Chocolate – Chemical Happiness

There’s a reason we gift chocolate at Valentine’s Day.  Besides being one of nature’s most perfect foods, from a chemical perspective, a new study finds that chocolate and some of our other favorite flavours, have structural similarities to valproic acid, a chemical found in mood enhancing drugs.

Valproic acid is used in anticonvulsant mood-stabilizing drug, treating patients with everything from epilepsy to bipolar disorder, migraine headaches, schizophrenia and chronic depression.

Dark chocolate, fresh berries and foods rich in omega fatty acids (flax, walnuts, salmon, halibut, cod, cauliflower and cabbage) have a very similar effect on our mood and are now found to be surprisingly similar.  In short, they make us happy.  There’s a reason we crave sweet berries and chocolate when we’re feeling a little low.

More newly released research found that eating a small amount of chocolate in the morning can help you burn calories easier and lose weight through out the day. (I personally feel this should be front page news.)  Chocolate also contains more antioxidants (cancer-preventing enzymes) than red wine.

“No honey, I’m not binging on chocolate, I’m fighting cancer, loosing weight and improving my freakin’ mood! OK?!”

Just buy your woman chocolate.

This is my current favorite chocolate, with a hint of chili for that back of the throat heat without the chili taste.  The whipped cream has no scientific healing properties that I’m aware of, but it’s always handy for mood improvement.

Eat happy.