Why chocolate makes you happy

We have all heard the tales of chocolate making us happy and feel good. But why does this happen?

I mean, there is the obvious reason; that it tastes delicious and gives you a moment to just savour the chocolate and step away from the normal stresses of life. In today's society it is sometimes considered the 'forbidden fruit' because of the negative effects that it (in conjunction with many other products available today) has had on people's waistlines, and when we are eating what we shouldn't, it just feels that much better. 

And then there is the more scientific explanation, now I have spent a few days researching this and every second website that I found came up with different, or even contradicting information. But this is what I could gather;
There are over 300 chemicals found naturally in chocolate, and some of them can affect the brain via the release of certain neurotransmitters, and there are specific neurotransmitters that are responsible for our emotions and how we feel.
Eating chocolate releases several neurotransmitters that positively affect our feeling and make us feel happy. Phenethylamine is one of these neurotransmitters responsible for that happy feeling, it causes alertness and a degree of excitement, speeding up the heart rate and making us feel happy.
There is also a fat found in chocolate called anadamide, which plays with neurotransmitters to hit a receptor that causes dopamine, causing a feeling of intense well-being.
Endorphins are also released into the brain when eating chocolate. Endorphins are known to decrease levels of stress and pain.

It is fair to say that all this science/chemical based findings are based on eating dark chocolate, with a high cocoa content.
But I'm sure that you have found in the past that eating milk or white chocolate also provides you with happiness, this is because they still contain some cocoa, just not in as high volumes.
If you have a preference of dark, milk or white chocolate feel free to leave a message to us when placing your order and we will be happy to make sure your box is filled with only the best.

I invite you to explore all the delicious chocolates Schoko has to offer and find out for yourself just how happy our hand crafted chocolates can make you.

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