Don't Rely on Chocolate for Long Term Happiness

In a good mood? Looking to celebrate? There are few better foods to consume during these times than chocolate. Go ahead, you've earned it.

If you're not feeling too hot, however, you'd be better served to drown your sorrows elsewhere. New findings report that those who are stressed and clinically depressed may see their condition grow worse once the chocolate high wears off.

This study - which will be published in the Journal of Affective Disorders - counters the myth that chocolate is an antidepressant. Considered to be the most comprehensive literature review on how chocolate affects how one is feeling, the analysis shows the motivation behind eating chocolate determines which neurotransmitters are activated. Hence, your mood.

The review's Australian authors, from the Black Dog Institute at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney, identified two groups of chocolate eaters based on motivation.

1. Cravers: Eat chocolate as an indulgent pleasure
   
2. Emotional eaters: Use chocolate in a bid to alleviate depression

Professor Gordon Parker, the executive director of the Black Dog Institute and lead author, says cravers see chocolate like a good glass of wine. Therefore, anticipating and eating the treat releases 'feel good' neurotransmitters.

"Chocolate craving as an indulgent pleasure seems to stimulate the dopamine system in the brain, and provides an enjoyable experience," he said.

Emotional eaters, on the other hand, eat this dessert to relieve boredom, stress or clinical depression and are looking for an opioid effect to improve their mood.

For this group, Parker says, even the best imported chocolate only provides temporary relief. But this is quickly followed by a return to or a worsening of their earlier negative state.

Overall, eating sweet foods is thought to release the neurotransmitter beta-endorphin in the hypothalamus, which is said to have an opiate effect on the body.

However, the reason why a chocolate high is so transient and insufficient to sustain positive moods in those who eat it for emotional reasons remains unknown. The theory that chocolate acts as an antidepressant comes from the common belief that a serotonin deficiency causes chocolate cravings, but the review has found no support for this hypothesis.

"It is true that chocolate acts on the same neurological system as serotonin," Professor Parker said. "But you'd have to eat a truck load of chocolate before you have had the equivalent of one antidepressant tablet.

The review says stimulants such as caffeine, theobromine, tyramine and phenylethylamine, are also present in concentrations too low to have any significant psychoactive effect.

What's our conclusion? Enjoy chocolate for what it is: a sweet-tasting treat. But it should never be used an an emotional crutch.

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