“Could it be that the chocolate I consume now almost on a daily basis has something to do with my subtle transformation in mood,” Kristen Coveleskie asked in her article, Chocolate On the Brain, it explains the effect chocolate has on us.

Her almost sarcastic question is something easily answered, almost everyone has heard that chocolate affects us. Yet, the amount of research done on the benefits of chocolate is astounding, because somehow there has to be an explanation to the craving chocolate has possessed us with. The good news, there is.

“Chocolate affects the levels of endorphins in the brain. Eating chocolate increases the levels of endorphins released into the brain, giving credence to the claim that chocolate is a comfort food,” Coveleskie said.

The 300 chemicals that makeup chocolate has side effects on our mood, and can even affect us long term.  The darker the better with these effects, they include: lowering heart disease by 1/3,  introducing serotonin or anti-depressant, and even lowering blood pressure. Because of these benefits scientists then set out to see if chocolate becomes addictive.

“It does not result in the same tolerance or addiction…It would take twenty-five pounds of chocolate to achieve a similar high to that of marijuana,” Coveleskie said.

Even with the health benefits chocolate has Coveleskie recommends following the serving size recommended to avoid excess sugar intake.  However stockpiling might not be a bad idea, prices are expected to steadily increase overtime.  Cocoa beans are becoming scarce and more expensive, Angus Kennedy, a chocolate taster warns us.

“If chocolatiers continue with ‘business as usual’, the world could find itself with a shortage of cocoa beans within seven years,” Kennedy said.

Sadly the numbers don’t disagree with Kennedy’s prediction, in fact the price of a 3.5 oz. bar has already increased by 28%. Add that to the fact that every year a European eats 17 pounds of chocolate a year and prices continue to rise. So eat your chocolate and enjoy all the benefits that come with cocoa.