Why does chocolate taste so good?

Chocolate has been with us for many centuries and we know that native Americans in what is now Mexico served chocolate to European explorers as early as the 1500s. On its own, chocolate has a bitter taste, but sugar transported from the plantations in the American colonies made it more palatable to Europeans and its popularity grew. In 1847, milk chocolate was created and a phenomenon was born: the delicious trinity of cocoa, sugar and milk was fused to create one of the world's most loved foods. That's the history. But the real question is why does it taste so darn good? And why do so many of us crave it?

Why Chocolate Makes Us Feel Good

There has been lots of debate about active ingredients in chocolate and opinion is divided on how these feel-good compounds work. It seems that some of chocolate's ingredients work by affecting the brain's neurotransmitter or chemical messenger network. Chocolate contains trytophan which causes the brain to make serotonin, high levels of which can produce feelings of elation. Phenylethylamine, also found in chocolate, works by stimulating the brain's pleasure centres and is believed to induce feelings of giddiness and excitement. And finally anandamide is described as a psychoactive ingredient. Remarkably, this neurotransmitter behaves in the same way as THC, the active ingredient in cannabis. However, many scientists are sceptical that these ingredients can produce mind altering effects because they are present in chocolate in such very small quantities.

Is Chocolate Healthy?

Chocolate is made from cocoa beans, which come from the cocoa tree Theobroma cacao. As a result it contains many of the same healthy compounds as plants including copper, iron, zinc and magnesium and specific antioxidants called polyphenols. Research in California also concluded that chocolate (in moderation) can be good for the heart since it contains flavonoids. And a study at Harvard University found that people who eat chocolate three times a month may live almost a year longer than those who don't. But before you get too excited, it also found that people who eat too much chocolate have a lower life expectancy. This is linked to the incidence of obesity through higher fat and sugar consumption.

A little of what you fancy does you good...

It seems that the answer lies in moderation. A little chocolate is good for us and we dietitians believe that chocolate can form part of a healthy eating pattern. BUT - c'mon, you knew it was too good to be true - it is important to get the balance right and stick within the guidelines of the food pyramid. Too much chocolate is definitely not advisable.