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Chocolate really does make you feel good
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Copyright 1997 Nando.net   Copyright 1997 Scripps Howard

(July 28, 1997 00:09 a.m. EDT) -- Chocolate has an image problem: it makes
you fat, gives you spots, and brings on migraines. But it was not always
like this. If you had gone to a doctor 300 years ago, the chances are you
would have been prescribed a chocolate drink. Some of the earliest
chocolate makers were also apothecaries.

Chocolate was first brought to Europe from the New World in 1527 by the
Spanish. The Aztecs drank it mixed with maize flour, chili peppers, and
other spices. It became a fashionable drink among the aristocracy in Spain
and France (they dropped the maize flour and chilies in favor of sugar and
hot water).

But it was not until the late 17th century that it caught on in England.
That was when Sir Hans Sloane, president of the Royal College of
Physicians, thought of mixing chocolate with milk. During the 17th and 18th
centuries chocolate was believed to encourage sleep, aid digestion, purify
the blood, improve fertility and aid the delivery of babies.

None of these claims has turned out to be true. Chocolate does, however,
seem to produce a powerful effect on mood. Neil Martin, a neuropsychologist
at the Brain and Cognition Sciences Research Center at Middlesex
University, England, has examined how the brain responds to various
synthetic and genuine food odors such as chocolate, rotting pork, coffee,
baked beans, strawberry and garlic.

"We found that when someone smells chocolate there is a dramatic reduction
in the theta waves in their brain. Chocolate seemed to make the person more
relaxed, or calmer."

Chocolate contains a number of active ingredients that could affect a
person's mood, including low levels of caffeine and high levels of a weak
stimulant called theobromine.

One substance which has generated a lot of interest is phenylethylamine, a
natural amphetamine-like substance. This raises blood pressure, heart rate
and blood-glucose levels.

Some researchers claim that phenylethylamine induces a high similar to a
sexual climax. Last year, researchers from the Neurosciences Institute in
San Diego reported in the science journal Nature that chocolate contains a
group of chemicals.-- called N-acylethanolamincis.-- which may mimic the
effects of cannabis.

When psychologists from the University of Pennsylvania surveyed
undergraduates and their families, they found that 50 percent of female
students and their mothers craved chocolate premenstrually.

After ovulation there is a drop in the levels of serotonin, a chemical in
the brain, producing a corresponding drop in mood and energy. Chocolate
contains serotonin. One possibility is that chocolate boosts the body's own
serotonin levels, producing a feeling of euphoria.

However, Peter Rogers, a psychologist at the Institute of Food Research in
Reading, England, says there is no scientific evidence to show that any of
the chemicals in chocolate produce direct effects on the brain.

Most of the chocolate eaten in this country is milk, with a low proportion
of cocoa solids -- so any feeling of well-being is probably due to sugar
and fat which are known to activate certain receptors in the brain. He
acknowledges that some people have cravings for chocolate but says that is
not addiction in the true sense of the word.

"We enjoy eating chocolate; it is used as a treat and a reward from early
childhood, and so has a special place in our culture,"' he says. Women more
than men seem to have a love-hate relationship with chocolate.

A report in a British medical magazine, the Lancet, last year said
chocolate contained antioxidants.-- also found in green vegetables.-- which
are thought to protect against heart disease. There is not, yet, enough
evidence to justify replacing your dietary measure of broccoli with a bag
of chocolate truffles, but that Lancet report should minimize your guilt
next time you tuck in.

By JACQUI WISE, The Guardian
http://www.nando.net/newsroom/ntn/health/072897/health7_12682.html
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