News: Could chocolate actually be addictive?

Research findings from a team at the University of Michigan have revealed why it’s so hard to stop eating chocolate once you start.

The study, which was published online in the journal Current Biology, involved feeding rats M&M chocolates. While the rats nibbled on M&Ms, a natural drug-like chemical was produced in the neostriatum brain region. What’s important to note though, is that the chemical, called enkephalin, didn’t make the rats like chocolate more’it just made them want to eat more and more of the already delicious snack, reports Science Daily.

The same brain area we tested here is active when obese people see foods and when drug addicts see drug scenes," says Alexandra DiFeliceantonio, one of the study’s authors. "It seems likely that our enkephalin findings in rats mean that this neurotransmitter may drive some forms of overconsumption and addiction in people.”

Now I know why it’s so hard for me to not eat the entire bag of Cadbury Mini Eggs!

Do you find chocolate hard to resist?

Related:
‘ Is chocolate healthy?
‘ News: Dark chocolate could be good for your brain
‘ Our best healthy chocolate recipes