It's Natural to Love Chocolate

Oct 12, 05:59 PM

Current Headlines: CHOCOLATE lovers may be born and not made, according to scientists.

They have linked the human preference for chocolate to a specific part of the body's metabolic system.

This could help explain why some people claim to be 'addicts' even though moodenhancing substances in cocoa have not been proved to be addictive.

Dr Sunil Kochhar and colleagues working in Lausanne and at Imperial College London studied 11 men who classified themselves as 'chocolate desiring' and 11 who were 'chocolate indifferent.' In a controlled clinical study, they were either given chocolate or a placebo over a five-day period.

When the 'chocolate lovers', were analysed, researchers found a specific metabolic profile, even if they had been deprived of their favourite sweet.

This showed low levels of 'bad' cholesterol - and raised levels of albumin, a beneficial protein, according to the study to be published in the American Chemical Society's Journal of Proteome Research..

(c) 2007 Daily Mail; London (UK). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.