Chocolate as an Aphrodisiac for Women
Everyone has heard of the old joke about women preferring chocolate to sex! Chocolate has long been considered an important way of inducing an amorous mood and in these times too, it figures as an essential part of courtship rituals and romantic gifts. Modern research has found that chocolate may not only have many health benefits but may indeed be able to stimulate sexual desire in men and women.
About Chocolate
Chocolate refers to a wide variety of foods, raw or processed, derived from the seeds of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. This species is native to Mexico, Central and South America where indigenous people have used the cacao seeds and its derivatives for over three thousand years. Today Africa is the world’s largest producer of cacao beans.
Chocolate as an aphrodisiac?
Scientific studies into the medicinal properties of chocolate have unearthed a number of ways in which the dark beans may be able to stimulate erotic desire among humans.
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Scientists have found that chocolate contains two important chemical compounds, Serotonin and Phenylethylamine. These are found naturally in the human brain where they function as hormones responsible for uplifting moods and emotions. When people consume chocolate, the normal levels of both hormones increase and this leads to a feeling of excitement as well as the pleasant rush of energy. Another compound present in chocolate, theobromine, is also believed to have a mood-elevating effect. The sense of overall well-being and a light stimulation create the right moods for amorous action.
Recent studies have shown that a particular substance present in cocoa called epicatechin may have certain beneficial effects on the body’s circulatory system. Daily consumption of dark chocolate has been shown to improve blood circulation and lower blood pressure in a number of studies. This is good news for lovers since an effective circulation ensures supply of oxygen-rich blood to all parts of the body including the genitals. Among men proper bloody supply is essential for attaining longer lasting erection while among women it helps in vaginal lubrication and more intense orgasms.
Again dark chocolate is loaded with anti-oxidants, especially of a particular type known as flavonols. Anti-oxidants have been proven to protect the body from damage by free radicals and thereby slow down the degenerative effects of aging. These benefits of chocolate are being researched in the field of cardio-vascular health and a number of studies show that consuming the right type and quantity of chocolate can indeed lower the chance of heart attacks. The anti-oxidant properties of dark chocolate maybe useful in promoting physical vitality and sexual vigor thereby keeping the body young and fit for active lovemaking.
The amorous effects of chocolate, widespread in romantic lore and the popular imagination, are largely the result of the simple sensual pleasure of its consumption. It is a rare human who can resist the smooth, rich and creamy experience of dark chocolate since its consumption appeals to virtually all the senses of smell, sight, taste and texture. This heightening of the sensual pleasures brought on by consumptions of chocolate is a powerful prelude to the delights of a sexual experience.
Using Chocolate
The use of chocolate goes back by three millennia when the Mesoamerican people used the cacao beans to make a bitter, frothy drink. Today however Chocolate is used in a bewildering variety of edible and non-edible products. Depending on the stage of processing, some of the most common products derived from cacao beans are cocoa mass which is chocolate in the purest form, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter and cocoa solids which may again be processed into sweet, milk or white chocolate.
Most of the health benefits of chocolate are available in the dark chocolate. This is because dark chocolate contains maximum of the anti-oxidants which are believed to promote cardio-vascular health and protect the body from damage by free radicals. Manufacturing companies like Mars have introduced flavonol-rich CocoaVia snack bars and a line of beverage-mixes also fortified with chocolate flavonols. However the anti-oxidants are destroyed in some traditional roasting and fermentation methods as well as by being processed with alkali as in done in the preparation of milk or white chocolate and cocoa powder. Since the healthier flavonol-rich chocolate is bitter in taste, companies are investing millions of dollars in making them more palatable.
Besides being used as food, chocolate is used to flavor a wide variety of beverages, ice-creams, confectionaries and even non-edible items like dental creams and medicines. One interesting use of chocolate in amorous situations is as edible body paint which can be found in a number of adult and romantic games.
The possible side effects of using chocolate
The foremost undesirable effect of chocolate is that more-than-occasional use may lead to an increase in body weight. Chocolate is very high in calories. A forty grams serving size of dark chocolate bar would pile on 210 calories and 13 grams of fat. This has made nutritionists less enthusiastic about the health benefits of chocolate.
For instance doctors point out that the amount of chocolate needed to benefit the heart would add a relatively large quantity of calories into the body which if not used up would lead to weight gain. Obesity is in fact one of the biggest risk factors of heart diseases and a host of other medical conditions, including infertility and impotence. Thus excessive use of chocolate may negate many of its libido-boosting properties. Some branded chocolates such as Lindt are available with as much as 70 to 85% cocoa. These are considered better as they have more of ‘aphrodisiac’ qualities and are low on sugar.
Chocolate is also high in lead and overuse may lead to symptoms of mild lead poisoning. Furthermore, the compound theobromine present in chocolate may be toxic to animals like dogs, cats, horses, parrots and small rodents even though there is no evidence of the chemical having any adverse effect on humans.
The health benefits of chocolate may not receive unilateral approval from the scientific community. But there is hardly any disputing the fact that consuming chocolate makes people feel good all over, which in turn goes a long way in preparing the mind and body for the pleasures of love.
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