Research finds chocolate may improve mood

The idea that chocolate can soothe us in times of sadness, help a woman through a breakup, or lift our spirits when we’re down has been part of our cultural consciousness for decades. The women on Sex and the City talk about eating an entire box of Oreos to handle low self-esteem. But does chocolate actually do anything for depression or a blue mood, or is that simply a cultural myth?

A study recently performed at the Black Dog Institute, Prince of Whales Hospital in Sydney, Australia showed that chocolate may help in cases of depression, and these findings point to possible causes of atypical depression.

The researchers wanted to investigate the link between chocolate cravings and personality style as well as atypical depressive symptoms. It appeared that certain depressed people craved chocolate while others did not, and this study wanted to ascertain if there were any similarities across those who experienced cravings to learn whether or not chocolate cravings were an indicator of specific personality traits or depressive symptoms, which would answer questions about both depression treatment and possible causes of certain kinds of depression.

Researchers surveyed 3,000 depressed people using web-based questionnaires. They found that those with higher-order neurotic personality and atypical depression were more likely to crave chocolate. They also found that more women craved chocolate when depressed than men. This may point to a possible hormonal component of depression.

Neuroticism is defined by a hypersensitivity to stress and a tendency toward negativity. Neurotic people tend to see everyday stressors as threats and generally have poor coping skills.

Atypical depression is actually the most common form of depression. Someone experiencing atypical depression can still react positively to pleasing events while those experiencing melancholic depression cannot have a change of mood in response to external events. A person with atypical depression will experience a reversed vegetative state, meaning that they over-eat and over-sleep. By comparison, those with melancholic depression lose their appetite and experience insomnia.

Study participants with atypical depression were more likely to crave chocolate, and they felt that chocolate had a definite positive effect on feelings of irritability, depression and anxiety. Previous studies have shown that people with atypical depression tend to crave carbohydrates, and one of the symptoms of atypical depression is over-eating.

Some believe that this points to a possible thyroid regulation problem as a cause of atypical depression. One study showed that a mineral supplement known as chromium picolinate could reduce the carbohydrate cravings experienced by those with atypical depression. This newest study supports the idea that there may be certain physiological imbalances causing atypical depression, although whether or not these are the result of a thyroid problem is still unclear.

© Copyright 2007 Insight Journal Online Magazine.

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