotic poetry. Ms Peynado sells the turmeric, maca powder and other spices she lists in her book as being helpful for good health.

“It also includes sexual facts that you could use to educate yourself. For example, I have a section in here for menopausal people.

“Another section talks about how when you smoke marijuana it retards your sexual health.

“There is a section that addresses vaginal smell, vaginal taste, vaginal tightening; what food produces that strong erection quality, what food you eat that increases sperm mobility.”

Both age and having a poor diet will impact sexual health, Ms Peynado said. To compensate, many people turn to store-bought products that don’t necessarily work.

“Especially in the Caribbean they have these products – the ginseng juice and all of this stuff – which have got a lot of chemicals.

“You have Viagra and all this other stuff that give them a quick fix, but if they were to just eat better it would help with long-term repair. [The book is] kind of a manipulative way to encourage people to eat healthy to be very honest.

“We’re all ageing. The reality is your body, your health deteriorates. I’m 43 and I hear the complaints from older men and women come in.

“Had they taken care of their health along the way they’d have less to complain about.

“Sure, there’s a natural deterioration of the body – the wear and tear because we’re all human – but you could have picked up a lot just by maintaining a certain way of eating.”

She has had “a lot of good feedback” from all three of her books.

The first talked about aphrodisiacs for sexual enhancement; the second focused on foods that slow the libido down.

“People ask me what's the purpose of avoiding sexual enhancement. For example, if you had surgery and you don't want your body to be too active, then you eat food that slows down your sexual drive.

“If you have a teenage child who was more active, you slow them down because they don't really know what's going on in the real world.

“So people have reasons to slow down their sexual libido. And what I did was I combined both of my past books to make the current book.”

The books are the first she has ever published, although she had previously written a collection of “intimate poetry”.

“I don't think I'm so much of a writer-writer. I think I'm more of a person with ideas, creative ideas that I want to put out there [although] currently I'm in the process of writing a novel.”

Eat For A Stronger Libido: Sex, You and Food is available on Amazon and in Brown & Co. Copies are also available directly from Sadoya Peynado: 735-1979; sexyoufood@yahoo.com; acceptit2014@gmail.com