Libido linked to love of chocolate

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Libido linked to love of chocolate

From correspondents in London

November 15, 2004

WOMEN have compared chocolate to sex for decades. Now doctors have

discovered a scientific link between the two.

Chocolate

Desirable ... female chocolate lovers have a higher sex drive.

According to Italian researchers, women who eat chocolate regularly

had the highest levels of desire, arousal and satisfaction from sex.

But for men, the findings of a British study were not so good.

Research has found men who are sexually promiscuous when they are

young could be increasing their risk of contracting prostate cancer

later in life.

The study suggests sex with lots of partners increases the risk of

exposure to the human papilloma virus (HPV) and that such infections

may kick-start the chain of genetic mutations that lead to cancer,

often decades later.

HPV is already linked to cervical cancer in women, but the suggestion

it might also cause prostate cancer in men is new. If confirmed, it

could explain why rates of the disease have surged in the Western world.

" HPV infects many women in their late teens and early 20s, " said Tim

Oliver, professor of medical oncology at the London School of Medicine

and Dentistry. " We know this is linked to cervical cancer later in

life and now we're seeing that in men it also lays the seeds for

prostate cancer. "

Dr Oliver's study follows research from Sweden that found men with

high levels of antibodies against the HPV 33 strain of the virus - the

same one involved in cervical cancer - were more likely to develop

prostate cancer.

In the chocolate/sex study, urologists from Milan's San Raffaele

hospital questioned 163 women about their consumption of chocolate and

their sexual fulfilment.

" Women who have a daily intake of chocolate showed higher levels of

desire than women who did not have this habit, " the study found.

" Chocolate can have a positive physiological impact on a woman's

sexuality. "

Dr Salonia, author of the study - funded by a university, not

by the confectionery industry - said women who had a low libido could

become more amorous after eating chocolate.

She believes chocolate could be particularly medicinal for women who

shun sex because they are suffering from premenstrual tension.

" Chocolate is not like a food, it's like a drug, " Dr Salonia said.

" Women who suffer mood swings as a result of their menstrual cycle may

also suffer a dip in their sexual function. I strongly believe eating

chocolate may improve their sexual function. "

The research also looked at smoking and coffee consumption, but found

no links with sexual enjoyment. From The Sunday Times of London

The Australian

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11385830%255E401,00.html