Depression Linked to Overindulgence in Chocolate

Though it is widely accepted that eating chocolate can improve mood, a recent study from the University of California at San Diego has determined that too much of a good thing might increase the odds of actually becoming depressed.

Chocolate’s link to mood has been widely researched and documented, but a recent survey of nearly one thousand men and women in the San Diego area looked into the actual quantity of chocolate that subjects consumed and its relationship to symptoms of depression. It was determined that subjects who ate an average of 8.4 servings of chocolate per month showed signs of possible depression, while those subjects who ate only 5.4 servings per month did show any indication of being depressed. Within the guidelines of the study, a medium-sized serving of chocolate was identified as one small bar, or 1 ounce (28 grams).

The subjects studied in this groundbreaking project, led by UCSD’s Natalie Rose, M.D., were aged 20-85 and none of the study participants was taking antidepressant medication at the time of the study, nor were they severely overweight (average body mass index was 27.8). The study group was comprised of 931 men and women, with 80% of them being white, 70% male, and more than half being college graduates.

Researchers concluded that there are several possible reasons behind the chocolate-mood link. Dr. Rose and colleagues write, “First, depression could stimulate chocolate cravings as ‘self-treatment’ if chocolate confers mood benefits, as has been suggested in recent studies of rats. 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.”

In addition to their theories behind chocolate cravings and their effect on mood, Dr. Rose and her team identified several physiological possibilities for the link, as well. Inflammation, for instance, may be a factor that leads to chocolate cravings. Dr. Rose theorizes that, though chocolate may indeed contain certain compounds that can enhance mood, the addition of certain ingredients found in consumer chocolate may be counteracting their positive effects. Ingredients like trans fats, which are commonly found in chocolate candy readily available on store shelves, may actually lower omega-3 fatty acid utilization. Omega-3 fatty acids, which are abundant in fish, have a proven antidepressive effect.

The researchers were able to correlate chocolate’s caffeine, fat and carbohydrates with any symptoms of depression in the research subjects, indicating that there is something more to this chocolate and mood connection that has yet to be revealed.

Dr. Rose and her colleagues concluded, “Future studies are required to elucidate the foundation of the association and to determine whether chocolate has a role in depression, as a cause or a cure.”