There is genuinely nothing better than chocolate…dark, milk, filled with PB, sprinkled, drizzled, dipped, whatever. But when your body craves chocolate, chances are it actually needs something else, so the good news is that you can curb this craving without picking up any candy.
There are a couple reasons that we swoon over chocolate bars.
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Scientifically speaking, because we as humans enjoy chocolate, when we eat it our brain actually releases dopamine (a neurotransmitter released during sex or while laughing), which makes us happier. This increase in dopamine makes chocolate that much better, meaning that our sweet tooth is actually sometimes just a craving for the experience chocolate provides.
Chocolate is also extremely high in magnesium.
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Sometimes when our sweet teeth kick in, it means the body is lacking magnesium, (this might be true for other cravings too). We desire chocolate instead of other magnesium rich foods because chocolate is straight up amaze balls, but as it turns out we don’t necessarily NEED chocolate to satisfy our hunger, we just need a little more magnesium in our diet.
So, how do we increase our dopamine and magnesium?
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If you find you just want some chocolate because you’re upset, do something that makes you happy. Go for a run,watch some SNL, call your hilar best friend and laugh a little bit, and you’ll be surprised to see your choco-craving disappear.
If the dopamine trick doesn’t suffice, find some magnesium-packed foods like leafy greens, nuts, avocados, whole grains and more. Making a green smoothie is a healthy way to increase your magnesium through all of the leafy greens while satisfying your sweet tooth.
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Moral of the story is if you keep up your magnesium and stay happy, your chocolate craze should simmer down. However, chocolate is too good to pass up all the time, so treat yo’ self every once in a while. But remember, a life without any chocolate isn’t much of a life at all.
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