Chocolate lovers, prepare to have your minds blown: It may not be you who’s craving Hershey’s Kisses – it may be the microbes living in your stomach! Well, not exactly. See, everybody’s got a little bacteria farm in their tummies. Don’t freak out – they’re good bacteria. Some researchers in Europe have been studying different types of metabolism (they use the catchy moniker “metabotype”). They tested some men who describe themselves as “Chocolate Desiring”, and some who were “Chocolate Indifferent”.
The chocolate lovers shared certain metabolic characteristics – they have a little more beneficial protein, certain amino acids, and lower “bad” cholesterol. This was true whether they ate chocolate or “chocolate placebo”. (I really don’t want to think about what “chocolate placebo” could be!)
Scientists found that all these similarities mean that the Chocolate-Desirous guys shared the same types of intestinal microbes. It’s unknown whether they have the same bacteria because they like chocolate, or if they like chocolate because they have the same bacteria.
There’s still plenty of testing that needs to be done, but one thing’s for sure: if I don’t have a Reese’s Cup soon, my chocolate bugs are going to form an alliance with my peanut butter bugs and have a revolution!
I was fascinated by Breanna’s article on “Gut Bugs”, which was delivered in her usual engaging style but with a cognizance of scientific methods and research. Every time I read one of her articles I want to run out and buy some chocolate!
January 17th, 2008 at 4:40 pm