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Lately I have been getting the suspicion that I am addicted to chocolate. I eat either 99% schaffen berger baker chocolate or 100% cocoa powder mixed with coconut flakes and I believe I'm kidding myself into thinking this isn't a bad idea.

The reasons I may be addicted: 1. Never cared for chocolate as a kid (but I ate a ton of other candy so maybe non-pure sugar wasn't as good?) 2. I make excuses to eat it 3. Cravings and associations with a dessert for each meal. I feel off if I don't have chocolate-something after each meal. 4. Weird headaches lately

Have you discovered an addiction to a 'paleo' item? How did you treat yourself? Did you have to go cold turkey and reintroduce it later? Has anyone else discovered a chocolate addiction? Is chocolate addiction possible?

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5 
 Magnesium deficiency? – Travis Culp♦ Nov 1 2011 at 18:55
I don't take any magnesium supplements so this is a possibility. Why are so many paleos magnesium deficient? – JakeA Nov 1 2011 at 19:14
3 
 Not just paleos, most people (80% or more) are magnesium deficient because it has been leached out of the soil where we grow things through intensive farming without replacing it over the last 100+ years. Magnesium isn't usually considered to be an important soil input because produce can still grow well without adding it. – Happy Now Nov 1 2011 at 19:44
Also, if you are doing a high protein (mostly muscle meat) diet, that can cause magnesium wasting, and you'll end up needing to supplement even more. As far as supplements go, chocolate is pretty tasty, and as long as you are doing the super dark stuff, I'd say munch away without guilt. – Happy Now Nov 1 2011 at 20:14
I eat 35-40% Protein generally. Thanks for the comment about that very helpful – JakeA Nov 1 2011 at 20:24

5 Answers

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Chocolate addiction is not merely plausible, it is something one should obviously expect. It's no less surprising than the fact that coffee is addictive. In addition to the caffeine, cocoa contains theobromine, which is another stimulant and various other pleasure-increasing/stress reducing compounds. It's been shown that if you add theobromine to a drink it will substantially increase liking of that drink compared to an identical tasting control. It would be shocking if such a food weren't addictive.

For what it's worth I find chocolate extremely addictive (eating/drinking 100% cocoa bars or powder or beans), despite the fact that it definitely irritates my stomach and gut (and possibly liver). I don't have any suggestions for getting off it- pretty much the only options are going cold turkey or doing it gradually.

I can't imagine that magnesium craving is the explanation. Not only is there no evidence, but there's some counter-evidence (i.e. that no-one gets addicted to spinach) and it seems a very poor explanation (in that it can't account for the nigh-identical addiction symptoms people have to caffeine and is a lot less simple an explanation than caffeine+theobromine). I've never noticed any changes in my chocolate craving with differing magnesium intake (and I'm not sure how much one absorbs from chocolate anyway, given its high levels of antinutrients).

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1 
 I'm sorry about your poor reaction to chocolate. I think I need to get off the stuff. Thanks for the reply. – JakeA Nov 1 2011 at 20:26
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 I agree it's unlikely to be related to magnesium. Neurotransmitters seem like a better candidate. I would experiment with amino acids to see if cravings reduce: tryptophan, tyrosine, glutamine – Dean Nov 1 2011 at 20:28
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In my experience, any mild addiction like this is best treated cold-turkey. The least stressful way to deal with this is to just not buy any more of the thing you crave.

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I agree. Get the chocolate out of the house and resist buying it for a little while. If magnesium deficiency is indeed the problem, either take mag supplements or throw some cocoa powder into your coffee or some hot water after a meal. Don't sweeten it. You don't want it to trigger any reward systems or perpetuate the addiction. – SlightlyReworded Nov 2 2011 at 10:42
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...step away from the chocolate!

Yes I'm pretty sure it would be easy to become addicted to chocolate. Not only is it delicious but it does have caffeine in it as well.

Go cold turkey, make sure you are getting plenty of good fats to take away any real cravings. Remove the chocolate from the house and be strong!!

good luck!

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Should I quit caffeine too since it's a similar drug? – JakeA Nov 1 2011 at 19:14
If you want to. It might help -- but it might make you crave the chocolate even more. Could argue either way -- quit 'em both at the same time, or get one under control, and then move to the other. Depends on your personality and temperament. – Albert Nov 1 2011 at 19:33
That's probably a better idea. Maybe I'll just swap caffinated for more decaf eventually – JakeA Nov 1 2011 at 19:47
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Well, before you treat it's best to confirm the problem. Eat a diet you KNOW agrees with you and every few days add the chocolate, wait until all symptoms are gone and add it again.

IF you confirm you do have a problem the only question is, is it worth it? That's what I did with wheat and it took several experiments before the truthful answer was negative.

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EFT (aka "Tapping") has been used successfully by many folks to eliminate their chocolate addiction. I have witnessed the results of this first-hand in many EFT trainings I've attended.

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