Even though scientists have cracked the human genome, they are light years away from discovering all the nuances of the many molecules that float inside the tissues of our bodies; interacting, exchanging, changing, and transforming every cell. Those spotlighted tend to captivate the general public; especially, when they are related to the foods we eat. Enter PEA.
PEA (formally known as Phenylethylamine) is a series of atoms strung together in a characteristic shape with some interesting details. In molecule lingo, it’s known as an amine; one of five (norepinephrine, epinephrine, serotonin, dopamine, and PEA) that have considerable responsibility for our moods and behaviors. It floats through the tissues of our bodies and is particularly involved with the central nervous system.
PEA isn’t an abundant molecule. It exists in very low amounts inside our bodies. It helps to boost our blood pressure, glucose levels, and may even peak during orgasm. What makes it interesting is its relationship to love, because the same reactions that it induces in our bodies are those that we experience when we are in the throes of love. It exists outside our bodies in a number of foods; the most captivating, of which, is chocolate.
We can all agree that chocolate holds a long history with romance. Many of us have given the delicious sweet as a gift on St. Valentine’s Day or seduced a lover with it. But we’ve never considered its correlation to the human brain until PEA came into the molecular radars of our noted biologists and scientists.
Sensitive individuals claim to know when PEA enters their bodies after a healthy dose of chocolate. Others argue that the ingestion of it has no effect at all because it is metabolized. Regardless of the argument, we know that it exists in chocolate; it exists in the central nervous system; and we know that it’s involved with physical reactions related to love. We’ve put the molecule, its purpose, and the sweet together to give us a great story.
The thought that we may be seducing each other with food makes me smile; not in the traditional the-way-to-a-man’s-heart-is-through-his-stomach model, but through a scientific one. It tickles me to think that chocolate may have played a role in countless courtships; a little molecule wrapped in a delicious dark food with a whole lot of love.
Copyright © Tyler Gant 2009
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