Is chocolate physiologically or psychologically addictive? Chocolate is obtained from the seeds of the tropical tree, Theobroma cacao. Theobroma is the Greek term for "food of the gods". In Aztec society, chocolate was a food of the gods, reserved for priests, warriors and nobility. The Aztecs used cocoa beans to prepare a hot, frothy, bitter drink called chocolatl. Chocolate was a sacred concoction associated with fertility and wisdom. It was also thought to have stimulating and restorative properties. The bitter drink was first introduced to Europe in 1528. However, it wasn't until 1876 that milk, cocoa powder, and cocoa butter were combined to form what we know today as chocolate (1). Today, chocolate production and consumption is a global issue. deal. People crave chocolate more than any other food. In the United States, the average person eats 11.5 pounds of chocolate per year (2). What makes chocolate the food craved more often than any other food? Yes, chocolate tastes good, has a nice texture and melts in your mouth, but there has to be more to the chocolate than what meets the lips. In fact, chocolate is made up of chemicals associated with mood, emotions and addiction. Many people eat chocolate as a comfort food when they are depressed or stressed. The question is: do people crave chocolate because their body and brain are addicted to the chemicals in it, or do people crave chocolate because they have a psychological attachment to it? Substances found in chocolate, such as phenylethylamine, theobromine, anandamide and tryptophan, trigger mood. enhancing the chemicals and neurotransmitters to be released in the brain. Phenylethylamine is a chemical in the body similar to amphetamine. He... at the center of the article......es1)CHOCOLATE, on the Chocolate websitehttp://www.chocolate.org/2)Prescription-resistant chocolate, on Science News Online-Food for Thought website http://www.science.org/sn_arch/10_12_96/food.htm3) Chocolate and Anxiety, on the About the Human Internet website http://panicdisorder.about.com/cs/shfitness/a/chocolate.htm4 )Theobromine : Chocolate's Caffeine Cousin, on the About the Human Internet website http://chemistry.about.com/library/weekly/?once=true&5) "Chocolate "addiction" A Fiction?, on the Personal MC website http:// www .personalmd.com/news/a1998121611.shtml6) Health and happiness: is it all finished with chocolate?, on the IFIS Hot Topic website http://www.ifis.co.uk/index.html7) Chocolate: A healthy dessert for the heart?, on the CNN website http://archives.cnn.com/2000/HEALTH/diet.fitness/02/02/chocolate.wmd/