{"id":675,"date":"2016-05-12T14:35:01","date_gmt":"2016-05-12T14:35:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.xpanded.com\/?p=675"},"modified":"2019-04-25T16:09:45","modified_gmt":"2019-04-25T16:09:45","slug":"food-versus-sex","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.xpanded.com\/index.php\/2016\/05\/12\/food-versus-sex\/","title":{"rendered":"Food versus sex"},"content":{"rendered":"

Think about it what are the things you love the most in life, and we\u2019re not talking about your family or holidays. If most people had to choose, it would be food and sex. But what\u2019s 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\u2019s not as simple as that, is it?<\/p>\n

So really you want to know; what\u2019s with our romance between food and sex?<\/p>\n

The Science behind food and sex<\/h3>\n

There has been research into this puzzling anomaly. You know how the saying goes \u2018the way to a man\u2019s heart is through his stomach\u2019. But this may not be entirely true. Scientists at the University College of London found that men\u2019s brains are programmed<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

Another study carried out by a neurobiologist from California Institute of Technology on triggers for sexual or aggressive behaviour <\/a>in animals believes that there are a select number of neurons that control both sexual and aggressive behaviour. He thinks it\u2019s 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 \u2013 or maybe it\u2019s just the alcohol.<\/p>\n

A different group of research that looks at how men and women are stimulated<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

All things considered, sex and food are closely linked. Our relationship between the two seem to overlap biologically and scientifically.<\/p>\n

Food porn<\/h3>\n
\"food
Credit to: honestlyyum.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The science behind food porn is the essence of \u2018supernormal stimulus\u2019 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.
\nSo 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.<\/p>\n

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 \u201cshould manufacture a desire it can\u2019t satisfy.\u201d And that\u2019s where food porn and porn cross over. Both are a sensory melting pot that leave us drooling at the thought of it.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a selection of the best food porn:<\/h3>\n

M&S are the original masters of food porn and here\u2019s a handful of their latest and greatest ads.\u00a0This is one of the original ads from their award-winning 2006 campaign. This is where it all began.<\/p>\n

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https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=VstamYAPGD8<\/a><\/p>\n

Their ads have changed quite a lot a decade on, less seductive but more explosive<\/p>\n

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