Since the beginning of time, lovers have searched for that magical elixir to stir desire. Love potion pedlars have marketed everything from oysters and ginseng to scallops and Spanish fly as potential aphrodisiacs. But do they really work?
Alex McKay, research coordinator for the Sex Information and Education Council of Canada, says despite the huge market for aphrodisiacs, most do nothing to directly boost sex drive -- including Viagra, which affects sexual function, not desire. However, new research indicates that some supplements containing L-arginine -- a natural amino acid -- are showing promise. And Concordia University is currently testing a new nasal spray drug -- PT-141 -- that may help trigger sexual desire in men and women.
Your mind's power over libido
Science, however, is still not able to prove that traditional aphrodisiacs such as oysters and chocolate can actually heighten desire. There is no scientific evidence that any of these so-called aphrodisiacs work, says McKay. And since sex therapists, among others, say that the mind is the primary source of sexual arousal, any test of a suspected aphrodisiac would have to measure the placebo effect. "In control groups [for sexual research], even those who received the placebo will report an increase in sex drive, because they believe it will work," says McKay.
While science may give the cold shoulder to food's ability to give the libido a lift, celebrity chef and cookbook author Bonnie Stern chuckles at those who underestimate the power of food on passion. "You can set the right mood with the right foods," she says. "Chocolate contains certain ingredients that seem to mimic the [chemical] effect of when you're aroused." Stern is referring to phenylethylamine (PEA), one of more than 400 different chemicals contained in chocolate. Some scientists believe this chemical can create the same feelings we experience when we're in love.
Seductive edibles
Other foods, such as asparagus, pomegranates, strawberries and oysters, have been tagged as aphrodisiacs because of their erotic shape or colour. Red, for example, is suggestive of sexual flushing and excitement, says Stern. "And anything we can eat with our fingers is very, very sensual." It also helps, she says, if the food is very hard to find or exotic.
Not surprisingly, Rodney Clark, the owner of Rodney's Oyster House in Toronto, is unequivocal on the libido-raising effect of downing a dozen oysters. Over the years he has watched subtle, and not-so-subtle, under-the-table hanky-panky increase with each plate. One couple told him that a night of eating oysters was responsible for their baby.
The last word goes to Carlyle Jansen, owner of Good For Her, a funky sex toy shop in Toronto: "There are no miracle cures. Focus on pleasure. That's the best aphrodisiac."
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