Five "sweet" facts about the chemistry of chocolate - Bytesize Science

Valentine's Day is right around the corner. Whether you're spending Valentine's with a special someone or you're stuck celebrating "Singles Awareness Day," we put together a list of five fascinating chemical facts about why chocolate, in moderation, may be good for you.

The video explains how a bar of chocolate contains hundreds of compounds, many with beneficial properties. Among the video's "sweet" facts:
•Chocolate may improve your mood, and not just because of its delicious flavor. Chocolate contains a number of chemicals that inhibit the breakdown of the neurotransmitter anandamide -- sometimes called "the molecule of bliss" -- which can block feelings of pain and depression.
•According to an article from the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, the naturally occurring polyphenols in cocoa ― the key ingredient in chocolate ― boost levels of HDL, commonly known as the "good cholesterol."

Video by Kirk Zamieroski
Produced by the American Chemical Society

• Category

  Education

[sukablianah2]

Fuck sake... All good benefits are coming from cocoa, main ingredients of regular chocolate bars are sugar and oils! Only 90% cocoa is good enough, regular chocolate will fuck your shit up.

[max davis]

i was eating chocolate while watching this

[S Rakestraw]

@ 0:48 that's COFFEE not Chocolate!

[David Lambert]

I think it is a very good video. I'm always learning

Dave Lambert

David's Delicious Chocolates

[NicoKrul]

Showing red blood cells and then a DNA structure? Yeah right...

[carlos antonio cabo gonzalez]

Yo de momento sigo moviendo los dos dedos al escribir.



[Michael Keyes]

WHERE ARE MY SNICKER'S BARS?

[HordrissTheConfuser]

Among other things, I gave up chocolate for Lent.

You heartless toerags!

[Naman Sood]

Nice!

[Techeak]

This video makes me want to kill myself. I'm allergic to caffeine. :(