Phenylethylamine, or PEA for short, is a natural compound sometimes called the “love molecule.” Your brain releases PEA when you’re feeling excitement, attraction, or the early stages of falling in love — and small amounts of it are also found in chocolate.
PEA boosts the levels of dopamine and serotonin — two key “feel-good” neurotransmitters — which may partly explain why chocolate feels like such an emotional comfort food.
That said, most scientists agree that while chocolate contains PEA, your body breaks it down so quickly during digestion that it’s probably not the main reason chocolate makes you feel happy. (It’s more likely the combination of theobromine, sugar, texture, and nostalgia doing the heavy lifting.)
(You can dive deeper into chocolate’s mood-boosting secrets in The Chocolate Lab.)
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