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   More About Chocolate and Your Health Is Chocolate Addictive? Millions of chocolate lovers insist that the sweet gives them a major “emotional buzz” and hooks them like a drug. Is there any hard evidence to support their claims? According to the consensus of reports from current research, not really. Chocolate can’t give you a strong, physical “rush.” Chocolate contains more than 300 chemicals, including stimulants such as caffeine and theobromine. But these stimulants aren’t present in large enough quantities to significantly affect the brain and nervous system. Chocolate isn’t chemically habit-forming. Researchers at the Neurosciences Institute in San Diego, California, report that chocolate does contain some minor mood-altering substances. These chemicals seem to mimic the effects of marijuana, to a small degree. In other words, they trigger physical and psychological responses in the brain that are similar to those induced by THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. However, to get “high,” studies show that you would have to eat more than 25 pounds of chocolate in one sitting. And these chemicals cannot make you physically addicted to chocolate. Chocolate can be a culturally created craving. Despite the above facts, self-professed chocolate addicts aren’t delusional. Research performed at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, the American University, and other institutions seems to indicate that the human obsession with chocolate is more likely the result of learned behaviors and cultural factors rather than chemicals. As for chocolate’s other mood-elevating properties—carbohydrates present in the sweet can raise serotonin levels in the brain and lead to a feeling of well-being. Continue to Chocolate: A Heart-Healthy Treat |
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