Chocolate is a well-known aphrodisiac, so they say, but sexual health researchers are beginning to deny the arousal-boosting properties of your favourite chocolate bar, or at least trying to get you to lower your expectations. Apparently, the benefits of chocolate to sexual wellness are vastly over-exaggerated. Sure, chocolate melts in your mouth and contain some chemicals like phenylethylamine, which produce feelings of euphoria, but one widely-cited study has shown that, if you were around nine stone heavy, you’d have to eat 25 pounds of chocolate in one sitting to significantly alter your emotional wellbeing – but who would be in the mood after eating 19.2% of her weight in chocolate?
Chocolate isn’t the only oft-cited aphrodisiac which has turned out somewhat wanting; there are legions of supposed sexual mood-boosters that, when it comes to the scientific evidence, lack the support to show they have any lingering libidinous effects on certain body parts other than your stomach. That is not to say that all the food research news is bad; chilli peppers, for example, have been found to mimic the state of sexual arousal by quickening your pulse, inducing sweating and stimulating the release of endorphins. According to Meryl S. Rosofsky, a doctor and adjunct professor in the department of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, all of these responses play a role in sexual pleasure.
That said, anyone of merit who claims to know what is or is not an aphrodisiac will tell you that the whole thing is very much subjective. As Ruth Westheimer, a sex therapist and author best known as Dr. Ruth, famously put it, ‘the most important sex organ lies between the ears.’ You may find a certain food arousing due to your culture or tradition. The ancient Greeks and Romans and medieval Europeans coveted basil, rosemary, saffron, honey, grapes and pine nuts for their libido-boosting powers, while fancy foods like foie gras, caviar, truffles and Champagne were exalted as romantic gifts because of their rarity and luxury. Then you have foods such as figs, asparagus and cucumbers which are seen as aphrodisiacs because their phallic or yonic properties (i.e. they look like male and female sex organs).
Moreover, the way you eat certain foods could make them considered sensual. As Dr. Rosofsky wrote in an entry on aphrodisiacs in the Encyclopedia of Food and Culture, ‘sharing food from a common platter’ is quite seductive, as is, in the case of oysters, ‘sucking and slurping seductively.’ However, in recent years, the focus of researchers, cooks and practitioners of alternative medicine has been on foods with nutrients that could potentially enhance fertility and virility. Dr. Rosofsky points out that garlic contains an amino acid that enhances blood flow and could augment erections, while zinc – again, found in oysters – has been linked to increased sperm production.
Another interesting way in which foods turn you on is through the power of smell. In her book The Scent of Desire, Rachel S. Herz, an expert in the psychology of smell, writes, ‘Asians consider the smell of cheese to be hideous, yet westerners regard it as anything from comfort food to sumptuous indulgence.’ So different smells are sexually inviting to different people, but the fact remains that smells can be a turn-on. ‘When we smell musky odours, we think of sensuality,’ Herz says. ‘In South America, cleaning products are made with musk, so when a woman smells musk, she is more likely to think of cleaning products than lingerie.’ She adds that this process is called “odour associative learning” or the way in which smells become positively or negatively ingrained in your memory.
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