More Chocolate Means More Depression, or Vice Versa

Indulging in chocolate may help lift one’s mood, but a new study has found that people who eat the most chocolate have a greater likelihood of depression. A study of 931 men and women in the San Diego area showed that people who ate an average of 8.4 servings of chocolate per month tested positive for possible depression, while people who ate only 5.4 servings per month did not test positive. People who ate 11.8 servings per month tested positive for probable major depression, a more severe form of the condition. The participants were not taking any antidepressant drugs at the time of the study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

The results suggest several possible relationships between eating chocolate and mood. “First, depression could stimulate chocolate cravings as ‘self-treatment’ if chocolate confers mood benefits, as has been suggested in recent studies of rats,” Rose and colleagues write. “

Second, depression may stimulate chocolate cravings for unrelated reasons, without a treatment benefit of chocolate (in our sample, if there is a ‘treatment benefit,’ it did not suffice to overcome the depressed mood on average).

Third, from cross-sectional data the possibility that chocolate could causally contribute to depressed mood, driving the association, cannot be excluded.”

Inflammation may also play a role in depression and chocolate cravings. It is possible that the biochemical effects of chocolate may be counteracted by the ingredients found in consumer chocolate products, such as artificial trans fat, which may, in turn, lower omega-3 fatty acid production. Omega-3 fatty acids, which are abundant in fish, have been shown to produce an antidepressive effect.

Researchers noted that the intake of caffeine, fat, carbohydrates, and energy in the participants’ diets had no significant correlation with the participants’ mood, suggesting there may be something specific about the relationship between chocolate and one’s state of mind.

Bonnie - this study could have been great but missed the boat. There are two huge areas of reasoning that were not addressed as causes for increased chocolate consumption:

1. Chocolate is a natural serotonin-booster. Those seeking mood enhancers flock to chocolate
2. Magnesium deficient individuals also flock to chocolate, which is rich in the mineral. Many of those who are depressed are also magnesium deficient.

I do have to give them credit though for calling out most chocolate, that is loaded with artificial ingredients, sweeteners, and other fillers. Dark chocolate, 70% cocoa or more, is what I recommend exclusively.