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PMS AND THE FOUR FOOD GROUPS |
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Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate and More Chocolate |
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"I would kill for chocolate" is a statement made frequently by women with PMS. Although something of an exaggeration (one hopes), many women find that their taste buds are fixated on only one food group during the last part of their menstrual cycle. That food group is chocolate!
Chocolate's ingredients satisfy many aspects of premenstrual syndrome. Its high sugar content will induce the brain to make new serotonin and make the chocolate eater feel very calm and relaxed.
Moreover, chocolate is no longer a part of the meal, but is rather the meal itself. Thus there is little chance that the protein foods will interfere with the body's ability to make new serotonin. The high butterfat content of chocolate may also change premenstrual mood. High fat foods can have a numbing effect on mood and mental and physical energy. Eat enough chocolate, and moving off the sofa may seem too difficult. However, if you normally feel agitated and jumpy when you are premenstrual, the combination of fat and sugar will soothe and tranquilize you into the state of a lounging lizard. Chocolate has other ingredients -- like phenylethylamine (you know the real reason why we eat chocolate...right!). It has been said that it may have positive mood effects. This has yet to be proven experimentally but certainly chocolate must have some special ingredients that are not found in other foods with high fat and sugar content like butter, pound cake and kettle potato chips.
So all in all...indulge, with no despair -- and enjoy those fabulous four food groups: Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate, and more Chocolate!!
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