Think about it what are the things you love the most in life, and we’re not talking about your family or holidays. If most people had to choose, it would be food and sex. But what’s up with our obsession? They are both primal instincts, so we know the desire for food comes from the need to survive and to have sex is to satisfy the need to reproduce and keep our race going. But we all know it’s not as simple as that, is it?
So really you want to know; what’s with our romance between food and sex?
The Science behind food and sex
There has been research into this puzzling anomaly. You know how the saying goes ‘the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach’. But this may not be entirely true. Scientists at the University College of London found that men’s brains are programmed to search for sex over sustenance. They discovered that a unique set of neurons are enabled to override the desire to eat in order to seek out sex. The science is fascinating really, as they also learnt that females do not have the same neurons and will tend to choose food over sex. This piece of research may finally explain thousands of years of sex pest behaviour.
Another study carried out by a neurobiologist from California Institute of Technology on triggers for sexual or aggressive behaviour in animals believes that there are a select number of neurons that control both sexual and aggressive behaviour. He thinks it’s quite probable that they also exist in men. The neuroscientist, David Anderson, thinks the connection may be linked because of male aggression associated with competing for sexual partners. So hot-headed single men brawling in night clubs over women may just be down to their brains – or maybe it’s just the alcohol.
A different group of research that looks at how men and women are stimulated from The Journal of Sexual Medicine established that arousal in women is more complex than men. Females tend to prefer Audio-Visual Stimulation that is affected by the environment and the emotional connection with a sexual partner or fantasy, whereas men preferred physical AVS and are more prone to physical attraction.
All things considered, sex and food are closely linked. Our relationship between the two seem to overlap biologically and scientifically.
Food porn
The science behind food porn is the essence of ‘supernormal stimulus’ as described by psychiatrist Deirdre Barrett. Simply, exaggerated versions and imitations create a stronger desire than original stimulus. This could explain the infatuation people have with pornography and chocolate. Both are supercharged versions of natural experiences; chocolate is an exaggeration of natural sugars like fruit and porn is, well, sexual fantasy.
So food porn is in a number of ways a supernormal stimulus, but instead of the taste sensation we get from chocolate, the visualisation of sexy food is a turn-on.
Food porn is an image or video of food (think M&S food ads) that has been edited and glorified to make it more appealing than it actually is. Amanda Simpson, creator of site Food Porn Daily said it “should manufacture a desire it can’t satisfy.” And that’s where food porn and porn cross over. Both are a sensory melting pot that leave us drooling at the thought of it.
Here’s a selection of the best food porn:
M&S are the original masters of food porn and here’s a handful of their latest and greatest ads. This is one of the original ads from their award-winning 2006 campaign. This is where it all began.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VstamYAPGD8
Their ads have changed quite a lot a decade on, less seductive but more explosive
So we’ve established food and sex are a match made in heaven. So how about mixing the two to have fun in the bedroom.
Here’s a list of the best foods to bring into the bedroom:
Mango is wonderfully aromatic so smells great on you and your foodie partner, and to ramp up the senses top with a drop of lime and sprinkle with cinnamon to make your mouth tingle. And mango is seed-free so won’t get stuck in places you can’t reach.
Make things pop with a bottle of champagne. Not only will it relax the mood, after a few glasses you won’t have trouble pouring it all down your lover’s body and of course whatever you spill you have to lick up.
And not only can you bring food into your sex life, you can use it to fuel it too.
Spinach can strengthen an erection, so it seems Popeye was onto something. Eating spinach increases your blood flow due to the high levels of magnesium. Increased blood flow can drive blood below the belt, “increasing arousal and pleasure” claims Dr. Tammy Nelson, a psychotherapist and sex expert.
Red wine also has sexual enhancing properties, as a study by the Journal of Sexual Medicine found that women who drank one to two glasses had heightened sexual desire in comparison with sober ladies.
Dark Chocolate is a natural sex booster due to the rush of serotonin hormone induced by high cocoa content. The higher the percentage and intensity, the better the sex. Increased levels of serotonin can lower stress and heighten desire as well as make it easier to climax. It can also increase blood flow, a great all-rounder in and out of the bedroom.
