If you are a true chocoholic, just thinking about chocolate is enough to put a smile on your face. Most people will actually experience a pleasurable feeling after consuming chocolate.

Scientists have been working on identifying specific chemicals and chemical combinations in chocolate with hopes to better explain these pleasurable responses.

Not only have they found that chocolate contains over 300 known chemicals, but they also found it is a very efficient energy source for your body.

A single chocolate chip can provide enough food energy for an adult to walk 150 feet. Many Armies issue their soldiers rations of chocolate containing over 80% chocolate solids, for use in emergencies. Even Napoleon carried chocolate on his military campaigns.

But cocoa, which is used to make chocolate, is used for a lot more than for just making candy. You may have recently heard the news that cocoa contains a powerful mixture of health-enhancing antioxidants.

Cocoa is actually a rainforest herb technically known as Theobroma Cacao. The cocoa bean has been used for thousands of years by indigenous tribes in South and Central America.

These tribes use cacao to combat parasites, to counteract the effects of snakebites and as a general antiseptic. Western researchers are just beginning to recognize the powerful healing properties of this amazing gift from nature.

Scientists are also studying the fact that chocolate may contain psychoactive compounds that create genuine chemical addictions that alter the mood of those who eat it.

So when people say they are addicted to chocolate, it's possible they could be correct. For chocohalics everywhere let's hope the FDA doesn't find out and try to regulate it.

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