Chocolate, Depression and Love

Eating chocolate is generally not a good idea when you are trying to lose weight. But I say, hey. It's Valentine's Day today.

Chocolate can play havoc with your blood sugar levels if you overindulge. As with any other foods that contain sugar, eating too much chocolate can create fragile nerves and cause a low, sunken feeling.

But unlike a lot of other foods that contain sugar, chocolate has a couple of positive attributes. It contains the chemical theobromine. Theobromine helps to release endorphins in your brain and thus lifts your spirits if you are feeling down. These endorphins are the same chemicals that get activated when you are falling in love. The darker and purer the chocolate, the better it is for you.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was one of my favorite books. One of the points that stuck out for me was how Charlie had to savor just one small piece of chocolate each day. Somehow I could see how it tasted so much better and was such a bigger treat when rationed this way. But for me personally, I usually only buy chocolate about once a month. I get these chunks of dark chocolate with almonds, and I usually end up eating them over a period of a few days. I'm sure it's all cyclical and moon-phase related. It always seems to be good natural medicine at the time.