Chocolate - An Aphrodisiac or Better Than Sex?
The saying may go, "The way to a man's heart is through his
stomach", but what about women? It is a long standing tradition
to present a woman with a box of chocolate as a romantic
gesture. Is it simply because women love chocolate or does the
root of this tradition go deeper? Curiosity led me to do some
research on the subject and here is what I found.
First of all I wanted to know if chocolate was truly an
aphrodisiac. An aphrodisiac is reputed to "put you in the mood
for love" and the name comes from the Greek goddess of love
Aphrodite. It is possible that the aphrodisiacal qualities come
from our own mindset and expectations. First of all, we get a
certain amount of pleasure from consuming chocolate. For one,
the melting point of chocolate is slightly below human body
temperature so it melts in your mouth. That in itself is a
stimulating experience but what about the substances found in
chocolate? And what are the roots of chocolate as an aphrodisiac
in history? I found a lot of useful information but as you would
expect, I found conflicting arguments on whether or not it is an
aphrodisiac, so I decided to come to my own conclusion and I
urge you to do the same.
One report said that the Aztecs considered all chocolate an
aphrodisiac. Because of this, all foods made with chocolate were
strictly forbidden to women. However, another report stated that
the Aztecs and Mayans were the first to recognize the potency of
this food, celebrating the harvest with festivals of wild
orgies. I guess both could be true (and may be) but it seems to
me that if they were having wild orgies, they would want
the women to eat it. I don't know, that's just my opinion, but
in either case, the Aztecs apparently considered it an
aphrodisiac.
There are people throughout history who also believed in the
stimulating qualities of chocolate. In 1624 Johan Franciscus
Rauch, a professor in Vienna, condemned chocolate as an inflamer
of passions and urged monks not to drink it as he wanted to ban
it in the monasteries. It is said that Madame du Barry,
courtesan and mistress of Louis XV, always served her lovers a
cup of chocolat before they were let in to her bedroom, and that
the great lover and alchemist Casanova, who drank his cioccolata
at Cafe Florian in Venice, considered chocolate more stimulating
than champagne and called it the "elixir of love". Montezuma
supposedly drank a cup of chocolate before entering his harem.
Ok, I am convinced that people in history have found chocolate
to be an aphrodisiac, but why? Chocolate contains
phenylethylamine, a naturally occurring amino-acid which some
consider to have aphrodisiacal effects and is even said to be
able to "cure" hangovers. Phenylethylamine is a substance which
is released naturally in the human body when you're in love.
Other stimulants present in chocolate are dopamine and
serotonin, which alleviate pain and encourage a good mood.
Serotonin produces feelings of pleasure in a similar way to
sunlight. Chocolate also contains theobromine, a chemical
stimulant frequently confused with caffeine, but has very
different effects on the human body. It is a mild, lasting
stimulant with a mood improving effect. Its presence is one of
the causes for chocolate's mood-elevating effects. (Note - In
chocolate, theobromine exists in doses that are safe for humans
to consume in large quantities, but can be lethal for animals
such as dogs and horses, as they metabolize theobromine more
slowly.)
Wow, no wonder I love it so much! What more does a person need
than a mood elevating, stimulating, pleasurable, not to mention,
great tasting, experience? I must mention, however, that some
sources state that there is no evidence of chocolate having a
true aphrodisiac effect. My opinion, who cares? With all that
happening, if it doesn't put you in the mood, it won't take much
encouragement to get you there. Excuse me, I seem to be craving
some chocolate......