The internet is full of jokes about how chocolate is better than sex and a search "Is chocolate better than sex?" on Google, displays about 74 million responses. Aside from the fact that many are of the idea that chocolate can be a good sex substitute, there is almost no scientific research on this.

However, a new study published in Cureus investigated a link between eating chocolate and interest in sex. 723 men and women, aged 20 and 85, became part of the study.

What did the researchers discover?

Overall, men showed a higher interest in sex (7.4 points out of 10) than women (5.7 points out of ten) - but women ate more chocolate per week (average 2.5 times) than men (average 1.8 times).

The researchers then used the amount of chocolate consumed each week to predict interest in sex. They did not find any relationship between the two variables in men. However, women who ate chocolate more often reported much less interest in having sex .

Since this was a correlative study, it is not possible to derive a cause explanation from this data. While the main suggestion is that "eating chocolate reduces women's interest in sex", other explanations are also possible. For example, women who have a personality tendency to have low interest in sex may generally be more interested in chocolates for a variety of reasons. So, further research on this topic is still needed.

In conclusion, why is there a relationship between chocolate and sex?

While the biological link underlying this relationship is largely unclear, the authors of the paper suggest that eating chocolate may stimulate the production of the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine. Since these chemicals are also involved in brain activity related to sex, the authors suggest that chocolate can cause pleasure that can replace what is required by sex. If this idea is true, it needs to be fully substantiated in further research.

Source: Psychology Today