Balut Aphrodisiac

Balut is a Filipino delicacy mostly described as FDE or fertilized duck egg. It is a fertilized duck egg with a nearly developed embryo inside; that is boiled and eaten in the shell. It is one of Asia’s delicacies for countries like Philippines, China, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The word “balut” probably came from the Malay word “balot” which means wrap, which describes this not so exotic food because you need to eat it from the shell.

Health Benefits

Although balut might not sound appealing if you haven't grown up with it, it does make a nutritious snack, high in protein and calcium. A serving of balut contain 188 calories, including 14 grams each of protein and fat, 2 milligrams of iron and 116 milligrams of calcium. Calories serve as our energy boosters. They help our bodies to work, our cells to live, and internal organs to function. Proteins on the other hand help our body to build and repair tissues. These are important building blocks of most of the important parts of our body like our bones, muscles, skin, blood, and cartilages. Each balut egg also contains Iron, which helps our body’s blood circulation and will make our body last through out the busy day. And last but not the least, calcium. Calcium plays a big role in strengthening our bones and teeth. Calcium also helps protect us from osteoporosis and cancer.

Unfortunately, duck egg is also rich in cholesterol. While chicken egg contains 213 mg of cholesterol, duck egg contains more than 250 mg of cholesterol. That’s a lot if you consider that experts recommend that normal adults ingest no more than 300 mg of dietary cholesterol per day. It’s this very same reason why doctors warn their patients with high-blood pressure to avoid this food as much as possible.

Aphrodisiac Properties

Filipino men regard it as a readily available source of much needed stamina for one hot bout in bed, simply because you can buy it almost anywhere on the streets. Filipinos believe it increases stamina and sex drive. There’s a folk saying that “balut is a cure to a feeble or shaky knee.” The knee represents the body’s energy level and constitution. Perhaps the aphrodisiac effect might be the result of consuming lots of calories, protein, calcium and cholesterol. Of course the claims about its virility boosting potency still remains part of the local lore and no studies regarding its authenticity are being done.