The Science behind: Chocolate (Cover: Ishita Aggarwal)

The luscious melt in your mouth, the creamy texture like no other, you guessed it right, it’s chocolate!

A whopping 90% of Americans love chocolate, so what is it that makes this, a tasty treat, for all of us?

Ever since I was little, I’ve always wondered why my Halloween candy disappeared so fast. And why is it practically impossible to say no to an un-harming, sweet delight?

Well, there’s more to Chocolate than meets the eye, so what makes it so addictive?

Chocolate contains a chemical called Phenylethylamine, which stimulates the brain to release a neurotransmitter called dopamine.

Dopamine controls our body’s reward system and is released whenever we’re happy, laughing, playing, and even when we’re eating.

Dopamine travels in the frontal lobe, the hippocampus, and the hypothalamus of our brain. These work together to regulate our emotions and make us happier, so it associates chocolate with happier and positive emotions!

Also, Phenylethylamine itself increases focus, attention, task completion, and goal-directed behavior!

(So don’t blame yourself when you can’t stop yourself for “reaching” for one more piece)

And lastly, why is giving chocolate to our four-legged, furry friends such a dairy (dare-y) move?

There’s a chemical called theobromine in chocolate. Theobromine has similar effects to caffeine, except at a lower extent. Since dogs metabolize much faster than humans, a small dose of chocolate can lead to diarrhea or even heart attacks!

I hope you guys enjoyed reading, and hopefully, this made you Snicker! What’s your favorite type of candy? Leave it down in the comments :). Thanks for reading, and next time you can’t say no to “the last” candy bar, you’ll know why…

Sweet Reading,

Ishita A 🍫

Articles: http://yalescientific.org/thescope/2017/02/the-science-behind-chocolate/