Addicted To Chocolate

Addicted To Chocolate?

As Robert Palmer sang in the mid 80s, “You might as well face it, you’re addicted to love.” While that may or may not be true depending on who you are, it’s no secret that addiction is a common phenomenon.

Apart from serious addictions to drugs and alcohol, how many times have you heard someone claim that they’re absolutely addicted to chocolate? Or diet Coke. Or broccoli? Well, maybe not broccoli, but you get the point. But is it really possible to be a chocolate addict in the same way that someone might be addicted to drugs?

To answer that question we need to know what addiction is. Although the precise science of addiction is unclear, we do know that it involves the brain; addictive substances alter brain chemistry in such a way as to make the body crave more.

But what about chocolate? Several studies indicate that chocolate addiction is for real. Chocolate contains a number of addictive substances, including caffeine and cannabinoids, chemicals similar to the ones that make marijuana a potent drug. Further studies found not only that chocolate fats trigger the release of pleasure-causing substances in the brain, but that chocolate contains a chemical similar to amphetamine, a highly addictive drug.

Does this mean that anyone who eats enough chocolate will become addicted? No. Some people can eat all the chocolate they want and never get hooked. But chocolate does cause chemical changes in the brain that can result in a powerful craving. Chocolate addiction is nowhere near as potent or harmful as alcohol and drug addiction, of course. But if you find yourself unable to go through the day without at least one Hershey’s Kiss, it’s not just in your mind. You’re hooked.

你能沉迷于巧克力吗？

80年代中期的罗伯特帕尔默曾经唱道：“承认吧，你已坠入爱河。”虽然，这句歌词的意思因人而异，但我们都知道，沉迷某事物或某人是个普遍现象。

除了严重的毒瘾和酒瘾意外，你有多少次曾听到有人说他们对巧克力十分上瘾?或者说无糖可乐,或是花椰菜?也许不是花椰菜,但你知道我想说的是什么。对巧克力上瘾真的会跟毒瘾一样吗?

要解答这个问题，我们需要知道什么是上瘾。虽然对上瘾还没有确切的定义，但我们都知道它跟大脑有关；上瘾的东西会以某种方式改变脑化学，从而使人体产生对该物的渴望。

但怎么解释巧克力呢？一些研究表明，对巧克力上瘾确实是存在的。巧克力包含很多容易上瘾的物质，如咖啡因、大麻类物质（其化学成分很像将大麻制成特效药的物质）。进一步研究发现，不仅巧克力脂肪能够促使大脑释放出使人体愉悦的物质，巧克力还含有一种和苯内胺（一种极易上瘾的药物）很相似的化学物质。

难道说任何吃过多巧克力的人都会上瘾吗？不是的。有些人可以想吃多少巧克力就吃多少而不上瘾。但巧克力确实会引起大脑的化学变化，从而产生一种强烈的渴望。对巧克力上瘾可不是像毒瘾和酒瘾那样对人体有害。但如果你发现自己一天不吃上一块好时巧克力就不自在的话，不止是你脑中会这样想，而是你确实是染上巧克力瘾了。