The idea that chocolate is supposed to make you happy has been around for a long time. Comforter of the soul, happy-maker, aphrodisiac, stimulant – just how true are the myths surrounding chocolate? Even the natives of Central America treasured the stimulating effects of cocoa beans. The Aztecs used them to brew an innervating drink for the gods. Different factors can mean that the consumption of chocolate, particularly dark chocolate, positively effects our mood.

Apart from small quantities of caffeine, whose stimulating effect we know from coffee, the enjoyment of chocolate can also increase serotonin levels in the body. If serotonin levels in the body sink, for example, because of women’s menstrual cycle, the demand for carbohydrate-rich food, like chocolate, increases. Because of this increased appetite, the body is supplied with extra carbohydrates. This also improves the absorption of tryptophan in the brain, from which the body can then make serotonin (5-Hydroxytryptamine, 5HT), one of the most important chemical messengers for feeling happy.

The sugar contained in chocolate increases the amount of blood sugar regulating hormone, insulin. Insulin in turns leads to an increased absorption of amino acid tryptophan. This serves the brain as a raw material for the production of neurotransmitter serotonin, the most important chemical messenger for feeling happy. Bright light also causes the distribution of serotonin. That is the reason why our demand for chocolate is comparatively small in summer. In the dark winter the desire for sweets returns once more.

On top of that, the fat in cocoa butter releases endorphins in the brain. They dampen sensitivity to pain and lift our mood. If a person falls in love, their body releases phenylethylamine. They become more euphoric, happier, and also less sensitive to pain. In contrast, if you are suffering under lovesickness, it can be more precisely seen as a withdrawal symptom of this substance. Since a bar of chocolate can contain up to 700 milligrams of phenylethylamine (usually, however, only 50-100mg), it really is like a salve for the soul. It is therefore not surprising that English scientists at Sussex University found in a small study that the taste of chocolate turns most people on more than a kiss.

Theobromine is also contained in cocoa. It is a mild but long lasting stimulant that brightens our mood. Anyone who wants to enjoy a piece of chocolate to help them wake up would be best served choosing a dark chocolate with a high proportion of cocoa. Apart from that, small quantities of the psychoactive substance anandamide have also been proven to exist in chocolate. Anandamide, a polyunsaturated fatty acid, is naturally present in the human body and binds itself to the same receptors as THC, tetrahydrocannabinol, the main active substance in cannabis, where it produces an intoxication-like feeling of happiness.

When we enjoy a piece of chocolate we take in all these ingredients, however, in only very small quantities. An intoxicating effect would be only provable after the consumption of a tremendous amount of milk chocolate, between 20 to 30 kg. Scientifically seen we cannot therefore precisely say what it is in chocolate that causes this pleasurable feeling. It is possibly a combination of all these factors. Why even a small amount of chocolate nevertheless gives us this feeling of well-being probably has also psychological reasons. It reminds us of childhood, or it is a case of that chocolate is often enjoyed as a small reward.

Also, the enjoyment of chocolate is different between the sexes, for reasons that are “biological”, as it were. Shortly before menstruation, endorphin levels in a woman’s blood sink. All pain, hunger, and sensations of pleasure are regulated by endorphins as the body’s own opiate. When endorphin levels sink, unfortunately our mood also often sinks with them. Chocolate can, in response, stimulate production again. There is, however, one point on which nearly everyone agrees: After enjoying one piece of chocolate, it is very hard to stop yourself from enjoying another…