Happy Valentines..It's heart Day!! Why does Chocolates goes with Roses on a Valentines day Gift? Chocolate is a very complex food and scientists have investigated it in order to unlock its secrets. When consumed, it has been observed to have affects on human behavior . Chocolate contains two particular substances called Phenylethylamin and Seratonin, both of which serve as means for mood lifting. "Both occur naturally in the human brain and are released by the brain into the nervous system when we are happy and also when we are experiencing feelings of love, passion and/or (dare I say it?) lust. This causes a rapid mood change, a rise in blood pressure, increasing the heart rate and inducing those feelings of well being, bordering on euphoria usually associated with being in love" . When chocolate is consumed, it releases Phenylethylamine and Seratonin into the human system producing the same arousing effects. Since eating chocolate gives an instant energy boost, increasing stamina, it is no wonder why its effects have given it a reputation as an aphrodisiac. Both Phenylethylamine and Seratonin are substances that can be mildly addictive, hence explaining the chocoholic. But women are more susceptible to the effects of Phenylethylamine and Seratonin than men . This illustrates why women tend to be chocoholics more than men. Three other chemicals and theories are used to explain why chocolate makes people feel "good." "Researchers at the Neuroscience Institute in San Diego, California believe that 'chocolate contains pharmacologically active substances that have the same effect on the brain as marijuana, and that these chemicals may be responsible for certain drug-induced psychoses associated with chocolate craving'" . Although marijuana's active ingredient that allows a person to feel "high" is THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), a different chemical neurotransmitter produced naturally in the brain called anandaminde has been isolated in chocolate. "Because the amounts of anandamide found in chocolate is so minuscule, eating chocolate will not get a person high, but rather that there are compounds in chocolate that may be associated with the good feeling that chocolate consumption provides" . The reality is that chocolate makes you feel good and induces feelings of being in love. Everyone appreciates receiving a gift of chocolate from a loved one because it makes you feel loved. Perhaps the historic euphemism associated with chocolate is what really provokes people to feel it is an aphrodisiac.Happy Valentines to all! ***from The Members of The Faculty Of Medicine
