Chocolate Consumption And Depression May Be Connected

Everyone loves chocolate, there’s really no denying it. It’s fun, it’s tastes good, and it generally makes you feel better when you’re feeling down. This is why so many people love to consume it. However, new studies have shown that if you’re feeling down in the dumps you may not be eating chocolate to feel better, you may be eating chocolate because your mind is making you.

A new study has shown that people who are depressed eat considerably more chocolate products than people who are generally happy. Researchers believe that these studies finally present a link between emotions and chocolate consumption. The studies showed that people who were considered depressed ate on average about 8.4 servings of chocolate each month, which is about three servings higher that people who were not considered depressed. These numbers were even higher for people who had severe depression with many of those individuals consuming upwards of eleven servings of chocolate each month.

Researchers of the study are theorizing that the mood centers of the brain are in control of consumption and that chocolate provides certain antioxidants that the brain craved while depressed, but they are not for sure why this correlation exists. Either way, now science has shown that if you’re eating a lot of chocolate when you’re sad it may not even have been your conscious choice.

People Who Are Depressed Are Also Most Likely To Smoke, New Study Shows

For the millions of people who are trying to quit smoking, a new study has shown that they may be fighting two battles to end the habit. A new government survey has shown that over 40 percent of people in the United States who smoke also have some form of depression. This is a telling statistic for the millions of people who are desperately trying to quit smoking. Fighting off the addiction that comes with smoking is one thing, but doing so while dealing with depression opens up a new area of problems and struggles.

The national survey looked at over 5,000 people and found that 43 percent of people over the age of 20 were both smokers and depressed compared to the 22 percent that were not. From a gender perspective, the survey found that more than half of women under the age of 40 with depression were also smokers while the number for middle-aged men with depression who also smoked was more than half. This study obviously showed a connection between depression and the reason people smoke, but it also showed a connection between depression, smoking, and gender with men who are depressed being more likely to smoke.

Depression is a major health issue in the country and when taking into account this national survey it shows that the health concerns have grown. If the survey shows anything it’s that it’s important to recognize depression and be able to treat it with the help of medical professionals rather than a pack of cigarettes.