When you’re feeling depressed you may be tempted to reach for a piece of chocolate, but have you ever wondered why? Studies indicate that the delicious treat has mood-enhancing effects. Not surprisingly, scientists have found that people who are depressed eat more chocolate than those not suffering from depression.

In a study done by several universities in California, 900 men and women were questioned about their chocolate consumption. None of the participants were on anti-depressants. The goal of the study was to find out how much chocolate the men and women ate on a regular basis and how often they ate the sugary treat.

In the study the scientists used a commonly accepted depression scale to assess the mood of the participants. What they found was a definite relationship between feelings of depression in the men and women and the consumption of chocolate.

The found on average, that the people who had depression ate about eight and a half servings of chocolate each month. By contrast, those who said they didn’t have depression ate only five and a half servings a month.

Those participants that were actually clinically depressed ate the most chocolate of all. They were found to consume an average of nearly 12 servings of chocolate monthly. Although, when asked, none of the participants felt that the chocolate positively affected their depression. For the study one serving of chocolate was one ounce or 28 grams.

Researchers conducting the study didn’t attempt to determine why depressed people eat more chocolate. They did theorize that depression stimulates cravings for comfort food such as chocolate, which then leads people to each chocolate to treat their condition.

Researchers have found that chocolate has mood-lifting benefits by the release of endorphins. Unfortunately, the process can have a cyclical effect – that by consuming a lot of chocolate, people may feel more depressed and want to eat more chocolate to feel better.

As much as researchers have learned from these studies, it’s clear that a lot more needs to be learned about the link between chocolate and depression.

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