The Spanish Conquistadors introduced chocolate ot Europe not as a sexual stimulant but as a rich, hot drink. Yet text from the Seventeenth Century records that by the Rococo period, “One obtained strength from chocolate for certain tasks” — the pleasure principal was clearly understood during Rococo times.

From hard bodies to hard-core science, in the late Twentieth Century, Michael Liebowitz of the New York State Psychiatric institute proved that the phenylethylamine (PEA) in chocolate releases the same hormone as does sexual intercourse. Although naysayer object that the amount of PEA in chocolate is too small to produce significant results, this sweet drug offers hundreds of other chemical compounds – in fact, chocolate is among the world’s most complex foods.

As we now know, chocolate contains flavonoids, antioxidants from the same “family” as those touted in green tea and red wine. In fact, studies show that the antioxidant activity in one serving of cocoa is higher than that of either tea or red wine. The darker the chocolate, the more potent antioxidants it contains.

Adam Drewnowski from the University of Michigan proved that eating chocolate produces natural opiates in the brain, which provides another explanation for chocolate’s feel-good reputation.

Further studies at the Neurosciences Institute in San Diego illustrated that three of the chemical compounds in chocolate act like THC, the active chemical in marijuana. These chemicals will, like marijuana, spark dopamine production in the brain. Unfortunately, the National Institute of Mental Health released research indicating that it would take the consumption of approximately 25 lbs of chocolate for at 130 lb person to experience any marijuana-like effects from chocolate.

But you need not risk diabetic coma to appreciate chocolate’s aphrodisiac allure. Casanova , the legendary lover, touted chocolate for its ability to provide energy for a night on the prowl. He also understood the allure of creamy, dark chocolate on craving-prone women, for whom chocolate can turn on the pleasure sensors in the brain. In fact, the great lothario declared sweet, complex and sensual pleasure among the world’s finest aphrodisiacs, second only to Champagne.