Is chocolate an aphrodisiac? Why it puts you in the mood

Chocolate is probably the most popular aphrodisiac on the planet and certainly the most gifted one. Valentine's Day would collapse without it. But is chocolate an aphrodisiac in any real sense, or is it all clever marketing and a lovely taste?

The short version: chocolate contains several compounds that affect mood and blood vessels, and both matter for good sex. What it doesn't have is solid evidence that it makes people want sex more. Most of its power comes from pleasure, ritual and the feelings we've learned to attach to it.

That's not a let-down. Pleasure is the whole point. A food that makes you slow down, feel indulged and pay attention to sensation is a pretty good warm-up for sex, even if it isn't a magic switch.

Cacao was grown and treasured in Central America long before it reached Europe. The Maya and the Aztecs made it into a bitter, frothy drink, often spiced with chilli, and used it in ceremonies and even as money. It was a drink for nobles, warriors and priests.

Spanish chroniclers wrote that the Aztec ruler Montezuma drank cup after cup of chocolate, and later retellings claimed he took it before visiting his wives. That story may be embellished, but it stuck. When chocolate reached European courts in the 1600s, it arrived with a reputation as exotic and a little scandalous.

Some churchmen even argued about whether drinking chocolate was allowed during fasts, and a few writers warned it could inflame the passions. Nothing sells a luxury like a hint of sin. By the time boxed chocolates appeared, the link between chocolate and romance was locked in.

Today the gift is so familiar that we barely notice what it means. Handing someone a box of chocolates is still a small way of saying you want to please them. Is chocolate an aphrodisiac because of that history? Partly, yes. We've spent centuries teaching ourselves to link it with romance, and those learned links are powerful.

Cocoa beans contain flavanols, plant compounds that help the lining of blood vessels release nitric oxide. That helps vessels relax and widen, which supports healthy circulation. Good blood flow matters for arousal in every body: for getting hard, and for the clit and vulva swelling and getting wet.

Chocolate also contains theobromine and a little caffeine, both mild stimulants that can make you feel more alert. Then there's phenylethylamine, nicknamed the 'love chemical' because the brain makes it when we feel infatuated. Sadly, the amount in chocolate is small and mostly broken down before it reaches your brain.

There are also traces of anandamide, which acts on the same brain receptors as cannabis. The amounts are tiny, so don't expect anything dramatic. The chemistry is real but gentle. Chocolate gives you a small lift and a gorgeous taste, which is a nice place to start an evening.

So is chocolate an aphrodisiac at the chemical level? Not really. Nothing in a bar works like a drug. What you get is a gentle stack of small effects, a little alertness, a little warmth and a lot of pleasure, that together can nudge you towards feeling sexy.

When people search for dark chocolate benefits sexually, blood flow is the most believable answer. Studies on cocoa flavanols and heart health are fairly encouraging. Regular, modest amounts of high-flavanol cocoa have been linked with slightly better blood vessel function and small drops in blood pressure in some trials.

That matters because arousal is largely a blood flow event. Erections, clitoral swelling and lubrication all depend on healthy vessels opening up when you're turned on. Anything that keeps those vessels in good shape over months and years is good news for your sex life.

The catch is that these benefits fade if the chocolate is loaded with sugar and eaten by the slab. Trials also tend to use flavanol doses higher than you'd get from a normal bar, and many are funded by the chocolate industry. So enjoy it, but don't treat a chocolate habit as a health plan.

When it comes to chocolate and libido specifically, the evidence is thin. An Italian study published in 2006 found that women who ate chocolate every day scored a little higher on a sexual function questionnaire. That sounded exciting until the researchers took age into account. Then the difference vanished. The chocolate lovers were simply younger on average.

No good trial has shown that eating chocolate makes people hornier or improves erections. So is chocolate an aphrodisiac in the lab? Not proven. Is it a plausible helper for mood and circulation? Yes, and that's a fair way to think about it.

Desire doesn't start in your genitals anyway. It usually starts with feeling relaxed, safe, a bit playful and present in your body. Anything that helps you shift from a stressful day into that state makes sex more likely and more fun. Chocolate is good at that partly because of memory: for most of us it means treats, celebrations and being looked after.

