Chocolates Effect on Womens Sex Drive - 2227 Words

The Core Assessment topic that I chose was â€Å"Chocolate’s Effect on Women’s Sex Drive.† I thought this to be an important topic since I am a man who is married to a woman who loves chocolate and that I have always heard that chocolate tends to curb a woman’s sex drive. In an effort to find the truth, and possibly rid my household of any form of chocolate, I researched the topic and found that chocolate has an interesting history and does indeed contain many chemicals that are found to provide a settling or euphoric state in the brain. Chocolate is a derivative of cocoa or cocao (pronounced â€Å"co-cah†) and can only be grown in hot, rainy environments, mostly in areas near the equator. This doesn’t mean that you have to live near the†¦show more content†¦Chocolate is also known to generate increased levels of serotonin, a chemical naturally produced by the brain, which is known to reduce anxiety. According to researchers at the Mayo Clinic, â€Å"as a neurotransmitter, serotonin helps to relay messages from one area of the brain to another. Because of the widespread distribution of its cells, it is believed to influence a variety of psychological and other body functions. Of the approximately 40 million brain cells, most are influenced either directly or indirectly by serotonin. This includes brain cells related to mood, sexual desire and function, appetite, sleep, memory and learning, temperature regulation, and some social behavior† (www.mayoclinic.com). Serotonin is most common ly associated with the effects of marijuana or getting â€Å"stoned† However, you would have to eat 25lbs of dark chocolate at once to achieve the same effect, but this would take care of the â€Å"munchies!† Neither of these properties by themselves provides the connection between eating chocolates and heightened sexual pleasure. It is in fact the rush of endorphins produced by eating chocolates, particularly dark chocolates, which is most similar to the bliss associated with a healthy sexual relationship. Chocolate can affect the brain by causing the release of certain neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are the molecules that transmit signals between neurons. The amounts of