PMS and chocolate 
Monday, March 26, 2007, 03:59 PM - PMS
At a recent dinner party, one of the guests was shocked to learn that we have heard women tell us that they would rather have chocolate than sex, particularly when they have PMS. "You're kidding, right?" he asked. Sadly, no. Chocolate is sought out by women in PMS be it ice cream, bars, candies, cakes, brownies, frosting, cookies, Valentine's candy or whatever holiday it happens to be...you get it. The list goes on.

And while dark chocolate has been in the spotlight for it's healthy anti-oxidant benefits and the arrival the new eco-friendly bars, hot chocolate mixes, ice creams and other desserts containing organic ingredients from the rain forests of Central American, Southeast Asia, and Africa.

Chocolate may have it's own mood-enhancing properties, and the fat in most chocolate could be soothing to anyone, but it's the sugar in chocolate that boosts brain serotonin that calms the dramatic mood swings and irritability of PMS and controls the increased appetite that so often increases at this time of the month. It appears that the symptoms are a result of hormonal fluctuations that affect serotonin and it's effect on appetite and mood.

We're not going to tell you you can't enjoy a bite or two of gourmet or full-fat chocolate once in a while. (Try telling that to someone at their PMS worst). And we're not recommending a fat-free diet. What we are trying to tell you is that you can have your cake and eat it too, as long as it's fat free chocolate cake. You won't damage your diet in the process.

We tell our clients who must have chocolate to look for the following:

Chocolate sorbet
No Pudge! Fudge Brownie Mix
Homemade hot chocolate made with fat free milk and dark cocoa (alkali-processed tastes best)
Tootsie rolls
Skinny Cow, Healthy Choice, and other supermarket fat free/low fat frozen desserts
Fat free chocolate breakfast cereals
Popcorn drizzled with fat free chocolate syrup (look for those without high fructose corn syrup)

You can also surf the web for lots of fat free chocolate recipes.

We offer these suggestions for those who cannot live without chocolate and who would otherwise abort their dieting efforts were they required to forgo these treats once in a while.



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