2023-09-10 06:00:00
No matter whether at work or on the couch in the evening: Many people like to snack on a piece of chocolate or treat themselves to a whole bar. Because it lifts your mood on a stressful day or when it is finally over. She makes you feel good. After all, chocolate makes you happy. But “Is this true”?
Not enough happiness makers
In fact, cocoa sometimes contains substances that can make you happy. This includes, for example, the amino acid tryptophan. They produce the happiness hormone serotonin in the body. Stimulants such as caffeine or the herbal substance theobromine, which causes intoxicating states, can also be detected in cocoa.
However, according to experts, the amounts of these substances are too small for them to actually have an effect on our well-being – especially in the case of whole milk chocolate, which only consists of a third of cocoa.
But why do some people feel good when they eat chocolate? There are other reasons for this:
Many calories: A standard 100 gram bar of whole milk chocolate contains around 53 grams of sugar, plus around 32 grams of fat from cocoa butter and a small amount of protein from the milk. With around 550 kilocalories, a bar of chocolate covers on average a quarter of an adult’s daily requirement.
That means: Chocolate can give us a lot of energy. But this doesn’t last long.
Awakens positive memories: Eating chocolate can remind us of childhood moments that make us feel good.
For example: When a certain taste makes us think of a pastry from grandma or grandpa.
Placebo Effect: Although there are no biological reasons why chocolate makes you happy, the so-called placebo effect, a psychological process, might occur instead.
That means: Anyone who expects that a piece of chocolate will improve their mood will ultimately be in a better mood. Just the thought of doing something good for yourself with chocolate can trigger the neurotransmitter dopamine in us. This in turn activates the reward system in our brain.
Bad conscience instead of feelings of happiness
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However, these reasons do not make everyone feel happy – on the contrary: people who always associate snacking on chocolate with the feeling of doing something forbidden or eating something that gives them extra kilos will have a guilty conscience and not feel bad regarding it feel well.
So chocolate can make some of us happy – but not for the same reason.
Is that true: chocolate makes you happy? (Photo: David Weinert)
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