Despite most conventional notions that we should avoid caffeine and sugar while entering our menstrual cycles in order to avoid exacerbating PMS symptoms, often times our bodies will crave chocolate.
Has this ever happened to you?
I know I’m about to start bleeding when for one intense day, sometimes two, I start to think about chocolate.
I LOVE chocolate. But the truth is that I don’t think about it, buy it, or crave it until a day or two before I get my period. And regardless of what fad nutritional rules state, I trust my body. I buy the chocolate and I eat on the day or two a month that my body asks for it.
Quality Vs Quantity
One of the fears that many have over eating chocolate is having too much which can lead to unwanted increased sugar intake which lead to unwanted symptoms and discomfort. The other thing is that sometimes, you end up eating way more than you originally intended.
Over the years, as my tastes in food and chocolate grew, I realized that high quality dark chocolate contains so much chocolate that not only does it taste better, but it satisfies a lot faster and thoroughly. In other words, high quality dark chocolate not only tastes better, but it contains more chocolate, less filler and feeds the needs of your body much better than say a Hershey bar.
Feeding The Body
Estrogen and progesterone drop in the few days before our periods and this fluctuation kicks off a list of symptoms. One of them is the drop in the feel good hormone, serotonin. And it’s this drop in hormone levels that leaves us feeling under the weather, moody or just plain blue.
Now here is the thing; the high sugar content in regular milk chocolate bars can definitely elevate mood. But this is only temporary as sugar is metabolized rather quickly in our bodies and result in a crash of both energy and mood when we have burned it all up. The boost we get from low end, low quality and low quantify chocolate is inefficient and detrimental to our health.
However, if we eat a piece of chocolate that is high in actual chocolate content, lower in sugar, we actually start to benefit from the other things contained in the chocolate. Magnesium, omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids are also found in chocolate and they help regulate our systems, feed our bodies and alleviate some of the symptoms of lower serotonin levels.
Also? It tastes amazing!
So, eat up. Buy a high quality chocolate bar, or indulge in the one we will send you from time to time through The Pampered Period Box. High quality dark chocolate is most definitely part of your self care regimen as a menstruating woman.
For some, the taste of dark chocolate might take some getting use to, but it’s pretty amazing! Chances are, that like Elena (co owner of this little luxury box corner of the world) you’ll nibble on a few small pieces over the course of a couple of days and will be totally satisfied.
Your body will get the boost it needs and you’ll have enough chocolate left over for next month when you get your period again!
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