Why You Can’t Help Loving Chocolate
Is chocolate the bane of your dieting existence?
If you lose your willpower around chocolate, don’t beat yourself up. Some scientists now believe that your love of chocolate may be out of your control.
A study by British and Swiss researchers suggests that you may have a specific chemical signature in your metabolic system that makes you love chocolate.
It seems that we have individual metabolic types that are partially determined by our tastes and the foods we eat.
Here’s What They Found
The researchers studied 11 men who loved chocolate and 11 men who were indifferent to it. (It took a year for the scientists to find 11 men who don’t eat chocolate.)
All the men were healthy and not obese.
Over 5 days, they ate chocolate or a placebo while their blood and urine samples were analyzed.
The men who loved chocolate had a metabolic profile with low levels of LDL cholesterol (the bad kind) and slightly higher levels of albumin, a beneficial protein.
This happened even when they didn’t eat chocolate.
The activity of the gut microbes in the chocolate-loving men was also different from the men who were indifferent to chocolate.
But no one knows whether bacteria actually cause chocolate cravings.
These types of metabolic differences may explain why some people can eat diets high in steak and carbs and stay perfectly healthy while other people develop illnesses.
How This Could Help Your Health
The researchers believe that knowing your metabolic profile could help doctors to customize diets or nutritional programs to make you healthier.
It’s unclear if this research could lead to ways of helping people to avoid obesity or to lose weight if they’re already obese.
These studies might also identify the health benefits of eating certain foods.
The next step is to look at gender differences.
Women weren’t included in this first study because earlier research had shown metabolic changes linked to the menstrual cycle.
But the researchers plan to include women in future studies of the metabolic response to chocolate.
If any of those researchers happen to read this article, where do I sign up?
Technorati Tags: chocolate, metabolism
October 15th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
Sign me up, too. I love chocolate.
October 15th, 2007 at 5:39 pm
I can’t believe they could find anyone who didn’t like chocolate. What planet are they from?
October 15th, 2007 at 6:10 pm
Chocolate is good for your blood pressure and your heart so I don’t see anything wrong in loving it. There’s no reason why every food that’s good for us has to be something most of us dislike.
October 15th, 2007 at 9:50 pm
It’s kinda strange to think that your tastes in food might happen because of bacteria in your stomach. I don’t understand how anyone expects to manipulate bacteria to help other people to lose weight.
October 16th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
There’s nothing wrong with chocolate when you’re on a diet. I know a lot of people who eat small amounts and lose weight week after week, but it’s like any other food, you have to know when to stop. Chocolate is not
. Sorry, I couldn’t help that, I like the smilies 
October 16th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
I don’t know about gut bacteria, but metabolic profile sounds like another way of saying we’re all genetically predisposed to like some foods and not others and to be able to stay healthy with some foods and not others.
October 16th, 2007 at 2:26 pm
There are so many scientists looking for new drugs to “cure” obesity whether it’s gut bacteria, metabolism or any of the other things you’ve posted about, but what about plain old willpower? That’s really the cure for obesity, it’s just no one wants to say it.
October 16th, 2007 at 4:30 pm
Some people don’t have enough willpower to resist chocolate and other sweets which is probably why they turn to diet drugs. It’s probably the same thing that causes some people to develop drug or alcohol addictions. I don’t think we can just point to someone who’s obese and tell them they need to have more willpower.
October 16th, 2007 at 4:31 pm
I like the smilies
too. Sorry. 