In his opinion, the 'love chemical' is an invention of the confectionery industry. Phenethylamine in chocolate is broken down in the digestive system. So it cannot affect the brain, he argues. Instead, Drewnowski explains, chocolate has a high calorific content that quickly satisfies the appetite. Chocolate also stimulates the brain to release endorphins that act on the central nervous system.
Endorphins are natural painkillers and also appear to affect behaviour.
Yes, Cesar Fraga, of the University of Buenos Aires, and his colleagues told the American Association of the Advancement of Science's annual meeting in Washington earlier this year. Adults who eat chocolate, Fraga's team found, have increased levels of anti-oxidants in their blood. The researchers also suggest that the cells of chocolate consumers are less vulnerable to 'free radical' damage. Free radicals are unstable atoms or molecules that lack an electron. They 'steal' an electron from a neighbour, triggering a damaging chain reaction in surrounding biochemical compounds.