Depression And Chocolate Consumption Related, Further Studies Needed to Confirm if Chocolate Causes Depression

A Reuters report said that people who are depressed eat more chocolate than an average person.  In numbers, US researchers reported that among their study’s respondents, those who were depressed ate an average of 8.4 servings of chocolate per month, as against 5.4 servings among those who were not depressed. The report said one serving of chocolate is equivalent to 1 ounce (28g) of chocolate.

This particular study, which shows a higher chocolate consumption among the depressed ones, was conducted on both men and women. One thing is for sure, depression and chocolate lovers go together. However, the study is nowhere near conclusive on which causes what.

I’ve always looked at chocolate as some sort of a comfort food. (I don’t like chocolate bars, but I like drinking chocolate drinks in chilled tetra packs.)  I thought the “comfort” has something to do with chocolate stimulating some hormone in my body and subsequently easing my sad mood. But it turns out, chocolate could cause depression. Would you buy that? Could it be that chocolate triggers depression?

What I would like to find out is, does this study work on chocolate bars alone, or does it include all the many ways that a chocolate can be consumed – as ice cream ingredient, as chocolate drink, chocolate cake, etc?

It would also be informative if the study could consider the chocolatiers in the industry. We have chefs all over the world who make the most amazingly delicious chocolate confections. Surely, these chefs love the aroma of chocolate in their kitchen. Is their being drawn to the sweet aroma of chocolate an indication of predisposition to sadness? Or is the chocolate causing any amount of extra stress on them when they work in the kitchen, smelling nothing but chocolate?

Sources:

Depressed? You must like chocolate
Chocolatiers on Wiki

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