Our modern Valentine ’s Day brings out the lover in us. But the quest for an aphrodisiac is as old as civilization itself. Potions and edibles to enhance sexual libidos have been sought through the centuries.
Oysters, for example, were said to arouse passion. Legend has it that the notorious man-about-town, Casanova, ate 50 raw oysters every morning in his bath. He used a beautiful woman’s breasts as a plate. And Henry IV of France is said to have aroused himself by eating hundreds of oysters at a single sitting.
Some would claim saffron heightened men’s spirits, and sesame had aphrodisiacal powers. Sarsaparilla and cinnamon, too, were considered sex stimulants. And pomegranate seeds, hops and carrot seeds made women seem more desirable.
Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, was symbolized by a golden apple, while her Roman counterpart, Venus de Milo, before her accident, was said to have held an apple in one hand.
Cleopatra, the sultry Egyptian queen, stirred up her libido with figs, then fed them to Mark Antony, the Roman general. And Aztec legend has it that beautiful maidens were kept indoors for protection during the height of the avocado season.
Ever since Eve offered Adam the apple, food has been said to have persuasive powers. The apple, however, may be overrated as an aphrodisiac. Actually, it’s the love apple —the tomato — according to Don Vedona, who wrote the “Love Apple Cookbook,” that commands torrents of passion. Tomatoes, it seems, provoke men’s sexual desires to an inordinate degree.
But according to Dr. Fritz Henn, a noted neuroscientist, that’s “hogwash.”
“I’ve never heard of it. You could try foods high in tryptophan, like milk or bananas. They are sometimes effective.”
But he warned, “Milk will probably make you sleepy before it makes you sexy. I know of no sure-fire food that is going to stimulate sexual appetites.
Vegetables contain various vitamins that could affect human sexuality. Vitamin A in the carrot is important in overall brain activity. Carrot-seed extract contains a hormone-like substance reported to exert an effect like that of birth-control pills.
Henn responded, “All one has to do to see how effective carrots are in birth control is to look at rabbits.”
Phenyl amine, some scientists feel, produces a euphoric high resembling the state of love. Henn agrees: “Chocolate can give you a rush. It’s that old phenyl ethylamine again.”
But you don’t need to rely on chocolate. Lettuce leaves can do the same — if you eat enough. Rough guess, a semi-truck load. Aged cheeses such as cheddar, brie, bleu, stilton — containing tyramine — are also stimulants.
It’s all in the nose
Modern science has discovered that the male hormone testosterone acts as an aphrodisiac for men and especially for women. But there is a catch: In women, even very low doses may cause voice changes, excess facial hair and acne. She may have trouble finding a Valentine sweetheart.
British psychologist George Dodd, hailed as the father of the psychology of perfumery, attracted attention when he isolated two steroids (hormone-like substances) from male underarm sweat. This forms the base of a scent, he said, particularly appealing to women.
To prove his hypothesis, Dodd placed the steroid scent in certain phone booths and on selected cinema seats. Women, he found, lingered longer in the scented areas.
Still another drug, developed in Europe, is called bromocriptine. This is a fertility drug that supposedly increases women’s interest in sex to an “alarming” extent.
And that led to Sam Kennedy III of Clear Lake, Iowa, an international authority on swine. In 1979, he introduced a substance to the United States called “Boar Mate,” a swine’s answer to Chanel No. 5. A two-second spray under a lady pig’s nose stirs her romantically and drives even an old sow into squeals of ecstasy. The end result? A lot more little piggies in the pen.
“Boar Mate” contains a pheromone concentrate called androstenone, and Kennedy warned humans against it.
Too late. When eager Mensa types decided what worked for hogs could do the same for humans, perfumers began adding pheromones to their products. Not advisable if you own a potbellied pig.
Of course, alcohol has always been a standby to stimulate sexual appetite. As Dorothy Parker once quipped, “Two martinis, you’ll be under the table; three, you’ll be under the host.”
Perhaps the most amusing observation comes from Dr. Eleanor R. Friele, obstetrician and gynecologist specialist at Swedish Medical Center. She adds electrical outages to the Valentine list of stimulants.
“When there’s a blackout, people go to bed early,” she said. “Nine months later, we see a lot babies.”
STARLA SMITH is a longtime Queen Anne resident. To comment on this column, write to QAMagNews@nwlink.com.