Are You a Chocoholic? The Good News...

Dark chocolate, white chocolate, milk chocolate, semisweet. Chocolate Easter bunnies, chocolate Easter eggs, Valentine’s Day candy, fancy chocolates, mocha frappuccinos. Many people say they are addicted to chocolate. Is that even possible? And what is it about this substance that appeals to lovers, children, and your sick friends in the hospital?

Dr. Andrew Weil’s 1983 book, Chocolate to Morphine, explored the spectrum of mind-altering substances, including chocolate and its effects on the brain. While the book does not equate chocolate to morphine, it discusses how various substances people like and crave influence mood and behavior through common pathways, impacting the brain’s chemistry.

Chocolate contains caffeine, theobromine, and phenylethylamine, all of which have psychoactive effects. These substances may contribute to feelings of pleasure and well-being. Additionally, chocolate consumption causes the release of serotonin and dopamine, neurotransmitters involved in mood regulation and the brain’s reward system.

Protective Factors of Chocolate

Research teams at Harvard and in Denmark have found that chocolate protects against atrial fibrillation (AF), a heart condition that affects 3-6 million people in the United States, raising risks of heart failure, stroke, dementia, and death. The study involved 55,000 men and women monitored for 13 years. Compared to those who ate chocolate less than once per month, those who consumed two to six servings of chocolate per week had a 20% lower rate of AF. However, the apparent protective effect of chocolate waned in people eating more.

Cocoa, abundant in dark chocolate, is known for its anti-inflammatory effects related to ingredients like polyphenols and methylxanthines. Many studies have shown clear immune-modulatory effects. Researchers believe that dark chocolate dampens pro-inflammatory stress responses in atherosclerosis and hypertension, metabolic conditions like obesity and type-2 diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, and polycystic ovary syndrome.

Women and Chocolate

Chocolate cravings are more prevalent among women, particularly around menstruation. Hormonal fluctuations such as decreases in estrogen and serotonin can lead to mood changes and increased cravings for sweets like chocolate. In addition, postmenopausal women are predisposed to reduced metabolism due to decreased levels of estrogen, progesterone, and estradiol. In one study, adding dark chocolate to the diet of postmenopausal women led to a significant 3.2% increase in resting energy expenditure (REE).

Chocolate is often used in food addiction studies. In a classic study, researchers at Yale University had volunteers fill out questionnaires to assess addictive behavior. The volunteers’ brains were then imaged while they could see, smell, and then drink a chocolate milkshake. When presented with the milkshake, participants scoring higher on the food addiction scale experienced a surge of activity in the part of the brain regulating cravings and rewards. Once they started drinking it, they showed markedly reduced activity in brain areas controlling impulses to seek rewards. A similar pattern of brain activity is found in people addicted to drugs.

Brain Reward Systems

Ashley Gearhardt, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Michigan, developed the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) to assess addictive-like eating behaviors. Says Gearhardt, “Many people demonstrate classic symptoms of addiction when consuming ultra-processed foods, including a loss of control over intake, intense cravings, and continued consumption despite physical or emotional problems.”

Her research indicates that highly processed foods, including chocolate, can activate brain reward systems similarly to addictive substances. A study she co-authored identified chocolate as one of the most problematic foods for individuals exhibiting signs of food addiction, due to its combination of sugar and fat. Because food choices depend more on emotional, environmental, and social factors than on hunger, feelings such as anxiety, depression, and boredom; brilliant advertisements; and old habits can unknowingly push people toward consuming junk food. Willpower is a limited resource, although changing your environment and daily routines allows you to reduce temptations naturally and sustainably.

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She advises against buying snacks or, if purchased, not bringing them into the house and keeping them out of sight. What the eyes cannot see, the stomach does not crave.

Ultra-processed foods often deliver high levels of refined carbohydrates and fats. “This combination." notes Gearhardt, "has a supra-additive effect in activating neural reward systems.”

The Case of Sugar

Nicole Avena, Ph.D. a pioneering neuroscientist at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and author of Sugarless: A 7-Step Plan to Uncover Hidden Sugars, Curb Your Cravings and Conquer Your Addiction, conducted extensive research on sugar. Her animal studies demonstrated that intermittent, excessive sugar intake can lead to behaviors and neurochemical changes akin to those observed with drug abuse.

“Our research has shown that when animals are given intermittent access to sugar, they begin to exhibit behaviors strikingly similar to those seen in drug addiction—like bingeing, withdrawal symptoms, and intense cravings,” says Dr. Avena. “This pattern of overconsumption isn't just psychological—it’s also biochemical. We see changes in dopamine activity, particularly in the brain’s reward pathways, much like what occurs with drugs of abuse.”

Chocolate, she explains, "isn’t just a treat for many people—it can become a trigger for compulsive eating, due in part to its high palatability and the way it activates the brain's reward system.” She says that understanding the mechanisms can help people make better decisions about their eating habits and recognize why certain foods are hard to resist.

My Research

I helped my mentees, Drs. Avena and Gearhardt, by highlighting parallels between substance use disorders and hedonic overeating behaviors. My work revealed that certain foods, particularly those that are palatable and high in sugar and fat—like chocolate—can hijack the brain’s reward system, leading to addictive-like consumption patterns.

Diagnosing Food Addiction

The Yale Food Addiction Scale 2.0 (YFAS 2.0) is a 35-item self-report questionnaire designed to assess addictive-like eating behaviors. Developed by Dr. Gearhardt and colleagues, the updated version builds upon the original YFAS to reflect the following addiction indicators:

• Consuming more than intended.
• Persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to cut down
• Craving
• Continued use despite adverse consequences
• Tolerance and withdrawal symptoms
• Impairment in roles and social activities.

Binge Eating and Food Addiction

Chocolate is especially craved in studies of binge eating and food addiction. The craving is intense and difficult to resist, mimicking addictive behavior. Individuals often report loss of control, persistent desire, and continued consumption despite adverse consequences—all substance use disorder hallmarks. Some users report needing more chocolate to feel the same (tolerance) and irritability or low mood when trying to reduce intake (withdrawal), particularly habitual consumers. Hedonic eating, or the drive to eat pleasure-filled foods, is poorly understood. We do have a better understanding of seeking, consummation, and satiey neural circuitry. Brain imaging studies of people with obesity show what we know from addiction studies, that drugs eventually dampen pleasure systems, and they appear to do the same with overeating- less pleasure from eating. New research shows that neurotensin is reduced so much that it prevents dopamine from triggering the pleasure response to chocolate or other highly palatable and reinforcing foods.

Conclusion

Chocolate is not injected, snorted, or smoked like drugs of abuse, nor is it addictive like heroin or cocaine. However, it clearly activates reward circuits, mimics drug-like patterns, especially in vulnerable individuals, and is one of the most frequently cited “problem foods” in food addiction studies. Too much chocolate and other energy-dense foods can dampen pleasurable responses to foods, drive overeating, and impact mood and behavior.