Why Do We Love Chocolate So Much?

There’s something so irresistible from chocolate.

It’s a great companion when you’re sad, it’s such a perfect flavor for a cookie, balances sweetness to your milk, and many more situations where you just could not resist to eat it. Whether it’s in the form of a cake, doughnut, cookies, anything! The reason behind it may seem so simple, because it tastes really good. Does it really?

What is it that makes us so unable to decline?

Based on a research by Dr Michael Mosley from BBC and botanist James Wong, apparently there is so much to uncover from the irresistible chocolate. 

As we know, chocolate comes from cacao seeds that is roasted and ground to the forms you usually see. The roasting process creates a unique aroma that our brain loves, the aroma may also trigger more attraction as it brings back those childhood memories of eating chocolate. Other than the aroma, there are chemicals that stimulate happiness. 

You know that lingering, soft, creamy, and instant-melt feeling when you just bite a bit?

This textural change is detected by our tongue and stimulates feelings of pleasure. How come a bitter and unappealing piece of cacao can really make that much of an impact to us and even our mood? The one that really transformed cacao to something dear to our hearts, is the sugar and fat. Usually, a package of the chocolate bar you see contains around 20-25% fat and 40-50% sugar. Now we are even more sure why chocolate really is addicting.

Don’t worry, this is not much of a problem, as you eat it in moderation. Although, recent studies have found that chocolate is actually good for you. Dark chocolate contains chemicals that can lower the risk of cancer and heart disease, especially the flavanoids and antioxidants. 

There are so many scientific reasons why chocolate and its other forms are so irresistible for us to consume. Now when you know it has health benefits, it’s going to be even harder to resist!

Resources:

• https://www.bbc.com/news/health-39067088
• https://www.streetdirectory.com/food_editorials/snacks/chocolates/five_reasons_why_we_love_chocolate.html