That's why chocolate and libido work best together as part of an experience, not as a pill you swallow and wait. Eat it slowly, share it, make it a signal that tonight is about the two of you. The chocolate becomes the cue, and the cue becomes the turn-on.

Chocolate is often marketed as the aphrodisiac for women, and the 2006 Italian study is the one usually quoted. As we've seen, once age was factored in, daily chocolate made no measurable difference to women's sexual function. So the idea that chocolate for women is a special libido food doesn't really hold up.

What it can do is help set the scene. Letting a square melt slowly on your tongue is a tiny exercise in paying attention to sensation, which is exactly the skill that makes touch feel better too. Many women find they need time to warm up before they feel properly turned on, and a slow, sensual ritual helps.

If your desire has dropped and stayed low, chocolate won't fix the cause. Stress, tiredness, pain during sex, hormones and relationship strain are all common reasons, and a GP, sexual health clinic or therapist can help far more than any sweet.

Look for chocolate with at least 70 percent cocoa solids. It has more flavanols and less sugar than milk chocolate, and the flavour is richer, so you'll be happy with less. Heavily processed cocoa, sometimes labelled 'Dutch' or alkalised, tends to have fewer flavanols.

A sensible amount is around 20 to 30 grams, roughly two to four squares. Enough to savour, not enough to feel sluggish and sugary right when you want to feel sexy. Eating more doesn't double the dark chocolate benefits sexually, it mostly adds fat and sugar.

Try eating it slower than usual. Snap off a square, smell it, let it soften and notice how the taste changes as it melts. Good dark chocolate can taste of fruit, coffee, spice or even flowers. That unhurried tasting is a surprisingly good warm-up for unhurried touch.

Chocolate in the bedroom can be a lot of fun if you keep a few practical things in mind. Body-safe chocolate sauces and paints are made for licking off skin and are far easier to clean up than melted bars. Always test the temperature on your wrist first, as melted chocolate can be hotter than it looks.

• drizzle a little on your partner's neck, chest or inner thighs and lick it off slowly
• let a square melt on your tongue, then kiss
• feed each other chocolate-dipped strawberries with your eyes closed
• make an Aztec-style hot chocolate with chilli and cinnamon to share in bed
• put an old towel down first, because stained sheets are not an aphrodisiac

Keep sugary foods away from the vagina and the inside of the vulva. Sugar can upset the natural balance there and may raise the risk of thrush. And ask first. Food play is hot for some people and a total turn-off for others. A quick 'want to try this?' keeps it playful and consensual.

For most people, a few squares of dark chocolate is a perfectly healthy treat. It does contain caffeine and theobromine, so it can disturb sleep if you eat it late or are sensitive to stimulants. It can also trigger heartburn, and some people with migraines find it sets them off.

If you're managing diabetes or your weight, keep portions small and choose higher cocoa percentages. People prone to certain kidney stones may be told to limit it because of its oxalate content. And keep it well away from dogs and cats, as theobromine is toxic to them.

Finally, remember the best aphrodisiac is usually feeling wanted. Bringing home your partner's favourite bar, or remembering the one they mentioned months ago, says you've been paying attention. So is chocolate an aphrodisiac? Served with that kind of care, it's about as close as food gets.

And if chocolate isn't your thing, borrow the idea rather than the food. Any treat you both love, eaten slowly and shared on purpose, can do the same job. The magic is in the attention you pay to each other.

Want to test the question yourself? Is chocolate an aphrodisiac in your own house? Here's an easy plan. Buy two or three good dark bars with different cocoa percentages, dim the lights, put your phones in another room and do a slow, blindfolded tasting on the sofa. Take turns feeding each other a square and guessing which bar it is.

Keep the talk flirty. Describe the flavours, then describe what you'd like to do next. Tasting games slow you down and make you pay attention to your mouth, your lips and your partner's reactions, which is basically foreplay with a snack attached.

Finish with a warm, spiced hot chocolate to take to bed, or a little body-safe chocolate sauce if you've both agreed to get sticky. The point isn't the cocoa. It's the time, the closeness and the fun of trying something a little different together.