Chocolate=Less Sad Boi Hours

2/4/2019

Chocolate makes everyone happy right? The answer is yes, chocolate sets off neurological chemicals that make one think they are experiencing happiness. When you find yourself at the Doctors office because you're sad, many new things are learned, including that chocolate can help with depression.

Chocolate is an essential asset in this world, not only because it comforts us in our time of sad binging but also because it makes us feel warm and happy when one is feeling down. Have you ever wondered why chocolate makes people feel happy when they're sad? Well, this is because chocolate has a chemical in it known as Phenylethylamine. Phenylethylamine causes alertness and a degree of excitement, it is also known as “the love drug” because It is known to create feelings similar to love when the chemical hits the brain.

“According to a study published this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine, people who feel depressed eat about 55 percent more chocolate than their non-depressed peers. And the more depressed they feel, the more chocolate they tend to eat”(Khirly, Dina). Many people find themselves reaching for chocolate when they’re sad because they know deep in their mind that it will make them feel better. Not many people realize that this is because of actual chemicals making them feel better or happier.

Have you ever found yourself reaching for chocolate when you’re feeling sad? Next time the feelings of sadness are upon you would you try chocolate to see if it helps? Do you think chocolate can help one with depression? Did you know that people can easily get addicted to chocolate? Do you think chocolate can help people with depression?

Sources Used
http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/04/26/chocolate.depression/index.html
https://www.amanochocolate.com/faqs/why-does-chocolate-make-people-happy/

44 Comments

Rachel

2/9/2019 06:06:42 pm

I had heard of this study before but never had actually researched it. That is so cool that chocolate contains a chemical that makes you happy. I think that it can be helpful if you are feeling down to eat some chocolate, but I also recognize that it is probably only good in moderation. Too much and it can become addictive or unhealthy because of the amount of sugar it contains. I wonder if dark chocolate still contains the same chemical? I like dark chocolate better anyway and it is a healthier option as well.

Kelsey

2/10/2019 12:38:32 pm

I like dark chocolate better as well. I think that dark chocolate would contain the same chemical because I am pretty sure that the chemical comes from cocoa plants. In this case, dark chocolate probably has more of this chemical.

Katherine

2/10/2019 02:19:36 pm

I agree with you about the fact that chocolate should be eaten in moderation, over that it is definitely unhealthy. I'm pretty sure that dark chocolate contains the same chemical. Along with that, it contains a couple other similar chemicals and antioxidants.

Conrad

2/10/2019 04:07:58 pm

I think that chocolate just tastes so good that we people give it more credit than its worth. It's like a good coffee, always perks ya up because it tastes good and does have some energy in it.

Kenna

2/10/2019 06:04:08 pm

I agree that chocolate should not be eaten in huge amounts. It can be very unhealthy because of the sugar content.

challis

2/10/2019 06:07:05 pm

You're right. Chocolate is good but things are only good in moderation.

Mckinlee

2/10/2019 07:10:57 pm

Wouldn’t you rather be addicted to chocolate than heroin though? Dark chocolate does contain the same chemical I think!

Kelsey

2/10/2019 12:36:41 pm

I did not know that chocolate could make a person happier. I don't like milk chocolate very much, but I absolutely love dark chocolate. If I am not careful, I could get slightly addicted and eat too much chocolate. It makes sense that chocolate is the universal candy on Valentine's day because it releases that chemical similar to love. I think it is fine for people to resort to chocolate when they are feeling down. There are probably better options out there, but sometimes it is okay to feel sad and eat chocolate - it is not a bad thing. Some people think of sadness as a bad emotion, but I think it is completely normal and a part of life everyone should experience. If we are never sad, than how do we know what happiness is? Being sad for long lengths of time is not good though, and chocolate can help us not feel so blue.

Katherine

2/10/2019 02:22:47 pm

I agree that feeling sad is just human nature to show us how to be happy. Being sad for long lengths of time is something more serious, but chocolate may help. I agree that there are healthier options out there, but you can't always resist chocolate.

Rachel

2/10/2019 03:56:03 pm

Wow I did not think about that but it totally makes sense why chocolate is associated with Valentine's day. I also agree that sadness is a human emotion. One should feel sadness at some point in their lives because it just means that they are living and are human. I agree too that we can not understand true happiness without being sad.

Brooke

2/10/2019 05:20:44 pm

Yes! Chocolate is the thing to get for valentines day, and Christmas, and Easter, and every other holiday. It symbolizes happiness because of the relation to these occasions. Who would've thought how important chocolate is.

Challis

2/10/2019 06:09:15 pm

I agree. People should eat chocolate when they are sad. What do you think people with chocolate allergies should eat when they are sad?

