Eating Too Much Chocolate: Side Effects

“The toxic dose of chocolate exists and can even lead to death,” said Reed Caldwell, a resuscitator at New York University. However, you will soon get to the hospital with a stomach disorder, than with an overdose of this sweetness.

The danger lies in the theobromine substance, which is contained in cocoa beans. It is an alkaloid of vegetable origin with a bitter taste. In the human body, it acts as a mild stimulant, in effect similar to caffeine. In addition, theobromine dilates the vessels, which lowers the pressure, and has a diuretic effect.

According to the US National Institutes of Health, theobromine also crosses the blood-brain barrier. It is a layer of capillaries that lets in the brain useful substances, but filters out toxins and harmful microorganisms. Because of this ability to penetrate the barrier, theobromine affects mood, like caffeine.

In large quantities, theobromine can be toxic to humans. The combination of vasodilator and diuretic effect, as well as disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, leads to increased heart rate, loss of appetite, sweating, tremors and severe headaches. And because of the effect on the cardiovascular system, a large dose of theobromine can become fatal.

However, according to Caldwell, this is extremely unlikely. To do this, you need to eat a lot of chocolate.

Stomach upset and vomiting, which you earn in the process, simply will not allow you to eat a lethal dose.

In different types of chocolate, the different content of theobromine. In dairy about 2.4 mg per 1 g of chocolate, and in bitter – 5.5 mg. The toxic dose of theobromine for humans is 1,000 mg per 1 kg of body weight. That is, a person weighing 75 kg needs to eat 75 g of theobromine to poison himself to death. This is approximately 711 bars of milk chocolate weighing 43 grams.

But for dogs, the toxic dose is much lower : Chocolate poisoning – 100-500 mg per 1 kg of weight. So make sure that your pet does not get to your sweet stuff.

Although death from an overdose of chocolate is not the strangest thing a person can do, Caldwell never encountered such a case and did not hear about it from colleagues. If only you do not deliberately try to poison yourself, you will not die, no matter how much chocolate you eat.