Close Relationship between Love, Sex, and Food

There is a very close relationship between love, sex, and food. It's hard to feel romantic if you're starving. On the other hand, when you first meet someone and are completely infatuated, often you lose your sense of hunger.

Our bodies produce a chemical stimulant, phenylethylamine (PEA) as well as norepinephrine. They make our bodies feel alert, alive, giddy, excited—and many of us lose our appetite. The human need for food and sex are basic, part of the foundation of our nature, which makes it sensible that they are so closely knit together.

Let’s start with this basic fact: How you think about food and how you think about sex are inextricably linked—and that’s because they both have to do with pleasure. And guess what?

The pleasure link begins, not surprisingly, in your formative teenage years:

When girls are in their early teens, they start picking up on cultural cues that say they should be dieting, even though they already associate food with pleasure since they’ve been eating for their whole lives .

At the same time, young women also start becoming aware of the body’s ability for pleasure—but there can be a lot of shame around experiencing that physical pleasure for the first time.

So what happens is that the mixed messages around pleasure and shame become linked from an early age.

Another way to look at it is that when you eat, you're using many of your senses. Obviously, you are using taste, but also sight, smell, and touch. These sensations are the same ones used during sex. And, if you feed your lover, sensually, these sensations might be heightened.

You can also eat certain things to increase your feeling of wellbeing or increase your sex drive. Some foods you just have to smell or see to think about sex, according to some researchers. Here are a few to consider:

Chocolate has long been thought to be an aphrodisiac—in the 1600s, it was considered such a powerful one that religious leaders banned monks and nuns from consuming any! It contains the chemical PEA, which creates a rush or feeling of euphoria.

 PEA causes the release of dopamine, which is the same chemical that is released during all sorts of "highs"—including orgasms, gambling, and drug use.

 Dark chocolate contains the most. Other foods that also increase PEA are apples, avocados, tomatoes, almonds, and cheddar cheese.

While we're on the topic, the mere scent of almonds is supposed to increase women's sex drive—with the added bonus of potentially improving heart health.

Some foods might be considered sexy because they are make us think erotic thoughts.

Asparagus and avocados resemble certain male attributes, so they might be an indirect way to make your lover think of sex.

Banana flowers have a rather phallic shape, which might be why some people consider them aphrodisiacs. Bananas themselves are thought to be important for sex hormone production because they contain high levels of potassium and B vitamins.

Let's not forget spices. Ginger and ginseng increase circulation—ginseng in particular is thought to increase libido by exciting the central nervous system.

Cinnamon and nutmeg are also rumoured to stimulate sexual feelings.

And, since we're talking spices, this might be a good time to mention that some additives are supposed to improve the taste of semen—cardamom, peppermint, lemon, and pineapple, for example, while garlic and onions are thought to cause it to taste unpleasant.

If you're planning a romantic evening, you might try to find on a good bottle of wine with the hopes that it will make your lover (and you!) more relaxed.

Drinking wine in moderation might serve that purpose well, but drinking too much can be problematic.

Aside from the commonly discussed results, such as not remembering one's behavior, or not being able to sexually feel much (if anything), excessive alcohol consumption can decrease women's DHEA, which is related to sex drive.

In men, it decreases testosterone, which is the backbone to male sex drive, and can make vasopressin plummet, meaning it might be difficult to achieve an erection. Even touching your lover can lose its magic because alcohol reduces oxytocin, so the sense of touch is not as sensitive.

Then there's using food for play—whipped cream, honey, jello and all the usual ones to consider. After hearing some very humorous and sticky stories from girlfriends, I'll pause here to remind you to examine expiration dates, and to think beforehand about clean-up issues.

Food, love, and sex have a long history, and one that is rooted in our biology. If you're thinking of a romantic gift for a lover, why buy just the usual box of chocolates? Instead you could make an "aphrodisiac basket," or make a meal that incorporates many of the foods mentioned.

Disclaimer: The information on this POST is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional advice. The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this article is for general information purposes / educational purposes only, and to ensure discussion or debate. 

Thank you …..Ever noticed how your mood directs your food? When you feel a certain way, you reach for foods you wouldn’t normally eat. If you’re sad, or feeling lonely, do you wolf down that slab of chocolate? Or perhaps the oily chips really do seem to be crooning your name, and it’s not just Bridget Jones who eats tubs of ice cream after a breakup.

Emotional eating is as mainstream as the iPhone/Android.

 Sometimes we seem to be feeding our feelings rather than our bodies. Many human behaviors’ are driven by unconscious emotions. And the food we eat is an important example of this.

Psychological and physiological factors affect what we choose to put into our bodies and dictate the relationship we have between food and emotion.

We need fuel in the form of food to survive, but there are absolutely some foods that are only eaten in very specific circumstances.

Let’s take coffee–how many people can’t function unless they’ve had their shot of caffeine first thing in the morning?

Or what about alcohol?

Do you need alcohol to loosen up, relax, feel more confident?

While not strictly foods, you get the picture.

The link between food and mood has been established by hundreds of scientific studies. Many showing that anxiety, or depression, lethargy, irritability and cravings can, and do, result from a poor or imbalanced diet.

Want to add word or two?

What do Your Food Cravings Mean?

We crave specific foods due to amino acids, neurochemical catalysts, or vasoconstrictor catalysts. These will energise your body or soothe your brain chemicals.

If we take the example of someone experiencing fatigue or burnout, they may crave the stimulating effect of sharp cheese or red meat, or sugar and chocolate to give an instant energy hit.

When people are depressed, fearful, or feeling lonely, they may start craving the soothing effect of fatty foods, like ice cream.

Your comment ….?

An Eastern Viewpoint of Food and Mood

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and other Eastern philosophies of health, the emotions are considered the major internal causes of disease.

TCM denotes five couples of organs.

 We have kidney and bladder, liver and gall bladder, heart and small intestine, the spleen and stomach, and finally the lungs and large intestine. Every organ has a sensorial and emotional component. 

 The five yin-organs of the human body produce five kinds of essential qi, which bring forth joy, anger, grief, worry, and fear.

 TCM also believes that certain organs are related to emotional activities, i.e. the heart is related to joy, the liver to anger, the spleen to pensiveness, the lungs to anxiety and the kidneys to fear. 

We can directly relate food cravings to TCM wisdom, for example, the taste of salt stimulates kidney function, which is tied to the body’s energy reserves. 

The taste of sweet boosts stomach function, and is usually a sign that your digestive system is in need of some loving care. It could also mean you need to nourish yourself better and up your self-care.

Food cravings are most often an emotional hunger.

 It’s your body’s way of communicating a basic need that’s not being met.

 Perhaps it’s a need for comfort, touch, love, support, validation, or connection.