Chocolate temptation. Check how chocolate works.

How come when you have a bad day, you start craving for something sweet, preferably a big bar of chocolate? It’s not magic - check how chocolate works.

Chocolate connotes happy moments such as birthday, Christmas, Easter, Valentines and prizes from childhood: for good behaviour or good scores at school. Motivation to reach for that tidbit connects with the will to improve mood, sweeten our sorrows, bring the good humor back so in general with a will to experience pleasure and forget about sadness.

It’s natural that when you feel sad and lonely, most likely you would use a time machine and come back to happy moments in your life. Often chocolate works just as such machine.

Chocolate means happiness

Every time you eat chocolate your brain produces chemical substances - chocolate contains tryptophan which is converted into serotonin, one of neurotransmitters in nervous system. Level of endorphins - happiness hormones - also increases.

These hormones are activated also when you feel satisfaction, when you’re in love, you’re laughing or having sex.

Chocolate is also an aphrodisiac, it supplies organism with glucose, coffeine, theobromines and phenethylamine, also known as love hormones. They narrow blood vessels, which increase blood pressure. That causes better concentration and general organism stimulation.

In the report published in "Journal of Proteome Research" the therapeutics effect of chocolate on emotional stress relieve had been proved. 40 grams of chocolate per day consumed for 2 weeks lowers the level of stress hormones and partly normalizes biochemical imbalance caused by stress.

So what’s the problem? If chocolate makes such miracles it means we can eat a lot of it… Well no. Leaving its calorific value aside, remember that chocolate can cheer you up only for a short time, and that’s why it’s so important to find different methods for calming down and reducing stress.

Remember that bad day will happen from time to time. And it’s not connected with what person you are. Sad, hard moments are natural. They happen to everyone. Remember that every day lasts only for 24 hours, today can appear to be hard but tomorrow is the new day, and you will be able to continue your path towards good mood and happiness. Anew!

When you feel overwhelmed by duties, diet, exercises, you should slow down, charge your batteries, take care of yourself.

Maybe a yoga session? Maybe it’s been a while since you went to the movies ? Maybe that famous meditation which is not really that overrated? Think. And later when you’ll be ready, recall your goals and continue acting. Pursuit of happiness is a process which can be hard, it requires consistent action but also the ability to let go, looking at problems from a perspective and mostly not taking yourself too seriously.

And a curiosity - Jeanne Calment, French, who died at the age of 122 and was the longest living person ever, used to say that the biggest role in her longevity played being optimistic and... eating chocolate. As long as not too much!

*This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. The information contained herein is not a substitute for and should never be relied upon for professional medical advice. Always talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of any treatment.