Chocotherapy

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Chocotherapy: Fascinating Facts

Part of the pleasure of eating chocolate is due to the fact that its melting point is slightly below human body temperature: it melts in the mouth. Chocolate intake has been linked with release of serotonin in the brain, which produces feelings of pleasure. A study reported by the BBC indicated that melting chocolate in one's mouth produced an increase in brain activity and heart rate that was more intense than that associated with passionate kissing, and also lasted four times as long after the activity had ended. Research has shown that heroin addicts tend to have an increased liking for chocolate; this may be because it triggers dopamine release in the brain's reinforcement systems — an effect, albeit a legal one, similar to that of cocaine.
Current research indicates that chocolate has a weak stimulant effect due mainly to its content of theobromine. However, chocolate contains too little of this compound for a reasonable serving to create effects in humans that are on par with a coffee buzz. Chocolate contains only small amounts of the compound caffeine. There are 5 to 10 milligrams of caffeine in one ounce of bittersweet chocolate, 5 milligrams in milk chocolate, and 10 milligrams in a 170 millilitre cup of cocoa. There are 100 to 150 milligrams of caffeine in a 220 millilitre cup of coffee; it would be necessary to eat more than a dozen chocolate bars to get the same amount of caffeine as one cup of coffee. The pharmacologist Ryan J. Huxtable has described chocolate as "more than a food but less than a drug". However, chocolate is a very potent stimulant for horses; its use is therefore banned in horse-racing. Theobromine is also a contributing factor in acid reflux because it relaxes the esophageal sphincter muscle, allowing stomach acid to enter the esophagus more easily.
Romantic lore commonly identifies chocolate as an aphrodisiac. The reputed aphrodisiac qualities of chocolate are most often associated with the simple sensual pleasure of its consumption. More recently, suggestion has been made that serotonin and other chemicals found in chocolate, most notably phenethylamine, can act as mild sexual stimulants. While there is no firm proof that chocolate is indeed an aphrodisiac, giving a gift of chocolate to one's sweetheart is a familiar courtship ritual. Chocolate's effectiveness in currying favor with would-be lovers may have been the inspiration for its employment as a hacking tool in social engineering attacks

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