Honeymoon Aphrodisiac Study

[Ksyrup]

My first thought is, if they know what the rumored effects are, doesn't that almost automatically taint the results? Aren't they going to be influenced one way or the other in describing how they feel?

This is like that experiment where you give two sets of people the same pills, but one is told it's supposed to give them a jolt of energy and the other is told nothing. Nearly every person who thinks it's an energy pill reports having more energy.



LONDON, England (CNN) -- A group of scientists has been inundated with requests after calling for newlyweds to test the legendary aphrodisiac effects of an ancient honey-based drink.

The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) wants one couple to drink honey mead -- a fermented mixture of honey and water -- every night for 30 days after taking their vows in June and to keep a diary of their honeymoon relationship.

The UK's professional body for chemists has received more than 100 phone calls from couples who want to take part in the experiment following a media appeal. The results will be published later in the year.

"The response has been overwhelming. We want one couple to write a diary to tell us how they feel generally during the honeymoon to see the effect it has on love," Brian Emsley, a spokesman for the RSC told CNN on Friday.

Mead, first brewed in Babylon more than 4,000 years ago making it one of the world's oldest alcoholic drinks, has long been believed to increase fertility and sex drive.

In ancient Persia couples were expected to imbibe the sweet mead every day for one "honey month" -- hence honeymoon -- after they tied the knot to achieve the right frame of mind for a successful marriage.

If a son was born nine months later the mead maker was congratulated on the quality of its produce.

Twelve bottles of mead have been specially brewed for the RSC's test by a winery in Sussex, southern England. "The concocotion includes a secret ingredient," said Emsley. "We've followed the ancient recipe closely.

"I had some the other day and had to rush home," he joked.

The drink -- a blend of honey, wine, fruits and spices -- is believed to reduce sexual anxieties including fears of inadequate performance.

It is also rich in B vitamins that help to maintain reproductive health, amino acids that are the building blocks of protein for increased fertility and nitric oxide that is good for male sexual health.

The aphrodisiac properties attributed to mead may therefore be well deserved, said Dr. Clare Mcloughlin of the RSC. "Legend and myth has a scientific basis."

But while mead may help couples get that loving feeling, the newlyweds would be best advised to drink in moderation, as one sex therapist pointed out.

"One of the biggest causes of problems is stress from outside the relationship. The healthier we are, the happier we are. Anything that helps is great, however, alcohol is also linked with problems in the relationships," said Paula Hall, from the UK-based relationship counselling service Relate.

[cuervo72]

What alcoholic beverage doesn't act as an aphrodesiac?

But yes, I'd say their study is a little flawed if they're advertising what the desired effect is.

[albionmoonlight]

It would have to be some pretty powerful effects to make drinking mead for a month worth it. Sickly sweet stuff.

[Anrhydeddu]

And I bet they got a government grant using taxpayer's money for this.

[CamEdwards]

kinda like the $4,300,000 study at Duke that showed people who eat junk food and live sedentary lifestyles gain more weight than people who eat right and exercise?

[Daimyo]

I think the assumption is that there will be a control group that is given something that looks identical but lacks whatever key ingredient they're testing. Both groups will think they're getting the same thing and you should then be able to see the difference (or lack thereof) between the two.

[cuervo72]

I think to really test its effectiveness they need to give it to us couples who have been married for 5-10 years, not the newlyweds

[Samdari]

Originally posted by Ksyrup
"One of the biggest causes of problems is stress from outside the relationship...."

Wow, I never would have guessed that.

I had the same thought as you Cuervo. Mead being hard to come by commercially these days, I was busy dusting off my old homebrew equipment and looking up mead recipes. Not sure I want that bump in fertility though (the $400 federal bribe notwithstanding).

[cuervo72]

Originally posted by Samdari
Wow, I never would have guessed that.

I had the same thought as you Cuervo. Mead being hard to come by commercially these days, I was busy dusting off my old homebrew equipment and looking up mead recipes. Not sure I want that bump in fertility though (the $400 federal bribe notwithstanding).

There are ways around fertility.....as for homebrewing, did you ever have any luck with it (assuming you actually do have old equipment). I've bandied about the idea of doing that now and then, though never seriously.

[Samdari]

I had great luck with it. I even entered a contest once and did very well. I stopped because I no longer drink enough beer at home to make it worthwhile. The test is this: If you like Sam Adams more than Bud, you will probably like homebrew. If you don't like "heavier" beers like that, and prefer the mass market "light american lagers" you will hate homebrew. You just can't make something that light colored/bodied (and imo flavored).

Oh, and if you ever do it, a day when the wife is gone for four or five hours would be a good choice. And buy air freshener for afterwards. The first time you put hops in, you are going to think you threw a skunk in the pot. You get used to it. Your wife doesn't.

And Mead is actually one of the easiest alcoholic beverages to make

[scooper]

LOL at the skunk comment. That is the truth. I dabbled in homebrewing for awhile but grew a bit bored with it. It really requires time and patience. And it's not as economical as you think. I'm thinking of starting up again, as I've got a couple friends who want to get into it and it could be fun comparing brews.

cuervo, if you try it, get the good equipment. Stay away from the whole Mr. Beer type of product. I recommend picking up the book "The Joy of Homebrewing." It's actually an entertaining read and is the bible of homebrew. Don't be discouraged if your first couple batches are bad. It takes some tweaking to get it right, but when you do get it right, it's worth it. Start simple. Maybe buy kits that include all ingredients, then once you get the process down, experiment a little. My best batch ever was a stout brewed with bakers chocolate in it. Finally, cleanliness, cleanliness, cleanliness. Disinfect everything. Bleach water is your friend. Dirty bottles/buckets can ruin a good batch.

[cuervo72]

Hmm, thanks for the tips. I think at some point I will probably try it. Keep up with my brother-in-law that has a kegerator in his family room I actually do like beer with flavor, and a wide variety...I like Sam Adams, some black & tans, raspberry wheat (Oxford), Heife-Weisens (Paulaner), pilsners (Spaten) oh, just about anything. My wife likes cider (Blackthorn, Hornsby, Woodchuck) - I guess you could use the equipment for that as well? scooper, I remember buying a couple of beers with chocolate undertones, but I can't remember what they were. They were very good though.

Now that we're talking about it, I seem to recall there was a thread a while ago on the subject.

[scooper]

There probably was. The topic seems to pop up every now and then. Maybe this one is the one that gets me going again.

[cuervo72]

In that case, glad to help

[Samdari]

Cider is also easier to make than beer, using the same equipment, but I found it harder to perfect.

The book scooper refers to is actually titled "The complete joy of homebrewing." and is written by Charlie Papazian.

When I was really doing this seriously (ugh, 8-10 years ago) northernbrewer.com had some great introductory material available for free (as well as some not-as-free starter equipment sets).

Good luck, and always use liquid yeast.

[cuervo72]

Thanks for the info, I'll try to get a copy of the book when I'm ready to try it (and when I'm ready to shell out for the equipment )

[Craptacular]

A friend of my roommate one year in college used our apartment to make some home-brewed beer. That nasty-ass smell stuck around for a couple of days. Blah.