The myth of Love and Psyche found its ideal expression in the classicist masterpiece of Antonio Canova. The work of the sculptor is based on the principles of representation of the human body by Praxiteles and since the 18th century, when it was sculpted, it has seen thousands of copies. Today it is housed in the Louvre Museum.

But love can also be explained scientifically. It is not a human invention dating back to Romanticism and the Renaissance period. It is also Chemistry. And no matter how strange the finding may be to some, a scientific answer can be given – absolutely substantiated.

As the director of the Biochemical Laboratory of the AUTH Chemistry Department, Dora Choli-Papadopoulou, explains, the widely used expression “love is chemistry” does not correspond at all to reality. Chemistry exists, as he clarifies, but “it is triggered by other factors that go beyond simple chemical reactions or to be more specific from biochemical reactions, since that is what the chemical processes of cells/organisms are called” and “as a conclusion, we can say that biochemical reactions they are preceded by other complex processes, related to personal recruiting, everyday life, personality as it has been formed”.

But with love “at first sight” what really happens? Can someone suddenly fall in love? The scientific answer is “yes”, as given by Mrs. Choli – Papadopoulou: “If the first glance triggers processes that lead to the secretion of certain hormones and neurotransmitters, yes, it is possible to start such a communication”.

“This means that in this sensual festival they participate chemical messengers of our endocrine system and brain. The secretion of adrenaline and cortisol begins, because the hypothalamus, pituitary gland and adrenal glands are activated. Dopamine is then released into the circulatory system, the hormone of pleasure and euphoria. During lovemaking, serotonin is at low levels and oxytocin, the hug hormone, is the powerful hormone released during orgasm,” explains the professor.

So when the French talk about love head on, they are absolutely right. When we are in love, some hormones can be measured and proven chemically.

As for the claim that shellfish consumption favors libido, it does not fully correspond to reality. So there is no need for a man in love to eat something specific for his lover only. “Foods are not something that if we take today tomorrow they will “lead” us to love. They create all those organic conditions that speed up, slow down or completely inhibit the production and secretion of hormones”, notes the AUTH professor.