It's World Chocolate Day!

As someone who helps people get in control of their relationship with food and eating, I know that some of us have a love-hate relationship with chocolate.

But today is a celebration of chocolate and it's a good excuse for me to talk about serotonin.

There are plenty of reasons we get pleasure from eating chocolate - I mean there's the taste and texture alone! We also get an instant energy boost which feels good.

Chocolate, in particular dark chocolate, also contains serotonin and the amino acid it's made from, tryptophan.

Serotonin is known as one of our 'happy hormones' but its main function is to help us cope well with life.

It regulates mood, aids sleep, digestion, learning and memory. It even makes us brave and helps us cope with pain!

There are lots of ways we can generate our own supply of serotonin:

• Positive Actions

• Positive Interactions

• Positive Thoughts

But I'll take some lovely chocolate today of all days.