Fork and knife. Pencil and paper. Food and sex… Quite possibly the best combination ever? Maybe. It's a theme that we can trace all the way back to the Old Testament. Adam gave up a life free of sin in the Garden of Eden to eat the forbidden apples and fornicate with Eve. Food and sex really are the most primal human urges. Whether combined or separate, food and sex appeal to our insatiable raging appetites. First we are seduced, then we indulge, and finally we are satisfied (at least, most of the time).

            It is not by accident that we associate various foods with sex; some foods are just inherently sexual. For example, bananas, cucumbers, and even mushrooms automatically connote something phallic. Lush mangoes and pomegranates are very symbolic in sexual imagery, as a representation of the female body/body parts. 

            Some (s)experts would argue that our eating habits are a reflection of how we will behave in the bedroom. It's definitely not a bad theory or even a far-fetched one. How do we eat our food? Do we eat slowly, sensually, teasingly savoring every last bite? Or do we aggressively “wolf it down,” taking huge greedy bites and not bothering to wipe the grease from the meat off our fingers or to catch the drippy juice running down our chins? Do we just eat our food or do we make love to it? Do we boldly try new and different foods? Or, do we prefer to say within a strict dietary code, such as “meat and potatoes”?  Just as we sometimes need to have bad sex to have really great sex, we need to eat and experience food that we may not really enjoy to better appreciate the foods that we love. And, it would make perfect sense to say that those who experiment at the dinner table and take pleasure in food are much more likely to experiment in the bedroom (or outside the bedroom) and to take pleasure in sex.

            Naturally, any food that you're passionate about can get the proverbial juices flowing if shared with the right person under the right circumstances. Weak knees, accelerated heart beat, tingly body parts – the whole nine yards. Food is undoubtedly important within relationships. Going out to a bar or club is a typical first date activity. The second date might take place at a restaurant, with the couple sharing a meal together. Ladies, pay careful attention to your date as he consumes his meal. The man who eats every course will probably go for hours, the man who asks for the dressing on the side may be finicky in bed, and if he orders extra-spicy food he might own sex toys. Don't say I didn't warn you…

            For the third date, the “your place or mine” issue might arise, with one person suggesting a home-cooked romantic dinner, perhaps with candlelight, wine, and soft music. This may lead to sex and a sleep-over, with some post-coital cuddling, and possibly breakfast in the morning. Man cannot live on chocolate covered strawberries alone, especially if that man is getting naked with woman several times a day. If you're looking to compete in the Marathon of Lust, foods that promote stamina, such as fish eggs, and cheese (dubbed “nature's Viagra), are probably your best bets. Finally, when the relationship ends (tear) we seek comfort in food by indulging in so-called breakup foods, such as macaroni and cheese, chocolate cake, or ice cream. Food as a cure for a broken heart? Probably not…but it does make us feel a whole lot better.

            No matter what angle you look at it from, food and sex are related and this connection is nothing new. “The mark of a true sensualist is the devotion to cooking and eating and sex as occasions for invention and play -- as chances to savor pleasure rather than merely attend to a need” (Charles Taylor, Salon Magazine).

            Hungry?

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