Aphrodisiac foods: fact or fiction

Throughout history and across cultures, tales about foods that rekindle your libido have been passed from generation to generation. Medical texts from ancient China, India and Egypt proclaim the sexual benefits of certain products. In the 17th century, pigeons were believed to be aphrodisiacs in the early modern Europe. Nowadays, more common edibles such as chocolate, oysters or artichokes hold that title. But how much truth there is in those assertions? Do certain foods really spike our sexual desire, or is it just wishful thinking?

Named after Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, aphrodisiacs are said to increase your sexual instinct by stimulating the love senses (touch, taste, smell and sight). This enviable reputation derives from folklore, mythology, superstitions and logical reasoning. But science has a different take on it.

Can food really put you in the mood for sex?

Let’s not beat around the bush; the answer is no. Not as you may think at least. There is no scientific evidence that any food or beverage can increase sexual desire.

So the answer to why so many people believe in aphrodisiac powers despite the lack of proof, lies in the placebo effect: if we think that something is going to put us in the mood for sex, we’ll find ourselves there. This happens because desire is psychosocial, physical, relational, and it involves many variables. Therefore, by believing that a certain food will increase our desire, the psychology of the placebo effect will affect our capacity to get turned on. After all, the body’s most powerful sex organ is the brain.

With chocolate though, we know that it contains a chemical named phenylethylamine that stimulates the brain. This chemical is also found in high amounts in people who are in love, which might be why we get the idea that chocolate is an aphrodisiac.

Beyond the placebo effect

The placebo effect is not the only factor that comes into play when determining which foods boost sexual desire in us. We humans are very suggestive, and our brains are wired to keep strong memories whenever we have sexual success. If something happens in the environment where a person has sex, this will become a trigger for the desire to have sex in the future.

Likewise, our brain constantly creates and maintains associations between memories and experiences. If you eat a specific food before having sex, you will then associate that food with sex and the result will be that the taste or smell of it alone will arouse you.

All in all, anything can be an aphrodisiac if you treat it like one.

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