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Why Can't We Resist Chocolate?

As a child I always wanted to have chocolate, I would lick the melted chocolate off the foil and eat a piece. Now, as a non-adult, fat woman (ouch! that word really hurts), I try to stop myself from eating chocolates. No! I am not diabetic, I have been checking my blood sugar for the past two months and thankfully my sugar level is fine. But since I have been told that eating chocolate is not good for your health, I try hard not to eat too much. I eat it once a week when we go shopping and sometimes I can't resist it: the smell, the creaminess, the almonds (oh! I love almonds) and the taste call me. Before that, I liked chocolate milk, but when I found out that chocolate milk is better because it has more antioxidants, I had to choose it to avoid guilt after eating. This is my favorite chocolate, but please read the whole story because there is a romantic story behind it.

Hunger is common. The tendency to seek out foods that are high in sugar and fat is well known in nutrition research. As a food that is high in sugar and fat, chocolate is one of the most consumed foods in America. Here are five reasons why you should be eating chocolate and what you can do about it: 

 

For The Sweetness

Chocolates are made by combining cocoa powder and cocoa butter with sweeteners and other ingredients. Cocoa butter makes up most of the fat in chocolate. Different types of chocolate contain different amounts of cocoa powder (often called percentages of cocoa). Dark chocolate has the highest concentration of cocoa powder and white chocolate the lowest. Chocolate also contains many other ingredients such as sugar, milk powder and nuts. Cocoa is bitter. To improve the taste of chocolate, manufacturers add a lot of sugar. Sugar is a type of carbohydrate that your body absorbs quickly. Some people believe that this fast "sweet high" provides a temporary mood boost. However, many studies show that it is the combination of fat and sugar that makes certain foods addictive.

 

One Hershey's milk chocolate bar contains 24 grams of sugar. Other chocolate bars with caramel, nougat and marshmallow may contain more sugar. For example, a Snickers bar contains 27 grams of sugar. Chocolate bars contain more than 75% cocoa with little sugar (less than 10 grams per bar).

 

ResearchTrusted Source suggests that sugar (and other refined carbohydrates) are a major component of processed foods that are considered addictive. Sometimes, chocolate cravings can be easily explained: you're just hungry. When your body is hungry, it needs fast carbohydrates like refined sugar. Unfortunately, most processed chocolates are high on the glycemic index, meaning they give you a short-term sugar rush. Once the rush is over, you'll be hungry again. Although chocolate contains caffeine, it's usually not much. As cocoa is processed, its caffeine content decreases. Most processed candy bars contain less than 10 mg of caffeine. To put this in mind: an average cup of coffee contains around 85-200mg of caffeine. Some dark chocolate, however, may contain more caffeine than a can of cola (which has about 30 mg). The higher the cocoa content, the higher the caffeine content. Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system, making you more awake and alert. It also affects the levels of certain neurotransmitters in your brain, including dopamine. This can lead to addiction. For those who do not drink caffeinated drinks, the caffeine in chocolate can be enough to give energy. However, if you consume caffeine regularly, your tolerance to its effects may be higher.

 

About 50 percent of American women crave chocolate at the beginning of their period. Researchers have not been able to find a biological explanation for this phenomenon. In women born outside the United States, in countries where chocolate is not associated with PMS, chocolate cravings are often new. Basically, women may crave chocolate during their periods because they think that chocolate cravings are normal.

 

Plus, when you're feeling stressed, anxious, depressed, or uncomfortable, it's easy to turn to what you know will work for you. ResearchTrusted Source shows that chocolate is rich in magnesium. Scientists asked Trusted Source if magnesium deficiency could explain people's chocolate cravings. This seems impossible because there are other foods high in magnesium that people tend to struggle with, including nuts.