Sariah

2/10/2019 07:00:40 pm

I definitely agree that sadness is a good emotion to have because with out it we could not be able to discern what happiness is. Do you think dark chocolate and milk chocolate have a different chemical affect on people? I wonder what ingredient in chocolate that specifically satisfies people.

Mckinlee

2/10/2019 07:13:08 pm

Chocolate=happy, happy=love, thus love=chocolate. Sadness is definitely completely normal and even healthy, chocolate is okay to turn to but not all the time.

Katherine

2/10/2019 02:13:58 pm

I had heard that chocolate will help boost a persons mood and excitement, but I never really knew if that was true or not. Chocolate is a common food that people tend to binge or eat when they are down, but a lot of times it is just another food. Like Rachel said, chocolate should really be eaten in moderation. When people are sad, they tend to eat too much and it becomes unhealthy. I try to stay away from chocolate because I find it pretty addicting, but that never lasts. Depressed or not, I still eat it.

Rachel

2/10/2019 03:53:52 pm

I completely agree that you can not actually stay away from chocolate, and depressed or not, I definitely still eat it too. I think that it is cool that it can make you happy, and agree with Kelsey that it is probably the universal Valentine's day candy because of this.

Conrad

2/10/2019 04:06:44 pm

I think that chocolate does improve the mood, despite its unhealthiness. I mean it stops you from punching me so how could it not improve the mood?

Conrad

2/10/2019 04:05:35 pm

I think that chocolate helps with sadness and depression just as pizza does, or any other good food. It distracts from whats going on in one's life. I find myself a foodoholic (even more than usual) when I'm stressed. I do not believe that there is any significant correlation between depression and chocolate, just that it is so good that people eat it all the time, and much of that time tends to be sadness. On the case, I think that dark chocolate is slightly better than milk but won't hesitate at either.

Brooke

2/10/2019 05:25:04 pm

I agree, dark chocolate is the best. When people are depressed, it seems to bring out the sweet tooth. Chocolate and ice cream are the main go-to foods, for sure.

Katarina

2/10/2019 06:10:53 pm

I don’t I find that if I’m sad my go to is chocolate not pizza. Also milk is better than dark.

Jesse B.

2/10/2019 06:53:35 pm

I have come to the same conclusion that no matter the food, (chocolate, pizza, pasta, etc.) it distracts one's mind from the depression caused by the inevitability death. For your sake, I hope you can find ways to deal with your food addiction. We are here to help. Why do you have a preference for the kind of chocolate you eat? I am pleased with whatever kind of chocolate I can get my tubby little hands on.

Brooke

2/10/2019 05:11:08 pm

I had never thought about the social influence that chocolate has...what would happen if we didn't have chocolate at all? What a sad world--literally. I wonder: does chocolate make us feel better because it's simply chocolate, or do we automatically become happy because we know what it symbolizes? Actually, some medicine does this. Our brains believe that it will help, so our bodies react, when in reality the medicine did nothing whatsoever.

Kenna

2/10/2019 06:06:16 pm

I'm pretty sure chocolate actually has the chemicals that make us happy but I bet us thinking that it will also plays a factor.

Jazz

2/10/2019 06:13:02 pm

Fantastic analysis, it is surprising how the placebo effect can work on such a large scale.

Kelsey

2/10/2019 06:26:24 pm

Yeah, I have heard about those studies on how we can actually trick our brains in to believing something will make us feel better - mind over matter.

Sariah

2/10/2019 07:05:00 pm

I think if we did not have chocolate we would find other things as substitutes that make us happy. I was talking with someone the other day about how much happier our lives would be if we did not have alcohol because we would not substitute that in order to try and "have fun" or feel happy. We would search out better things or a healthier alternative. We know chocolate is not terrible but maybe there is a healthier alternative we just do not know because we have never been without chocolate.

Sadie

2/10/2019 07:07:51 pm

Those poor souls who are allergic to chocolate :(

Kenna Luker

2/10/2019 06:01:50 pm

I am eating chocolate right now fend off the depression. How can you be sad when the chocolate sale is going on? I'm definitely not sad. Chocolate is a gift from God because it is a natural antidepressant.

Katarina

2/10/2019 06:10:00 pm

I agreed. Chocolate is eatable gold.

Jazz

2/10/2019 06:11:10 pm

As the guy from Spongebob would say, “CHOCOLATE!” I agree that chocolate is an absolute gift that nasty humans don’t deserve, and yet I’m still here choking on mint chocolate.

