Specific Purpose: To explain to my audience how consumption of chocolate influences their behavior, mood, wishes or even their health.
Central Idea: The influence of chocolate is similar to the influence of some light drugs on a person, and that’s why we can’t rid of our obsession of chocolate. I.
Adam Drewnowski, a scientist from the University of Michigan, claimed that chocolate is like a light drug, such as marijuana.
According to his research, chocolate contains many opioids – the matters are found in opium, that produce an euphoria (a feeling of well-being). II.
This could explain the whole world obsession of chocolate.
According to “Confectionery & Biscuit Processing”, the consumption of chocolate in Switzerland – the top chocolate consuming country of 2012 – is 11 kg per capite in a year, which is equal to 659.3 billions dollars of USA.
Ukraine is the last country in the list of Top-20 Consuming Chocolate Countries, and its results are 4,2 kg per capite and 165 billions dollars.
You could say that chocolate is very tasteful or that it is just a chocolate fashion.
If you eat a one or two bars of chocolate per 3 months, you have nothing to worry about.
But chocolate contains a lot of light drugs, and that’s why we can’t help eating it.
And that’s why we forget about the risks of overweight and bad mood which cause our chocolate obsession.
(Transition: Now let’s look at the ways chocolate influences our health and behavior.)
BODY
I.
Chocolate make us dependent on because of its chemical composition.
Theoretically, any tasteful product stimulates the pleasure center in our brains.
Pleasure center – is a number of brain regions involved in pleasure we get from different activities (eating food, sex and so on).
If we are fond of some food, for example, strawberry, spinach or any other healthy products, we stimulate the pleasure center and, as a result, we feel happiness, joy, etc. But the power of influence of chocolate and healthy food are different.
Chocolate consists of compound number of ingredients, which affect our pleasure center like some light drugs.
That’s why a lot of people are obsessed of chocolate and can’t refuse it even if they have to.
When a group of scientists from the University of Michigan gave to respondents Naloxone – a pure opioid antagonist – and then offered to respondents chocolate bars and sticks, the scientists saw that respondents ate 50% less of “Snickers” and “M&M’s” and 90% less of chocolate cookie “Oreo”.
As we see, chocolate is an addictive product, which has the power of influence bigger than one of healthy products, and which is equal to effect of light drugs.
(Transition: What does all this chemical staff means?
Now I’ll tell you about some risks of chocolate to you.)
II.
Addiction to chocolate could be one more reason of overweight
Of course, of course, we hear about this over and over – you say.
Most people know, that chocolate is a very high-calorized product.
But we do not know that we can’t refuse it not because of lack of willpower, but because it’s hard to confront our obsession.
Chocolate contains caffeine and dopamine – the chemicals, which cause addiction and which stimulates pleasure center in our brain, and that’s why the one who consumes a lot of chocolate for some period of time is addicted.
I do not like a person who is overweigh, but I’m interested in all this chocolate staff because I was addicted by my own.
I bought one bar of chocolate every day and I can’t stop though chocolate took my money and put me on weight.
And I can’t say that I bought it because of hunger; I bought my everyday bar of chocolate even after hearty meal.
(Transition: Now you know about influence of chocolate on our health.
Now I’ll pay attention to our mental health.)
III.
Obsession of chocolate means bad mood
It’s paradoxical, that chocolate which contains dopamine and caffeine could cause bad mood.
But we remember that chocolate influences a person like a light drug.
That’s why when we are addicted to chocolate, we feel at first happiness because of new bar of chocolate and then – despair.
A research by neuroscientists from University of Michigan, which was made on rets, declares that chocolate creates a vicious circle of buying the bar of chocolate, joy and despair.
Neal Barnard, a president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (USA), also writes about mixed feeling of joy and despair he noted at his patients.
He says that chocolateholics are sad because they feel guilty, but they can’t resist their obsession.
(Transition: As we see, because of mix of chemicals which a single bar of chocolate includes, we have not only joy, but also some troubles.)
CONCLUSION
I.
I hope now you know not only about good, shared by mass-media and advertisement aspects of chocolate, but also are informed with its negative side.
Chocolate is not only a delicious food, but also a thing that could cause addiction and