Mood regulating chocolate

The so-called chocolate that can regulate emotions is neither the "anti-emo miracle drug" advocated by merchants, nor is it a complete IQ tax. Its actual effect is the physiological impact of the inherent components of cocoa, the psychological implications of long-term behavioral habits, and the diversion of attention in specific scenarios. The effect varies from person to person, and there is no unified standard answer of "useful/useless".

The first time I actually felt its effect was when I was working on an annual project in the fourth quarter of last year. I stayed up until 2 o'clock for three days in a row, and the fifth version of the plan was still called back by the customer. That afternoon, I stared at the vague comment on the screen that "the overall tone is not outstanding enough", and my chest was so tight that I took three sips of ice. I couldn't hold back my anger, so I took out a piece of 85% black chocolate stuffed by my colleague in the drawer, bit off half of it and held it in my mouth. The bitterness made me frown. When the bitter taste slowly dissipated and mixed with a little burnt aroma of cocoa, I felt relieved inexplicably. I could even click on the customer's comments and read on.

At that time, I just thought it was my own psychology. Later, I talked to a junior sister who was engaged in food research and development, and I realized that the controversy in this field is really quite serious. There are indeed many studies supporting the "physiological effect theory" in the academic community: black chocolate with a cocoa content of more than 70% contains flavonoids that have been confirmed by multiple clinical studies to reduce the level of cortisol (that is, the stress hormone) in the body. There are also small amounts of phenylethylamine and tryptophan, which can also help promote the secretion of dopamine and serotonin. These are the physiological basis that can directly affect mood. But friends who work in clinical nutrition immediately rolled their eyes when they heard this statement. They said that in order to reach the dose of flavonoids that can significantly improve anxiety in the experiment, you have to eat at least 1.2 kilograms of black chocolate at one time, not to mention whether you can finish it. If you take in so much theobromine, your heart will speed up, your hands will shake, and you will go to the hospital before you are in a good mood. It is not as magical as the "one piece will work" advertised by the merchants.

Compared with that negligible physiological effect, more often than not, the emotional regulation value of chocolate is actually "trained" by ourselves. My best friend who does children's psychological counseling always has a board of milk chocolates in the drawer of the consulting room. When she encounters a crying little visitor, she will first hand a small piece. More than half of the children cry less after receiving it in their hands before unpacking it. This is not how magical chocolate is, but chocolate has been around since we were children. The memory of strength is deeply bound to "reward" and "comfort": your parents buy chocolates for you if you get good grades in the exam, give your grandma a piece of chocolate to comfort you when you fall down, and sneak a piece of chocolate while you are at work. It is also a small reward for your hard work. This kind of conditioned reflex engraved in the memory is more effective than any other functional ingredients.

Most of the "functional mood chocolates" that are so popular on the market now have added soothing ingredients such as GABA, theanine, and magnesium. I bought two boxes out of curiosity to try. To be honest, eating a piece of chocolate with GABA at three or four in the afternoon when I can't think straight and I am inexplicably irritable can indeed last an hour longer than eating ordinary chocolate. However, when I gave the same chocolate to my colleague at the next table, she said it was too sweet. The junior sister said that this is too normal. Emotional regulation itself is an extremely subjective matter. If you believe it is useful, the placebo effect can account for 30%. If you originally think it is an IQ tax, then it will be useless no matter how much you take.

I still have two plates of chocolate in my drawer all year round, one plate of 70% dark chocolate and one plate of milk chocolate with hazelnuts. I have changed my plan so that when I feel irritable, I break off half a piece of dark chocolate and nibble on it. When I am happy, I break off a piece of milk chocolate and nibble on it. I don’t expect it to cure anxiety and depression. It is enough to take those two bites away from all the troubles for half a minute and feel the fragrance of cocoa or the crispness of hazelnuts.

I was visiting a convenience store a few days ago and saw mood-regulating chocolates on the side of the freezer. The packaging was gaudy and the price was three times the price of ordinary dark chocolates. There was a little girl standing next to me who struggled for a long time to get a box. When I was checking out, I told my friend, "I'm always in emo mode lately, so buy this to try." I actually wanted to tell her not to have high expectations, but there was no need to think about it. What if when she was eating, she happened to remember the scene when her mother picked her up from school to buy her chocolates when she was a child, and she was really happy? After all, it's just a little sweet snack. The moment it makes people happy, it's worth the price of admission.