Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Chocolate Not Addictive


Yes, this isn't really gossip, but I know many of you probably think the headline is heresy and of course chocolate is addictive. I know it's addictive. You know it's addictive.Everyone knows it's addictive. How else can you explain the can't just eat one chocolate from a box, but instead wake up from our stupor 3 hours later with an empty box, fingers and face covered in a chocolate mess and the dog enjoying the jelly filled ones we tossed his way, but which the manufacturers keep making.

A British researcher who obviously is not married and has never had a girlfriend, determined that while chocolate is indeed desirable, it is not actually addictive. Many people point to certain compounds found in chocolate -- such as phenylethylamine -- that produce a buzz when they reach the brain as evidence chocolate is addictive, but many of these compounds also exist in higher concentrations in other foods with less appeal, such as avocados or cheese, and do not cause addiction despite what many chocoholics believe, the researcher said.

"In other words, chocolate is a highly desirable food, but which according to social norms should be eaten with restraint," he said. "However, attempting to resist the desire to eat chocolate only causes thoughts about chocolate to become more prominent, consequently heightening the desire."

The researcher went on to say that he dislikes chocolate and that anything sweet and prefers a nice curry to anything sugary. Shortly after his lecture and report were given, his mom kicked him out of the house where he has lived his entire life and turned his bedroom into a shrine to Willie Wonka.

14 comments:

  1. I have a friend who is "addicted" to avocados. Actually, two friends. They would do anything for avocado. I tease them mercilessly and always have avocados when they visit.

    I love the Timmy game and appreciate you posting things like this that will get us to 2000 posts even faster! Thanks for the entertainment!! And knowledge gained of old Hollywood too!

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  2. Anonymous10:27 AM

    Go to Neuhaus Chocolates, get a box of truffles. They are so rich, you will be unable to eat more than two.

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  3. Maybe not physically addictive, but definitely psychologically addictive.

    Neuhaus is okay, but I prefer Swiss chocolate to Belgian.

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  4. since chocolate releases the same chemicals into the brain that sex does ... and sex is now considered a legitimate "addiction" ... then chocolate must equally be considered as such.

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  5. Anonymous11:48 AM

    Mmmmm, Swiss vs. Belgian.

    I will have to get me some Swiss chocolate and do a side by side comparison.
    It's a tough job but somebody's got to do it. :)

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  6. 1. 'white' chocolate is NOT chocolate!
    2. Chocolate is poisonous to dogs, so, no chocolate for doggy!
    3. If anybody wants to taste some good chocolate (anything), you NEED to check this bakery out:
    http://jintrinsique.blogspot.com/

    (she'll even deliver to Canada!)

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  7. OK now I'm off to the shops!

    A lot of men don't 'get' chocolate. ENT knows the way to a woman's heart ;)

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  8. If its not Cadbury dont even bother..and Hershey's taste like vomit..no lie.

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  9. Fabiola Thing, Belgian Chocolate for the Win, hands down. Order some Cote d'Or. It is absolutely addictive.
    www.worldwidechocolate.com

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  10. I've never tasted Belgian chocolate before. If someone has some, please send some to me.

    BTW, White chocolate is the bomb! and it IS chocolate.

    Don't be hatin'

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  11. Anonymous2:12 PM

    How can chocolate not be addictive when it contains so much sugar??? Sugar is proven addictive! Not to mention the caffeine in chocolate, which is addictive! Maybe not in SERIOUS coffee drinkers but in people who normally abstain, I can see it!

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  12. Didn't i see a study last year sometime that corrolated alcoholics w/ chocolate/sugar addictions?? The same brain patterns or something...uggghhh i am so lazy today i don't even feel like research. rainy ycuky weather does it to me every time. And i'd kick the chocolate out of the way to get to french fries. Not a big sweets lover myself...except for every now and then Fritos and m & m's are the bomb. ahhhh pms days...

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  13. I'd like to take this time to introduce my new product, chocolate avocado cheese balls. Highly addictive and you'll love 'em.

    Pete Schweddy

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  14. Kelly, excellent point!

    Jewels, LARGE amounts of chocolate CAN be poisonous to dogs. I know someone who's tiny 15 pound dog ate a 5 pound box of chocolates and the dog didn't die. Just got really sick! I was there when it happenned (we came home to find a very, very sick dog!). My doggie occassionally gets a bit of chocolate and has stolen candy bars and rich chocolate cake before.

    This guy is an idiot. I am trying to give up chocolate (and sugar) to drop a few pounds. I can't give it up. It's so hard! It seems if you struggle to give something up and can't just stop eating it, then it's an addiction.

    He probably wants his wife/girlfriend to stop eating chocolate when she's PMSing.

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