Roll
Cuisine Corner
by Pierre-Luc Moeys
Is Chocolate a Drug?
Not that this is a surprise to most chocolate
lovers, but chocolate contains the natural “love drug”
tryptophan: a chemical that the brain uses to make a neurotransmitter
called serotonin, high levels of which can produce feelings
of ecstasy. While tryptophan could be considered chocolate’s
“ecstasy,” another chemical in chocolate, phenyl
ethylamine, has earned the nickname “chocolate amphetamine.”
High levels of this particular neurotransmitter apparently
promote feelings of attraction and excitement. Phenyl ethylamine
stimulates the brain's pleasure centers and, not surprisingly,
reaches peak levels during orgasm. However, many scientists
are skeptical that chocolate could produce mood-altering effects
in this way. Chemicals like tryptophan and phenyl ethylamine
(also found in many other foodstuffs) are, after all, present
in chocolate only in very small quantities.
Chocolate also has amounts of anandamide,
another neurotransmitter that targets the same brain structures
as THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, also known as marijuana.
But to make a substantial impact on the brain’s own
natural anandamide levels, experts estimate you would need
to eat several kilos of chocolate! We can’t recommend
ingesting THAT much chocolate (not that that’s going
to stop anyone from trying) but we generally agree; regardless
of any “drug-like” properties of chocolate, it
does seem to make life a little sweeter, a little smoother,
and there’s nothing wrong with that, is there?
INTRO
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CHOCOLATE A DRUG?
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