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Why we love chocolate
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner our craving for all thing’s chocolate has been piqued. Whether you’re a believer in the day of love or not, it’s certainly a great excuse to enjoy a tasty bar (or in our case box) of chocolate. As we got stuck into making some homemade Mad Millie Raw Cacao Chocolate, we were curious about where the association of chocolate and love came from.
As it turns out there is a very valid reason that chocolate is sometimes known as the ‘love’ or ‘happiness’ drug. The various different ingredients and compounds that are in chocolate may actually have an impact on our brain and body, causing us to feel pleasurable and positive feelings. Let’s check out what the love drug contains that has us reaching for more.
Theobromine
Theobromine is found in tea, coffee and chocolate, with chocolate being known as the richest ingestible source. It’s a naturally occurring, organic compound that comes from the cacao tree, Theobroma and can have stimulant effects on the human brain. Much like caffeine the stimulant effect makes your feel better, more alert and ready to face the world.
Various studies have shown that if you eat enough chocolate it can have a similar impact on the brain as cannabis, which explains the chocolate high people experience. We recommend a moderate amount of chocolate, a feel good high plus not feeling physically sick after eating kilograms of the good stuff.
Anandamide
Small quantities of anandamide are found in chocolate as well as being naturally occurring in the human brain. It’s a cannabinoid and has some of the same effects as THC in cannabis, with clinical trials showing a reduction in anxiety with its use. This is in such small amounts in chocolate that its impact is negligible but interesting all the same!
Phenylethylamine (PEA)
This little chemical is what our brain naturally releases when we fall in love, you know where else you can find it? In chocolate. The brains pleasure centres are stimulated by phenylethylamine to prompt feelings of happiness, excitement and giddiness. This one is mostly metabolised before it can make us fall in love with our chocolate, but you get the gist.
Tryptophan
Found in small quantities in chocolate, tryptophan is an amino acid that is used by the brain to make serotonin. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that produces feelings of happiness.
Sugar
One of the most addictive parts of all, sugar is found in most types of chocolate to help reduce the bitterness of cacao. As soon as those little sugar molecules hit your taste buds your brain gets a signal to let it know you’ve eaten something sweet and delicious, and dopamine is released. This is one of the big contributors to the feelings of pleasure and satisfaction that comes with that very first bite.
Now just a disclaimer, these naturally occurring chemical compounds are indeed present in chocolate, but they are likely to be in small enough quantities that the positive impact doesn’t actually come from them. Instead our bodies crave a delicious chocolate morsel and when we satisfy that craving, endorphins are released, and we feel happy and content. Either way we know that chocolate gives us a satisfaction like no other, but as always, keep it in moderation.