Chocolate Addiction

After foraging through my cabinets, fridge, and boyfriend's candy drawer, I became more and more discouraged; we don't have chocolate! It's my own fault for making the decision to shop healthier last week. I finally realized that I do have cocoa powder, powdered sugar, cappuccino mix, and milk. I threw together my satisfying concoction, and then wondered: what is in chocolate that is soooo addictive, that nothing takes its place? So, I looked at the Hershey's Cocoa label. Well, it has 20 calories, .5 grams of fat, 3 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber (compared to only 20 calories, that's really high), and 4% iron. That wasn't a big help. So what are the ingredients? (INGREDIENTS:COCOA)Hmmm...

Medical Mystery: Chocolate and Women. There are many theories as to why women crave chocolate, usually before and during a menstrual cycle, but no set in stone solution. One reason is the release of serotonin in the brain, which calms feelings of depression and anxiety. While other chemicals released raise the heart rate, stimulate the nervous system, and cause a euphoric effect. Hmmm, this sounds almost illegal. Another reason could be that women see it as an indulgence, and it's just part of our culture. And yet another answer could be that it's just the sweet creamy texture that is craved and not the cocoa itself. A study was done where they gave cocoa capsules, which had no effect on calming the craving for chocolate. However when a creamy bar was given that contained no pharmacological components of chocolate, the craving was soothed.

There is some scientific evidence of the addictive properties of chocolate. The same alkaloid compounds are shared by alcohol and chocolate. For this reason, alcoholics anonymous suggest the use of chocolate as a substitute for alcohol addictions. Italian scientists discovered a link between the effects of chocolate and marijuana. The compound anandamine is among other substances believed to mimic the effects of marijuana (I thought that chocolate was sounding illegal!). Women seem to be more effected by the addictive properties of chocolate. According to The Diabetes Association, only 15 percent of men are addicted to chocolate, while 40 percent of women are addicted. Of these people, 75 percent say that chocolate is the only solution for the craving.

Now that I have you thinking of chocolate, Here is a site to throw you over the edge. If you have never been to The Candy House in Joplin, it's definitely worth a trip. I can definitely vouch for their chocolate truffles that cover the palm of my hand, and their English toffee. The candy house also reminds me of a cute story about my dad: Usually about twice a year he would go to the candy house and buy sugar free dark chocolate covered lemon cremes for my mom. She would only eat it if she knew it was sugar free. So after dad died, I went to buy her sugar free dark chocolate covered lemon cremes from The Candy House. When I requested them however, I was informed that they do not make dark chocolate covered lemon cremes in sugar free. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, between missing him, and realizing how like dad it was for him to just tell mom they were sugar free, so she would stop worrying. So I bought her her "sugar free" dark chocolate covered lemon cremes, and told her what dad had been doing. She got a good laugh/cry out of it as well.