For many people feeling depressed, a piece of chocolate offers them comfort and a moment of pleasure. Experts say this is due to the mood-enhancing affects of chocolate. Not surprisingly, new studies indicate that depressed people eat more chocolate than those who aren't depressed.

Research about chocolate was recently conducted by universities in California. Scientists asked more than 900 men and women about their eating habits pertaining to chocolate. None of the participants were on anti-depressants. The questions included, "How much chocolate do you consume on a regular basis? And "How frequently do you consume chocolate?"

A commonly accepted depression scale was used to gauge the mood of the participants. Scientists were able to detect a clear connection between the consumption of chocolate and feelings of depression among the participants.

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.

Moreover, participants that were considered clinically depressed consumed an average of about 12 servings of chocolate per month. However, the researchers noted that none of the participants thought the chocolate they ate aided them in treating their depression. For the study, one serving was defined as one ounce of chocolate.

The study conducted was not designed to determine why people eat more chocolate when they are depressed. Researchers deduced that depression may stimulate a craving for chocolate, making people consume chocolate to treat their condition.

The way it works is this: chocolate triggers the release of endorphins and in doing so, it lifts the mood. Of course, it can have a cyclical effect since eating a lot of chocolate can fill a person with remorse and make them feel depressed. This can make them seek out chocolate.

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.

Get additional pieces of work by this very writer covering items such as popcorn oil popped and popcorn machine supplies.

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These days it's hard to avoid the effects of chronic stress which can even become exasperated and can turn into anxiety. If you or somebody you are close to suffers from high stress levels you can see the many effects it can have on your overall health. The good news is that there are easy steps you can take to reduce the pressure.

Your body's nervous system regulates your body with the balancing measures of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. The sympathetic nervous system is designed to arouse your body to protect itself when it is threatened. The parasympathetic nervous system has the opposite balancing effect of slowing your heart rate, and helping your body to calm down. When you are under long term chronic stress, which many people these days are, your body becomes stuck in the defensive mode of the sympathetic nervous system.

What is anxiety and how is it different from stress? Anxiety can be a condition that causes stress, but on it's own is more fear based. Anxiety is a feeling of discomfort or fear in relationship to some future event or in reaction to random unknown causes.

Chronic stress or anxiety can lead to a number of other health issues including being overweight, anorexia, teeth grinding, migraines, insomnia, psoriasis, hypertension, ulcers, depression, loss of libido, acne, nausea, and any number of other health problems. It can exasperate chronic pain and can even compromise your immune system. It can take it's toll on your relationships. When you're on edge it's harder to relax and enjoy time spent with loved ones. Looking at all of the ways stress can negatively impacts people's lives can seem a bit depressing. The good news is that there are a number of things people can do to regulate their nervous systems naturally:

1) Take some time to learn time management skills. The efficiency you gain in your life by doing this will be worth the initial time investment. (my favorite system is from Steven Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People)

2) Ask for help. See if there is anybody around who can lighten the load. You don't have to do it all. Ask yourself: 'what are my resources?'

3) Take breaks and move your body. Even two 10 minute walking breaks during the day can make a world of difference.

4) Daily stress reduction exercises, like mindfulness based stress reduction. These types of practices could include hatha yoga, tai chi, walking meditation, or meditation on the breath.

5) Instead of heading to your allopathic doctor as usual, try gentler holistic methods first. Some examples are Naturopathic medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, and Chinese Medicine (acupuncture and herbs). These approaches treat your whole body and can therefore be more natural and thorough, treating the problems at their root. Not only will you have fewer side effects, you will receive more thorough care from your practitioner.

I have personally used the methods listed above and found them to be effective. Additionally, I have found that Acupuncture, and Chinese Herbal Medicine not only treat the symptoms of stress and anxiety but also treat internal patterns of disharmony caused by it. Acupuncture in particular regulates the body's nervous system and promotes the release of endorphins. It's no wonder that patients become deeply relaxed during and after treatments. But don't take my word for it, try a couple of the above suggestions and see how they work for you.

Rebecca Hindman L.Ac. helps people to recover their natural state of health with Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine. For more information about Chinese Medicine, acupuncture and natural approaches to resolving chronic health issues you can visit her clinic's web site at Acupuncture Austin to download your free ebook.

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It's reliable advice that everyone has endured stress at one point or another, most of it aggravated during your day to day lives. However, as all encompassing a phrase as stress is, it's important to realize that it can also be classified in several, specific types. Interestingly, stress can often be a very good thing, however, if left untended, may result in potentially long term damage, both physically and psychologically. Based on the American Psychological Association, there are three primary forms that stress can take on. With stress can come health problems that range from heart ailments to depression or even simple fatigue, therefore a chance to identify the symptoms are important.

Acute

Perhaps the most common type of stress, which usually goes as quickly as it comes, and is directly affected by pressures surrounding the malaised. In many ways, acute stress will be helpful, as it provides you with that kind of rush of exhilaration you have to push yourself that extra bit you have to overcome some sort of challenge. It's a very temporary kind of tension, and as the conflict resolves itself, it usually goes away hastily.

However, it should be noted that if there is a negative source for this kind of stress then there will be physical signs, such as stomach pains or an inability to form an appetite. Ultimately, acute stress has no real long term effects, and is mostly noted for its immediate feelings of malaise, especially since it only really lasts as long as its cause anyway.

Acute Episodic

A more serious kind of stress than simple acute tension, acute episodic stress is most common in people who allow themselves to lead disorganized and cluttered lives. When your life is a jumbled mess of late arrivals and an inability to give yourself any sense of normalcy, you are sinking into this kind of potentially harmful stress. When one has what's known as a Type A personality, or can be defined as "chronic worriers". In many ways, this form of stress is like acute tension, however it is more probably to affect you over a long period of time, and has had the unenviable distinction of resulting to high blood pressure and heart disease.

Chronic

In general, most people experience this kind of stress, especially in their day to day lives. Whether you're suffering typical financial frustrations, or your long term relationship is becoming rocky, or something as simple as a poor work environment, you can find yourself struggling with chronic stress. Even if you find yourself able to overcome the simplest of symptoms at first, it should not be outright ignored, as it is the most connected to cardiac problems such like heart attacks - and it is a leading cause in violent rages and suicides. Even though tension and stress are relatively normal consequences of most situations humans are involved in, some people describe it as a kind of killer - and it is therefore vital to learn to normalize your life, and keep stress in check. In addition to insuring a higher quality life, it also avoids potentially fatal health issues in later life.

Learn more about stress management. Stop by www.stressstrainrelief.com where you can find out all about stress relieving techniques and what it can do for you.

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