Chocolate, the product of the cacao tree has been winning fans since Aztec leader Montezuma introduced the beverage (chocolate candy as we know it didn’t appear until the 1800′s) to the Spanish conqueror Cortez, who subsequently took it home to Spain. (While the original drink was rather bitter, the Spanish made a few creative innovations – using sugar instead of chilies, and adding cinnamon and vanilla).
What is it that makes chocolate so irresistible? A large part of chocolate’s allure, of course, lies in the taste – a deliciously rich concoction that satisfies the most intense craving. But several chemical reactions are also at work. For one thing, chocolate stimulates the secretion of endorphins, producing a pleasureable sensation similar to the “runner’s high” a jogger feels after running several miles.
Chocolate also contains a neurotransmitter, serotonin, that acts as an anti-depressant. Other substances, such as theobromine and phenylethylamine, have a stimulating effect. However, the truth is that scientists are still not positive how the over three-hundred chemicals contained in chocolate make us feel so good.
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