You may have wondered before, ‘what is in chocolate that makes you happy’? Well – we have certainly thought about this, and thought we would look into it and answer the ultimate question!
Well – after much research into the subject, and thinking that this would have a simple answer like ‘chocolate makes you happy because it tastes nice’ was certainly wishful thinking! It turns out that it’s much more complex than we thought, and that the effects of chocolate are actually to do with endorphin release in our body.
We found some really cracking stuff on the Australian Academy of Science website – but we thought we would try and simplify it for a nicer read. Studies have found that there are multiple components within chocolate that can give us that feeling of happiness and satisfaction. One element in particular is called tryptophan; this is an amino acid that helps the brain to make serotonin; a neurotransmitter that makes us feel good.
Phenylethlalanine and Theobromine are other components in chocolate that can make us feel happy. Phenylethlalanine creates similar to feelings to when we fall in love; increased alertness, increased heart rate, and motivation. It also acts as a natural antidepressant. Theobromine creates more of a relaxed effect, and relieves us from stress.
Although these chemical explanations reveal reasons why chocolate and happiness connect; there is also a psychological explanation too. Over the years, the media has portrayed chocolate to be the cure for a broken heart, or just simply as something that makes you feel better in a bad situation. So – with this being shown over and over again, it could be easy to understand that this has had an effect on the way we think about chocolate generally.
Another reason for why chocolate makes us happy would of course, include the sugar content. When we eat chocolate that contains sugar, our taste buds send signals to our brains to tell us that we have eaten something sweet, which is instantly recognised as pleasure. Certain chemicals are released that are associated with the feeling of pleasure, which of course, makes us feel happy!
So – next time you are eating chocolate; don’t forget about all of the science that’s going on in your brain making you feel happy. It might be that you never eat chocolate in the same way again! Either way – we are glad to be creating something that gives our customers such joy.
