The Biology of Attraction and Love

Just thought I'd share this link from an e-mail. It's a very interesting analysis by Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr Michael Roizen of the chemical truth to the 7-year itch.

Update - This is my best effort of a transcription of their talk

Ever heard of the 7-year itch?

There is actually some truth to it.

First year you’re walking on air because of the dopamine receptors, and you now are going to fire them like crazy.

For the next 4 years a different chemical called oxytocin takes over.

So you bond with your spouse to be to get that warm and fuzzy feeling all over.

But after 7 years, the chemicals in your brain aren’t working overtime anymore.

So it is up to you to re-create your marriage to get those hormones working again.

Because a healthy relationship is all part of you being beautiful.

Let’s explore the biology of our romantic relationships.

How we find that right person and how we continue to love that person.

MRI shows that parts of your brain light up like a movie marquee when you’re in the romantic phase of love.

Why?

Because of a love-potion ingredient called Dopamine.

When you’re in love and nurture that relationship, your brain pumps out this feel-good chemical.

Dopamine drives reward-seeking behaviour or craving and increases the brain cells release of the euphoria hormone – serotonin.

So the better you feel the more you want.

Because that dopamine pathway increases with risk-taking, we often seek what’s new and exciting.

Because dopamine and serotonin are high when you’re in romantic love, when you’re without your loved one you become love-sick, for chemical reasons.

Being love-sick actually makes serotonin levels drop 40%, down to the same levels as people with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Being in love triggers the increase of the “happy” chemical, serving as the chemical reason for why we feel happy when we are in good relationships.

Unfortunately we develop a tolerance for dopamine over time.

One way to continue this chemical “high” is to try new and even exotic behaviour to increase dopamine levels and stimulate more and more receptors.

That’s why new sex positions and sex in different rooms seem exciting ESPECIALLY FOR MEN.

But don’t worry.

Because another hormone Oxytocin, the powerful chemical that makes you feel intimacy and community comes to the rescue.

Oxytocin by the way is also increased by talking – which might mean why communications is so important in relationships.

This increase in oxytocin within an entire symphony of brain chemicals that influences us is one reason that why 99% of humans live in Pair-bonds.

That’s not only marriage but any intimate relationship with one strong partner be it a spouse or significant other, a parent, a sibling, a close friend or even your cat.

Nevertheless after around 4 years the chemical tie that drives humans to stick together starts to recede.

The timing isn’t a co-incidence, since the potentially created offspring will no longer be entirely dependent on the mother, leaving her better able to provide for herself and her children.

Without the chemical hand-cuffs the fathers are more to prone to leave. This is why the relationship needs to be moved from being purely romantic to a deeper level of beauty to create a fertile field for a life-long relationship.

Getting back to sex. What’s it’s purpose?

For a start sex concerns that Nirvana moment between couples – a time you feel complete happiness and intimacy, a time when you express your love to your mate.

Consider these resulting benefits.

Men who have sex 3 times a week can decrease their risk of a heart attack and stroke by 50%.

Women who enjoy sex tend to live longer than those who don’t.

Great sex makes your body feel and be the equivalent of 2 to 8 eights younger.

Increasing sex from once a month to once a week according to researchers is the happiness equivalent of an additional $50,000 dollars in income for the typical American.

Here are a few tips to improve your love-life.

Re-invent your relationship.

Many couples gradually grow apart and have to re-connect.

Why?

A woman marries a man because he sees his potential and then tries to adjust him to fulfil this potential.

Conversely a man marries a woman who is exactly what he wants.

And then she goes off and changes.

So in effect as soon as you fall in love both of you start racing in different directions.

Thankfully for you and any offspring, you’re held together by those chemical hand-cuffs - dopamine and oxytocin.

Levels wane and your cuffs slip off after 5 to 7 years; you need to continually re-invent the marriage by taking each other out of your comfort zones.

Travel somewhere new.

Try a new hobby together.

Or make some new friends to bring out different parts of your changing personalities.

Then open the fridge. Food plays a vital role in our sexual desire.

Some because of the smell, some because of the shape, and some alter your body chemistry to make you fell more desirable and can desire and mate more.

The scents of lemons, and donuts and liquorice increase penile blood flow, which is necessary for men to achieve an erection.

Don’t eat the donuts though because that actually slows the blood down. Just smell it.

For women, it is liquorice and cucumbers. Why? Maybe it’s the phallic shape which subconsciously plays a large part in all food anyway.

As if there aren’t enough resons to shop for good food, here is one more - Great Sex.

This sex-scented shopping list will revitalise your kitchen as well as your bedroom.

I've stopped the script there. Continue with this list taken from http://www.realage.com/tips/grub-your-libido-will-love

* An apple a day helps keep bad breath away (and your partner closer than ever).

* Asparagus is rich in vitamin E -- a key nutrient for hormone building. (Find out how asparagus affects your liver, too.)

* Bananas contain bromelain -- an enzyme thought to boost male libido.

* Celery is high in androsterone, a hormone released in male sweat that turns women on. (Did you know? Celery helps constipation, too.)

* Figs are rich in amino acids that may set your desire afire.

* Garlic might cancel the sweet breath provided by the apples, but it can also boost blood flow to sexual organs. (Take the hassle out of garlic prep with tips from this video.)

* Oysters have lots of zinc, an ingredient necessary for the production of testosterone.

* Wild yams are thought to enhance genital sensitivity.



Whatever!





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