It’s been debated over for decades, maybe even centuries for all we know, but is chocolate really better than sex? For many a hard-working woman running a household in tandem with a career, a 500 gram block of Cadbury could easily be more appetising than getting it on with Mr Harry Three-Seconds, sitting on the sofa with bemoaning his need for dinner and a shag.

On the other hand though, can a box of Quality Street really beat a hot, unbridled lust fest between two (or more) sexed up people? Can the smooth, creamy texture of chocolate be more tempting than the passion of flesh on flesh? It’s indeed food for thought. Undoubtedly, ad agencies bank on people blurring the desire for those two tempting treats together, and hope that if one can’t achieve sex, then at least there’s chocolate to turn to. You can hardly ignore the sexual undertone present in a lot of the chocolate ads these days.

Pros and cons aside, perhaps most of us would at least agree that chocolate is as good as sex. You can’t deny that the feelgood effect of eating chocolates isn’t dissimilar to that satisfactory glow you get post-coitus. But, in the words of Professor Julius Sumner Miller, why is it so? Well, there appears to be a scientific basis behind this as the good professor will be happy to know.

If you’ve ever wondered if it’s possible to be addicted to chocolate, you can in a sense. This is because eating chocolate gives a chemical high from the release of dopamine into our brains. Phenyl ethylamine, a chemical found in chocolate, is believed to trigger those hormones which heighten bodily sensations. In short, chocolate gives you an artificial chemical high that can substitute sex. So aside from helping you work, rest and play, a Mars bar should also give you that nice rosy afterglow! As for addiction, one could argue that people are more inclined to overindulge purely because chocolate tastes good, but evidence suggests that it’s this very high that you get that keeps you coming back for more.

So if chocolate and sex are just as good, perhaps we should look at which one is better for you. As long as you’re practising it in it’s safe form, there’s very little about sex that’s bad for you. You can’t overdose on it and it’s a relatively cheap exercise. Chocolate may be more readily accessible but overeating has dire consequences for those prone to weight gain. Obviously, ‘getting some’ does wonders for your self-esteem and you’re often left with a cheeky grin for the rest of the day. Of course, some people get their jollies from scoring a good deal on choccies too!

Still can’t decide? Well, perhaps we should examine the idea of combining these two little pleasures of the world to achieve one hell of a dopamine high? It appears some scientists are already beavering away at that concept. Chocolate bars that could help men and women orgasm appear to be on the way in another five years. These chocolate bars will contain higher than normal levels of the chemical phenyl ethylamine, which the body releases during sex, reports The Sun newspaper.Age-old favourites: Why chocolate is better than sex

  • You can get chocolate from a newsagent
  • Chocolate satisfies even when it’s gone soft
  • Chocolate can satisfy for just $1.00
  • You can make chocolate last as long as you like
  • You can have chocolate in front of your mother.
  • If you bite the nuts too hard, the chocolate doesn’t mind
  • You can have chocolate on your desk at work without upsetting your colleagues
  • You can ask a stranger for chocolate without having your face slapped
  • You don’t get hairs in your mouth with chocolate
  • “If you loved me then you’d swallow” has real meaning with chocolate
  • With chocolate there is no need to fake it
  • Chocolate does not get you pregnant
  • You can have chocolate any time of the month
  • You can still get chocolate when your partner has a headache
  • Chocolate is easy to find
  • You can have as many types of chocolate as you can handle
  • You are never too old or too young for chocolate
  • When having chocolate, you don’t keep the neighbours awake
  • With chocolate, size doesn’t matter, as it’s always good
  • You don’t have to beg to get chocolate
  • You can have chocolate all weekend and still walk on Monday
  • You can safely have chocolate while driving
  • Chocolate doesn’t complain when thrust into your mouth firmly and bitten