Food for Thought: Chocoholics (Not So) Anonymous
Amy Gold
Issue date: 2/28/08 Section: Sci/Tech
Chocolate is the number one food craved by American women, so don't worry ladies, you are not alone. A chocolate craving is more than just a need to satisfy a desire, and anybody who has experienced this knows exactly what I am talking about. These cravings are intense signals that tug recklessly inside of your head, begging your body to fill the void it is feeling. You are blinded by this ache and you are unable to focus on anything else but the task at hand… finding the soft brown chunk of goodness and then eating it as soon as you can. And then as you feel the warmth of the mouth-watering treat melting on your tongue, your crazy world shifts back to normal.
Sounds a bit like a drug addiction, doesn't it? If you stop and think about chocolate, it is often used like a drug. Chocolate is consumed in times of celebration, relaxation, stress, as well as depression. But why chocolate? How does this 'feel good' food give us the satisfaction we are yearning for? The answers are the way chocolate feels in your mouth, and the chemicals chocolate contains. These chemicals stimulate specific hormones in the brain, causing people to seek out chocolate because it fills emptiness by evoking feelings of comfort and pleasure.
Chocolate feels good in your mouth. It becomes soft and creamy as it begins to melt and the sweet smell permeates into the air, creating a moment of pure bliss. Chocolate is the food most desired by women who binge-eat because of the physical pleasure that they experience from indulging. Often dieting women who have sworn off chocolate due to its fat and calorie content feel that succumbing to this luxury is a nice way to feel a little naughty and sinful.
Chocolate contains 300 chemicals, the majority of which are associated with mood, emotion, and addiction. One is called phenylthylamine. Phenylthylamine causes blood pressure to rise and an increase in heart rate. This chemical also triggers the same hormone that the brain activates when you fall in love. Therefore, this substance creates optimal brain happiness, causing the body to desire to return to this feeling. Theobromine is also found in chocolate. This element affects the body likr caffeine, providing just enough of a jolt to jumpstart one's decreasing energy level. Chocolate also contains a compound called anandamide which activates the same receptors as marijuana, in the brain. Although this substance is found in low doses in chocolate, it does create a sense of euphoria. THC in marijuana is what makes a person feel "high," but in order for someone to get high off of the anandamide in chocolate; they would have to ingest 25 pounds of chocolate in one sitting!
Sounds a bit like a drug addiction, doesn't it? If you stop and think about chocolate, it is often used like a drug. Chocolate is consumed in times of celebration, relaxation, stress, as well as depression. But why chocolate? How does this 'feel good' food give us the satisfaction we are yearning for? The answers are the way chocolate feels in your mouth, and the chemicals chocolate contains. These chemicals stimulate specific hormones in the brain, causing people to seek out chocolate because it fills emptiness by evoking feelings of comfort and pleasure.
Chocolate feels good in your mouth. It becomes soft and creamy as it begins to melt and the sweet smell permeates into the air, creating a moment of pure bliss. Chocolate is the food most desired by women who binge-eat because of the physical pleasure that they experience from indulging. Often dieting women who have sworn off chocolate due to its fat and calorie content feel that succumbing to this luxury is a nice way to feel a little naughty and sinful.
Chocolate contains 300 chemicals, the majority of which are associated with mood, emotion, and addiction. One is called phenylthylamine. Phenylthylamine causes blood pressure to rise and an increase in heart rate. This chemical also triggers the same hormone that the brain activates when you fall in love. Therefore, this substance creates optimal brain happiness, causing the body to desire to return to this feeling. Theobromine is also found in chocolate. This element affects the body likr caffeine, providing just enough of a jolt to jumpstart one's decreasing energy level. Chocolate also contains a compound called anandamide which activates the same receptors as marijuana, in the brain. Although this substance is found in low doses in chocolate, it does create a sense of euphoria. THC in marijuana is what makes a person feel "high," but in order for someone to get high off of the anandamide in chocolate; they would have to ingest 25 pounds of chocolate in one sitting!
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