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ARS Home » Plains Area » Grand Forks, North Dakota » Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center » Healthy Body Weight Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #357200
Research Project: Dietary Guidelines Adherence and Healthy Body Weight Maintenance

Location: Healthy Body Weight Research

Title: Increasing chocolate’s sugar content enhances its psychoactive effects and intake

Author
item Casperson, Shanon
item LANZA, LISA - Drexel University
item ALBAJRI, ERAM - Drexel University
item NASSER, JENNIFER - Drexel University

Submitted to: Nutrients
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/7/2019
Publication Date: 3/12/2019
Publication URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/6471133
Citation: Casperson, S.L., Lanza, L., Albajri, E., Nasser, J. 2019. Increasing chocolate’s sugar content enhances its psychoactive effects and intake. Nutrients. 11(3). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11030596.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11030596

Interpretive Summary: Chocolate is one of the most loved and craved, but problematic, foods. Because chocolate stimulates cravings that can only be satiated by eating chocolate it is thought of as a food that can provoke an addictive-like eating response. To better understand chocolate's unique ability to provoke an addictive-like eating response we used a questionnaire that was developed at the National Institute of Mental Health Addiction Research Center to assess subjective effects of psychoactive drugs. We found that eating chocolate, even chocolate with 90% cocoa, increases the number of positive responses on this questionnaire. We also found that as the amount of sugar in the chocolate increases so does the number of positive responses. Our results extend our understanding of chocolate’s unique ability to prompt an addictive-like eating response. Our results also suggest that increasing the amount of sugar in chocolate increases its effects on reward centers in the brain responsible for chocolate's reinforcing value.

Technical Abstract: Chocolate elicits unique brain activity compared to other foods, activating similar brain regions and neurobiological substrates with potentially similar psychoactive effects as substances of abuse. We sought to determine the relationship between chocolates with varying combinations of its main constituents (cocoa, sugar and fat) and its psychoactive effects. Using the Addiction Research Center Inventory, specifically the Morphine-Benzedrine Group (MBG), Morphine (M) and Excitement (E) subscales, we found a measurable psychoactive dose-effect relationship with each incremental increase in the chocolate’s sugar content and decrease in the percent cocoa and fat content. The total number of positive responses and the number of positive responses on the E subscale began increasing after tasting the chocolate sample containing 90% cocoa where as the number of positive responses on the MBG and M subscales did not start increasing until after tasting the 85% cocoa chocolate sample. These results suggest that each incremental increase in chocolate’s sugar content enhances its psychoactive effects. These results extend our understanding of chocolate’s appeal and unique ability to prompt an addictive-like eating response.