The Allure Of Chocolate
Thanks to my friend Starlite over at my favorite mental health forum psychcentral, I discovered that tomorrow is National Chocolate Cake Day. In honor of both that event and my friend Star, I wanted to post something about all things chocolate.
If, while reading this, you have a sudden urge for chocolate, please make a mad dash for your favorite chocolate bar and come finish reading!
What makes chocolate so appealing? The experts believe that when a person eats chocolate the chemical serotonin is released in the brain. This is the mood-elevating chemical that’s released when anti-depressants are taken. It’s also believed serotonin is released when a person exercises.
I can see a great potential here. Just think about it for a minute. You shouldn’t take any medicine you absolutely don’t have to. Besides, a lot of pills have unpleasant side effects and sometimes you just forget to take them.
As for exercise, who has the time or will power? Some people are too tired from their jobs to go to the gym. Others (like me!) simply just can't stay motivated.
So instead of taking pills or “sweating to the oldies” just eat plenty of chocolate.
“What about guilt?” you may ask. What guilt? After eating an entire box of this delicious treat, your brain will have so much serotonin in it you won’t care about calories!
For those chocoholics who like statistics here is something interesting. Did you know the Swiss consume 21 pounds of chocolate per person a year and the Germans consume 20 pounds per person each year? Even the average Belgian or Brit downs some 16 pounds annually, but we Americans eat only 12 pounds a year.
If a study were done on the mental health of the citizens in these five countries, it would likely reveal that Americans are much more depressed than these other countries.
And whose fault is that? As citizens of the U.S., it’s our right to feel just as good as the Europeans do. So, eat more chocolate Americans!
If, while reading this, you have a sudden urge for chocolate, please make a mad dash for your favorite chocolate bar and come finish reading!
What makes chocolate so appealing? The experts believe that when a person eats chocolate the chemical serotonin is released in the brain. This is the mood-elevating chemical that’s released when anti-depressants are taken. It’s also believed serotonin is released when a person exercises.
I can see a great potential here. Just think about it for a minute. You shouldn’t take any medicine you absolutely don’t have to. Besides, a lot of pills have unpleasant side effects and sometimes you just forget to take them.
As for exercise, who has the time or will power? Some people are too tired from their jobs to go to the gym. Others (like me!) simply just can't stay motivated.
So instead of taking pills or “sweating to the oldies” just eat plenty of chocolate.
“What about guilt?” you may ask. What guilt? After eating an entire box of this delicious treat, your brain will have so much serotonin in it you won’t care about calories!
For those chocoholics who like statistics here is something interesting. Did you know the Swiss consume 21 pounds of chocolate per person a year and the Germans consume 20 pounds per person each year? Even the average Belgian or Brit downs some 16 pounds annually, but we Americans eat only 12 pounds a year.
If a study were done on the mental health of the citizens in these five countries, it would likely reveal that Americans are much more depressed than these other countries.
And whose fault is that? As citizens of the U.S., it’s our right to feel just as good as the Europeans do. So, eat more chocolate Americans!