Unnerving.

If you've ever gone to dinner for a first date, you'll know that it can be awkward as f*ck. Not only do you have to sit with somebody you hardly know for a few hours, but you also have to eat in front of that person, try not to spill pasta sauce down your chest, and ultimately just not make a fool of yourself when making a fool of yourself is the only thing you know how to do. Grim enough. As it turns out, our meal of choice could actually be having a weird effect on our dating experience too... especially if we're ordering something spicy like a curry. According to a new study conducted in the States, women who eat spicy foods on dates find the person they're dating more attractive. Apparently, it's all down to the components of the foods themselves and the unconscious associations we make between meals and other emotions. For example, eating a curry will make someone appear hotter to you, while munching on some ice cream may have the opposite effect. We know what you're thinking - we can't believe that curry would betray us this way either. If we're attracted to somebody, we want to know because we know what we're attracted too... not because we've eaten a jalfrezi. The researchers gave a group of women some spicy, sweet, and bland snacks before asking them to rate some photographs of men from one to nine. The women who ate the spicy foods rated the lads an average score of 4.46 for attractiveness, which was 21 percent higher than what the other women rated them. Psychologists involved in the study have said the results are due to something called “embodied cognition” - or the ability of sensory feelings to affect how we think. Lead researcher Jenni Miska said:

“A spicy flavour was found to increase romantic interest as well as physical attractiveness ratings. “It supports the suggestion that sensory experiences, in this case taste, can influence cognitive perceptions regarding potential relationships.”

Good to know, we guess.