Do Aphrodisiacs Really Exist?

The other day, when I told my boyfriend, Sean, that I was going to be doing a little research on aphrodisiacs, he was surprisingly keen to help out. "I'll buy the bacon," he said.

"Bacon is not an aphrodisiac," I said.

More from YourTango: Was Angelina Jolie's Preventive Double Mastectomy Too Drastic?

"Wanna bet?" he challenged.

Sean loves bacon—and, come to think of it, it did seem to put him in the mood for love. (On reflection, I realized that I had unconsciously begun incorporating it into more and more meals, wrapping thin strips around chunks of cod and adding crispy bits to pasta sauces).

More from YourTango: Limitless Love: A Mother Of Eleven Tells Her Extraordinary Tale

But can food produce sexual desire? Or, to put it another way, do aphrodisiacs actually exist? Many people think so. An online poll conducted by sex therapist Linda De Villers found that strawberries, ice cream, pasta, and whipped cream are the four foods most commonly associated with lust. But according to Martha Hopkins, coauthor of The New InterCourses: An Aphrodisiac Cookbook, there are no real aphrodisiacs. "Still," she laughs, "whatever makes you groan when you eat it counts."

If you think about it, a greasy slab of cured pork belly is no odder than many other foods that have historically been considered aphrodisiacs: asparagus, artichokes, avocadoes, bananas, black beans, chili peppers, figs, licorice, and pine nuts have all been hailed for their ability to arouse desire. The Aztecs called the avocado tree a "testicle tree" because its fruit hangs in pairs. In renaissance Europe, women were forbidden to eat artichokes, which according to legend had been created when the Greek god Zeus transformed a young maiden into the spiky vegetable. As a result, they were prescribed to men to improve their bedroom performance. Of history's most famous aphrodisiacs, only chocolate and oysters still hold claim to their sensual reputation.