Is health the most effective love potion?
Every day’s a good day to celebrate love, and a holiday that prompts us to pay attention to our loved ones and to the magic they bring to our lives is very welcome indeed, every year and this one especially.
A favorite way to say I love you is through food, now why’s that?
Food is love
Love is as yet impossible to completely define. The physiologic manifestations of falling in love and the early days of infatuation have been characterized as a kind of obsessive madness; other types of love are hard to explain biochemically and emotionally.
Food, like undefinable love, elicits complex emotions. Consuming food elicits pleasure, and sometimes longing, and unease. Offering food, gifting food and sharing it lead to closeness between people. “The people who give you their food give you their heart,” wrote Cezar Chaves.
Food is the language of affection. Food may feel like love because it releases similar neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and norepinephrine.
Food also brings us back to our original love, our earliest feelings of contentment and safety – our parents giving us sustenance and relieving the discomfort of hunger with sweet milk and gradually varied foods while holding us close.
No wonder food, comfort and love are so entangled.
Aphrodisiac offerings
Are there foods that elicit love and desire better than others?
“Eat oysters love longer” goes the saying. Aphrodite, the goddess of love, is the root of the term aphrodisiac, and the search for substances that enhance desire, pleasure and performance is as old as human history. Many of the traditional aphrodisiacs are herbs and foods, among them are maca root, ginseng, nutmeg, saffron, and cacao.
Do they work? There is some supporting evidence for their use. A double blind placebo-controlled study in men found that maca (a root plant from the South American Andes, not to be confused with matcha green tea) enhances perceived desire. Saffron, the golden hued spice made of the stigma of crocus flowers, has demonstrated aphrodisiac properties in male rats. Results in a pilot study of 20 men were promising, but a later study in 346 men failed to show improved sexual desire. Red ginseng was found to increase arousal in a double blind placebo controlled study of 32 menopausal women, and other studies have shown benefits in men.
Chocolate, regarded as an aphrodisiac since ancient times, is reported to release phenylethylamine and serotonin, lifting mood and desire, and it's no doubt delicious. A study of 153 Italian women reports significantly higher sexual desire in chocolate eaters, but no differences were found in arousal or satisfaction, and the effect disappeared when adjusted for age.
The evidential support for these aphrodisiacs is indeed scant, and the FDA doesn’t recognize any of over-the-counter ingredients as safe or effective love potions.
Salad as love gesture
Nothing’s as critical for setting the mood for love as plain overall good health. To that end, a healthy diet, physical fitness and getting enough rest are the most effective aphrodisiacs.
So chopping a big bowl of salad and letting your loved one sleep in could work, and a basket of colorful fruit is an excellent love offering – it’s not just chocolate in a heart-shaped box that says I love you.
And any food that’s shared is romantic.
Valentine’s Day food gifts aside, cooking and presenting healthy foods communicates love every day of the year, warmth that we can sense in our bones.
Dr. Ayala