During the end-of-year celebrations, the windows of chocolate makers are full of temptations and you have a hard time resisting… You are not the only one since 9 out of 10 French people admit being addicted to chocolate. But, don’t worry, even if your taste for chocolate looks like an addiction, according to nutritionists, we can’t really speak of addiction, but more simply of “chocolate addiction”!
For scientists, what seems to explain our drive towards chocolate when we feel down or depressed is that chocolate is composed of 500 different molecules, some of which have psychoactive properties: theobromine, caffeine, phenylethylamine, magnesium, serotonin… An experiment carried out on animals is a good illustration of this drive towards chocolate. The intravenous injection in dogs of phenylethylamine, one of the components of cocoa, stimulates their drive for this molecule whose structure is close to those of amphetamines (according to a communication by Pr C. Bistmuth, of the Lariboisière Hospital in Paris)!
We fill up with serotonin, the hormone of good humor
Another neuromediator, serotonin, present in cocoa has antidepressant effects. This same serotonin could also promote the reduction of appetite, hence the interest of maintaining chocolate in reasonable quantities in slimming diets. A study from the University of San Diego supports the idea that dark chocolate is good for the line, indicating that the slimming effect of chocolate is linked to the content of catechins, antioxidants that promote weight loss. weight and muscle fineness.
Finally, let’s not forget the taste pleasure provided by the consumption of chocolate, linked to the subtle tastes of the different cocoa beans.
Opt for dark chocolate
Dark chocolate contains slightly less sugar than milk chocolate. It is rich in copper since 100 g of chocolate can cover 22% of the recommended daily intake. It is also rich in magnesium (112 mg per tablet) and iron. Milk chocolate, on the other hand, is much richer in calcium and phosphorus. White chocolate is also rich in calcium, but much sweeter and is a confectionary.
Read also :
- 12 good reasons to eat chocolate at Christmas
- 1 chocolate mousse, 5 healthy versions
- 1 chocolate fondant, 4 healthy versions
- 1 hot chocolate, 4 healthy versions
- Anti-fatigue recipes with raw cocoa
