As anyone who's ever admitted to "lusting" over a "luscious" and "sinful" piece of chocolate cake knows, there's some heavy crossover between the vocabulary of food and the vocabulary of sex. In this fascinating Policy Review piece, public intellectual Mary Eberstadt asks whether we have actually replaced sex with food as the subject of popular public moralizing.

In the affluent West, the fears of disease, unwanted pregnancy and social stigma that may have prevented pre-marital sex have been substantially lessened by condoms, birth control and increasingly liberal secular attitudes. In the same countries, fears of starvation have been almost erased by mechanized farming and its resulting cheap food.

"What happens when, for the first time in history - at least in theory, and at least in the advanced nations - adult human beings are more or less free to have all the sex and food they want?" Eberstadt wonders.

As it turns out, Eberstadt says, as our attitudes about sex have become much more relaxed, our attitudes about food have become much more strict and moralistic. While Americans in the 1950s may have felt that certain sexual acts were "wrong" or "sinful," they would never have applied those words to food. Now, in a time where many of us have a "live and let live" attitude about sexual practices, words like "evil" and "immoral" are commonly applied to things like agribusiness, packaged junk foods, etc. and words like "virtuous," "honest," and "pure" are often used to describe organic or local food.

Our moralizing about food is part of a larger societal obsession with eating - Top Chef, Anthony Bourdain's racy kitchen memoirs, books like Four-Star Secrets of an Eavesdropping Waiter - which Eberstadt argues are rather voyeuristic. Which I guess makes this blog "gastroporn" - a term which perfectly encapsulates the essay's point!

Ebertstadt's conclusion? That perhaps, all this moralizing and rule-making about food suggests that people are uncomfortable with how far the sexual revolution has changed society.

What do you think? Why do so many of us apply moral attitudes towards food but not towards sex? Is this a good thing? A bad thing?

Researchers from Exeter and Oxford U asked 740 pregnant women (all first-time moms) to keep a food diary during their gestation periods.

Their findings? That women who ate more food and more nutrients were 24% more likely to give birth to a boy (specifically, 56% of the women in the group who ate the most gave birth to boys). The average woman who gave birth to a male consumed 2,413 calories a day and ate foods containing potassium, calcium and vitamins C, E and B12. The odds of having a boy were also higher among women who consumed one bowl of cereal every day (though the researchers didn't specify whether the bowl was eaten at breakfast or not).

But some people are wary of the stats, saying that a man's sperm ultimately decides whether a child will be male or female, and that diet has little or nothing to do with it.

If anything, hopefully the study will remind and encourage pregnant women to eat a healthy, well-balanced meal no matter what sex their baby turns out to be.

Jamie Oliver is known for his super fresh, simple cooking, so it's no wonder that he says he would never cook a heavy meal for a date.

In an interview for Men's Health, the German edition of the magazine, he said that heavy foods eaten during a date won't leave much room for more, later, of you know what I mean. The thing is that Germans like heavy food, such as kloesse dumplings.

I guess that'd be like telling an American not to have steak and potatoes for the main course while on a date. But then, as this article notes, Jamie is married to a model, so maybe he knows a thing or two.

Researchers at Universiti Malaya have created a tablet for erectile dysfunction that uses walnut extract!

40 men have tried the pills and they seem to work. And because the tablet isn't a drug, it's safer to use than products like Viagra and is probably even safe for people with other medical problems such as high blood pressure and diabetes. Supposedly the Romans and French have been doing this for years.

This is the part where you are free to make as many jokes as possible out of the words "nuts" and "erectile dysfunction." Have fun.

[via Boing Boing]

Sex sells. Usually, it sells things like beer, various liquors and - of course - fatty fast food hamburger, but some Seattle area businesses are using it to sell something else entirely: coffee. Espresso joints with names like Natté Latté, Moka Girls Espresso, Cowgirls Espresso, The Sweet Spot and Bikini Espresso have decided to spice up their images with sexy outfits and flirtatious female baristas to try and attract business away from competitors.

At Cowgirls Espresso in Tukwila, WA, for example, barista Candice Law (pictured) says that she and the other baristas dress to different themes for different days. "Everybody's excited to see you," she said, as evidenced by the look on this customer's face on seeing his coffee served by a girl in a corset and thigh-high boots. At other establishments, "hot-pink hot pants and tight white tank tops," lingerie and "fetish" outfits are just part of the dress code.

Dubbed "sexpresso," the combination of sexy outfits and coffee is a relatively new concept and seems to be gaining in popularity as commutes get longer and consumers are more likely to take factors other than simple convenience into account when looking for coffee in the morning. As one (satisfied) customer said "If I'm going to pay $4 for a cup of coffee, I'm not going to get served by a guy." The employees - just about all women - seem to like it, too, citing the friendly customers and huge tips as great incentives.

Up until now, I always assumed that "domestic goddess" referred to someone who was exceptionally good at "domestic" things, primarily cooking. Their food looked and tasted better than anything anyone else was making. They weren't professionals, but they were as good as. But it seems that the term may have changed meanings and, instead of referring to someone who has goddess-like domestic skills, it might now refer to someone who is a goddess and happens to be able to cook, too. This new application of "domestic goddess" is applied to women like Giada de Laurentiis, Sandra Lee, Cat Cora and perhaps even Rachael Ray.

If part, or perhaps all, of the audience is watching the host, not the food, is this a good direction for food TV to be heading in? For al the interest in cooking shows, does it just come down to whether you look good in an apron or not? Check out Details' sexpots in the kitchen slide show and decide for yourself.

If you've been ignoring all the tips, tricks, news and wagging fingers from your friends and family about eating healthier, maybe this will change your mind about adding dark green leafy vegetables and fiber to your diet. According to health psychologist Lynn Edlen-Nezin and Robert Fried, authors of the book Great Food, Great Sex, the healthier your diet, the better your sex life. Edlen-Nezin says that because the "plumbing is all connected, everything that's good for your heart is good for your sexual health."

So what do they recommend? Everything that's been touted for cardiovascular health is good for sexual health because they contribute in some way to blood-flow through the body: fruits, vegetables, lean meats, whole grains, and anti-oxidant rich foods. Just don't expect high performance after dinner of grilled chicken breast on a bed of blackberries, walnuts, and wheatberries. We know there's no such thing as instant magic.