Go that crazy chocolate craving? It's chemical!Do you know someone "addicted ad·dict·ed adj. 1. Physiologically or psychologically dependent on a habit-forming substance. 2. Compulsively or habitually involved in a practice or behavior, such as gambling. " to chocolate? (Yourself, maybe?) Believe it Or not, chocolate can make you "high"--well, sort of. Scientists discovered last year that chocolate contains anandamide, a chemical also produced by nerves cells in the brain. Anandamide acts on the pleasure centers in the brain, triggering euphoria. When people eat chocolate, the anandamide makes them feel good. If the brain produces anandamide, why aren't people high all the time? Natural anandamide, which acts as a neurotransmitter neurotransmitter, chemical that transmits information across the junction (synapse) that separates one nerve cell (neuron) from another nerve cell or a muscle. Neurotransmitters are stored in the nerve cell's bulbous end (axon). , breaks down soon after it's produced. Other chemicals in chocolate block this process, however. The anandamide stays around longer, prolonging the high. Could chocolate be as addictive as drugs? Not quite. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Christian Felder of the National Institute of Mental Health The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is part of the federal government of the United States and the largest research organization in the world specializing in mental illness. , a 130-pound person needs to eat about 25 pounds of chocolate in one sitting to get a noticeable buzz. |
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