Chocolate just tastes good? That’s it?
When you’re feeling a bit down, do you reach for the chocolate? I do for sure. Chocolate chips aren’t safe in my house (I usually buy twice as much as I need for baking, because I’ll snack on the rest). For a long time we’ve thought that there were "feel good" chemicals in chocolate like theobromine and serotonin and these give us a little boost in the mood department. Well, apparently while those chemicals are there … but they don’t boost our mood. In fact, eating chocolate might have an opposite effect.
From the Discovery Channel Canada …
When socked with a bad mood, many of us ice our sorrows with a bar of sweet, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate. And when you can’t drop the bar, you claim it’s ’cause the treat is just plain addictive. Now, after looking at a vast collection of studies, a group of scientists suggest the claims that the chemicals in chocolate actually lift your spirits are as empty as the calories in the treat itself.
Man, what a bummer! The study drops this lovely bombshell on us too:
And if you’re still convinced that chocolate makes you feel better when your blue, Parker points out this perk could be a product of your own mind games.
"Chocolate can provide its own emotional pleasure by satisfying cravings, but when consumed as a comfort eating or emotional eating strategy, is more likely to be associated with prolongation rather than cessation of a depressed mood," he writes.
Boy, scientists sure take the fun out of everything don’t they! Coffee, chocolate … yikes. Here is what I think. I love chocolate. I don’t have it all the time. It tastes good and if I get a boost from the sugar and the satisfaction of eating something yummy, that’s good enough for me.
Now, where is that chocolate mocha ice cream ….
Tags: chocolate, theobromine, serotonin
7 Comments
I reach for chocolates anytime they’re there! They make me “feel good” cuz I just love eating them chocolates. Nothing to do with making me feel better inside, but a tasty treat is a tasty treat!
oh yeah. Coffee does the same for me too. Except coffee is supposed to make me stay up but it doesn’t. The only effect it has on me is the diuretic one.
LOL! Thanks for stopping by Angelo.
psst, here’s a Caramilk (aka Caramello) for you.
.
[...] Okay, chocolate might only be tasty and not pump us full of feel good chemicals, but did you know that you can use chocolate chips and your microwave to measure the speed of light? Yeah no kidding. [...]
Pshaw, whadda they know? We all know chocolate is the Best. Thing. Ever. Makes a great secret ingredient in chili too.
Deb you are so right! That extra touch in a proper mole is chocolate!
[...] Yeah, those who know me know that chocolate is, more than just a treat for me, it’s a yummy drug. It’s been a week now, and while I still am resisting now that there is no easily consumable chocolate in the house … watch out. Yep I took a spoon to the last of the Smucker’s chocolate sauce this evening. Okay I still have cocoa powder and if need be a little margarine, sugar, and whatever will give me something. [...]