Challis luker

2/10/2019 06:04:32 pm

Personally, I can see the truth in this in my own life. When I am sad, I definetely go on a chocolate binge (I also go on chocolate binges when I am not sad too but that is not important). I have heard somewhere before that chocolate helps with brain power as well as happiness. I am 100% sure it is true and that is why you should buy a few bars of The World's Finest Chocolate from me. :)

Sadie

2/10/2019 07:06:23 pm

Bring more to class and maybe we will be less depressed ;)

Jazz

2/10/2019 06:07:39 pm

This sad boi will take any antidepressant she can get. With the recent chocolate sale, I have eaten about ten pounds of chocolate, and I certainly feel better. Chocolate is one of our nation’s most popular comfort foods, and for good reason. While many foods have the chemical that makes us happy, chocolate is just better because of how easy it is to sit down and eat it until you’re literally five percent chocolate. So smooth, not a sore tongue in sight. However, just like anything that causes our brains to release dopamine, chocolate can be addicting, but I suppose it’s better to be addicted to Nestles crunch bars than crack cocaine.There’s another nice thing about chocolate: it’s an aphrodisiac. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Jesse B.

2/10/2019 06:44:57 pm

Ten pounds is an impressive number when talking about chocolate ingested by a single person. I agree with you on that there is something special about chocolate that no other kind of food has. Also, I would say that getting addicted to chocolate is definitely better than getting stuck on cocaine because crack is wack. Are there any other foods or substances that make you feel better?

Katarina

2/10/2019 06:09:28 pm

My name is Katarina Whitson and I am addicted to chocolate. I definitely love chocolate but I have to have milk with it otherwise it’s not as good. Not only do I believe that chocolate helps with sadness I think it could be used as adolescent liquor. It makes people happy and as Saylor said it can be addictive. Chocolate is a great go to. I highly recommend to a friend.

Bailey

2/10/2019 06:30:05 pm

When I was a lot younger, like six, my parents used to have me introduce myself to people by saying, “My name is Bailey Christiansen, and I’m a chocolaholic.” Kinda ridiculous now, but it was funny at the time. I love chocolate and whenever i’m sad, or hungry in general, I reach for chocolate. It does act as a sort of antidepressant when I’m sad, so I definitely have to agree with the studies about it. And I’ll probably always rely on chocolate.

Saylor

2/10/2019 07:53:41 pm

I can relate on using chocolate as sort of a crutch. I do agree with all the remarks on dark chocolate as well, it is healthier for people, and quite delicious!

Jesse B.

2/10/2019 06:38:26 pm

This sounds like the best educational study ever done in the history of humanity. I have always believed chocolate had magical powers because it tastes heavenly, but now to see that my belief has been confirmed, I feel like a genius. Also, it makes sense why chocolate is so popular on Valentine’s Day since Phenylethylamine, the “Love Drug,” is inside of the deliciousness and can get people happy and in the mood. My only question is how do the levels of Phenylethylamine change with the form of chocolate. My hypothesis is that the more pure the chocolate, the higher levels of the “Love Drug” (Go dark chocolate!). Now, with our depression cured, we can go on living our lives with chocolate in hand as fat and happy people, until we are diagnosed with diabetes.

Saylor

2/10/2019 07:50:32 pm

Interesting take on that. Diabetes seems pretty suitable since everything in this world ends in disaster. Why not be happy before everything falls apart? Chocolate is a natural anti depressant, so eat up teens of our generation!

Sadie

2/10/2019 07:04:06 pm

I love chocolate, but a lot of research actually points to dark chocolate, which has less sugar. Milk chocolate will often give a sense of guilt when eaten in large amounts, but dark chocolate is much better for you. I've also heard that it helps with mind focus when eaten every 20 min. It might not be the cocoa in it people get addicted to but the sugar. It dont think eating tons of sugar makes a depressed person feel better. In moderation, yes, it would help.

Bailey

2/10/2019 07:35:49 pm

I agree with you. I think sugar is the addictive part of chocolate, which is probably why most people have an addiction to at least one sugary food.

McKinlee

2/10/2019 07:09:09 pm

I definitely love chocolate, and the fact that it’s good for sadness is even better. What do you think about how chocolate stuff is going extinct or at least getting pretty expensive? Also! Sadie remarked how dark chocolate is better than milk in regards to health, this sucks because I prefer milk?? Heartbroken right now??

Bailey

2/10/2019 07:34:06 pm

I don’t believe that chocolate is going extinct because that would suck. And to be honest, I too think that dark chocolate is better as far as taste. And it doesn’t make me nauseas after I eat it like most normal chocolate does. But I love all chocolate anyways, so it’s probably fine.

Sariah

2/10/2019 07:12:35 pm

Chocolate being a depression and sadness cure seems like a true statement. But this lead to people bringing up food as a cure for those things which also often seems true as well. This got me thinking on what specific ingredient in foods is what satisfies our tummies and brains. This could have to just do with our survival instincts just as shelter satisfies or sex satisfies as well. This could be a very interesting study and I am sure that we could find out numerous of things that could be substitutes for chocolate. However to me chocolate is the most satisfying one I can think of off the top of my head for a sadness cure.

Chocolate=Less Sad Boi Hours

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