Chocolate and depression?

Apr 27 2010

By Candy Lashkari

The ‘chocoholics’ of the world may also be the most depressed people around. A recent study found that those who were suffering from depression ate an average of 8.4 servings of chocolate a month, compared to just 5.4 servings eaten by those who were not depressed. And the people who suffered from major depression ate 11.8 servings per month.

Dina Khiry she reaches for chocolate regularly when she is feeling a bit down. "I like Reese's peanut butter cups, Hershey's bars, and chocolate cake batter," says the 24-year-old public relations associate. "I feel better in the moment -- and then worse later on, when I realize that I just consumed thousands of calories."

Given that the study showed that depressed people eat 55 % more chocolate than those not suffering from depression, there are many people like Dina around. The chocolate seems to act almost like a mood enhancer for the majority of them. The majority of the 931 people surveyed about their weekly chocolate consumption seemed to agree.

The scientists at the UC San Diego and UC Davis examined patterns of chocolate consumption along with other dietary intake patterns in the subjects. The participants were also given a depression screening test. The findings showed that those who screened positive, tended to consume more chocolate than those who did not. One ounce of chocolate candy was measured as one serving of chocolate in the study.

Susan Albers is a psychologist at a Cleveland Clinic and explained that chocolate raises the level of serotonin in the brain, which is the same action as an antidepressant. This is also responsible for boosting blood sugar levels which can give you that instant charge and make you feel more energetic.

“Emotional chocolate eaters may be looking for an immediate change that exercise or antidepressants can bring. A chocolate rush is often followed by a crash. The crash will make the depression worse"  said Albers who is the author of 50 Ways to Soothe Yourself Without Food.

However there seems to be a difference of opinion on that fact. Marcia Levin Pelchat, a psychologist who studies food cravings at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia felt that it was unlikely that chocolate depressed people. "Most people believe the beneficial effects of chocolate are on mood and that they are learned. You eat chocolate; it makes you feel good, and sometime when you're feeling badly it occurs to you, ‘Gee, if I eat some chocolate I might feel better.” said Marcia Levin Pelchat.

Since different cultures show dependency on different foods to act as mood elevators, this may be true. Either way if you feel you are eating too much chocolate lately, you may want to get yourself screened for depression.