You love it, you crave it, sometimes you can’t get enough of it. Is that so bad? Why do so many women have such a visceral reaction to chocolate? Nutrition expert, Elizabeth Somer, answers those questions and explores our relationship with chocolate.
Why do we crave chocolate?
Chocolate is the number one most craved food and women are the ones most likely to crave it. And rightfully so. As I mention in my book, Food & Mood, many of our cravings for foods are triggered by a stew of appetite-control chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters. Low and behold, chocolate tickles just about every brain chemical there is. For example, the sugar in chocolate affects two neurotransmitters – serotonin and the endorphins. According to research from Johns Hopkins University, the very taste of sugar on the tongue – such as the sugar in chocolate – releases endorphins in the brain.
These brain chemicals produce a euphoric feeling, making the chocolate experience immediately pleasurable. The sugar in chocolate also might raise brain levels of serotonin a neurotransmitter that also boosts mood. It is no surprise that most people don’t start craving chocolate until mid-afternoon. That’s when a brain chemical called galanin is at its all-time high. Galanin turns on the desire for fatty foods. Women are most likely to turn to the sweet-and-creamy foods with chocolate being the number one choice followed by ice cream, cookies, cakes, pies, and other desserts. Men are more likely to go for the protein-fat foods like steak, gravies, hamburgers, or meatloaf. Then of course the cocoa butter in chocolate is what gives this “moment of ecstasy” that “melt in your mouth” texture that is irresistible.
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