Sunil Kochhar, co-author of the study reviewed at Journal of Proteome Research, said that people who long for chocolates daily show signs of having different colonies of bacteria than those who are resistant to chocolate's appeal.
An AP report said that said idea could lead to treating some kind of obesity altering the composition of the trillions of bacteria that occupy the intestines and stomach.
Reports said that Nestle SA, a food company paid for the research. But it is not a part of an effort to change a few to the dark side of cocoa.
Kochhar is in charge of metabolism research at the Nestle Research Center in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The researchers studied the byproducts of metabolism in their blood and urine and found that a dozen substances were significantly different between the two groups.
Kochhar said study showed that amino acid glycine was higher in chocolate lovers, while taurine, an active ingredient in energy drinks, was higher in people who didn't eat chocolate.
Chocolate lovers had lower of the bad cholesterol, LDL. The levels of several of the specific substances that were different in the two groups are known to be linked to different types of bacteria, Kochhar said.
The study still has to determine if the bacteria cause the craving, or if early in life, people's diets changed the bacteria, which then reinforced food choices.
It was not yet determined if the bacteria caused the craving, or if early in life people's diets changed the bacteria, which then reinforced food choices.
Meanwhile, Dr. Sam Klein, an obesity expert and professor of medicine at Washington University in St. Louis told AP that studies showed that intestinal bacteria change when people lose weight
"Since bacteria interact with what a person eats, it is logical to think that there is a connection between those microbes and desires for certain foods" Klein disclosed.
