Dark chocolate is better for you!

Brain changes in chocoholics that occur when they see or eat chocolate are similar to those in addicts when they take drugs, scientists say. British researchers at Oxford University found certain regions of the brain were more active when people who confessed to cravings were fed or shown pictures of chocolate than in non-cravers.

They also discovered the sight of chocolate contributed significantly to the activation of brain areas associated with reward – suggesting that dieters could cut their intake by avoiding the sight of foods they particularly desire.

Prof Edmund Rolls said: "Understanding individual differences in brain responses to very pleasant foods helps in the understanding of the mechanisms that drive the liking for specific foods and thus intake of those foods. Sight and flavour combined give a much bigger response than seeing or tasting the food separately. The sight component is important and complements the flavour. If you want to limit [food] intake, you could limit the extent to which you are exposed to the combination of sight and taste. For example, you could eat in the dark."

Don't you just love research! I assume volunteers to join the project are plentiful [or plenty full].

Gareth