Today we’re exploring how cacao’s chemistry works with the body’s natural pathways to support feelings of joy, love, and connection for a more open-hearted way of moving through the holidays.

Keep reading to learn how cacao impacts your neurochemistry and how you can work with cacao to support a more joyful season. 

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Why Cacao Feels So Uplifting

There is a reason drinking cacao feels different from other warm beverages or herbal allies.  Cacao contains beneficial neurotransmitters and neuro-modulators already present in our brain, and some of their precursors so the body can manufacture them. It also contains reuptake inhibitors that block the pathways that our bodies normally use to break down and recycle these beneficial mood altering molecules, so the good mood lasts for longer. In the long term, regularly working with ceremonial cacao can have therapeutic health benefits, including creating new neural pathways that change our daily experience to include more joy, love, and connection.

One of these compounds is anandamide, often called the bliss molecule (from the Sanskrit word ananda, meaning joy or delight) . Your body produces anandamide through exercise - often known as the runner’s high. Researchers have not found large amounts of anandamide itself in cacao, but they have identified N-acylethanolamines (NAEs) in cacao - compounds that are structurally similar to anandamide and can influence the same pathways within the endocannabinoid system (1). NAEs are known to interact with cannabinoid receptors and to inhibit FAAH, the enzyme responsible for breaking down your body’s own anandamide. This means that cacao contains molecules that support the experience of bliss and also reduce the breakdown of the naturally occurring bliss molecules in your body. Together, these mechanisms support feelings of contentment, calmness, and euphoria. 

Cacao also carries phenylethylamine, or PEA, sometimes referred to as the love chemical because it’s released in the brain during the initial stages of falling in love. PEA is a neuromodulator the body naturally releases during moments of inspiration, excitement, or emotional resonance (2). In the context of a warm cup of cacao, it contributes to an uplifted mood - the kind that helps you feel more present, more attentive and focused, and more open to yourself and others. It is not a high or a buzz, but an activation of your central nervous system. 

Flavanols, meanwhile, support vasodilation, allowing more blood flow and warmth through the chest (3). And theobromine provides calm, sustained energy without the tension or crash associated with caffeine (4). These elements weave together with cacao’s natural fats and minerals to create a felt experience that many describe as gently energizing and heart-opening.

This is part of why sipping cacao intentionally can shift the emotional tone of a moment. It works with your physiology to bring more upliftment, more joy, and more presence. People feel that difference immediately: a softening, a deepening, a sense of returning home to themselves.

How You Actually Feel This In Your Life

Understanding the science is helpful, but what matters most is how cacao can support you in this busy holiday season.

This time of year asks more of the heart. The pace quickens, the noise grows louder, and it becomes easy to slip into habit, reactivity, or emotional constriction. Cacao supports an upliftment in your neurochemistry and an openness or feeling of increased connection in your heart. Presence becomes more accessible. Conversations feel softer. Moments feel more spacious. You begin to meet the season not from overwhelm, but from a grounded place within yourself.

This is where science becomes a lived experience. The measurable effects translate into something deeply human - warmth, connection, intuition, and a steady joy that rises gently from within.

As you move through the holidays, may this plant offer a moment of grounding and a return to the center of your own heart. Whether shared with loved ones or held as a quiet ritual, even a single cup has a way of bringing you back to what truly matters.

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References:

1. Montagna, M. T., et al. (2019). Chocolate, “Food of the Gods”: History, science, and human health. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 16(24), 4960.

2. Miller, G. M. (2011). The emerging role of TAAR1 in monoamine regulation. Front Neurosci, 5, 72.

3. Aprotosoaie, A. C., et al. (2020). The cardiovascular effects of cocoa polyphenols - An overview. Molecules, 25(3), 695.

4. Zhang, M., et al. (2019). Health benefits and mechanisms of theobromine. Food & Function, 10(12), 8205–8213.