The Blog
My Name is Debbie...and I'm a Chocoholic
Monday 20th March 2017
Hi, My Name is Debbie....and I'm a Chocoholic
Sound familiar? The call of the chocolate bar can be heard from all sorts of places - The cupboard? The bottom of your handbag? The Petrol Station shelves? And even from under the bed it would seem?
Well, I would like to throw a thought at you whilst you're giving yourself a thorough beating for not having the willpower to abstain - have you ever thought you may be deficient in Magnesium?
It is estimated that 70% of us are deficient in this important mineral, leaving a large proportion of us suffering from a range of symptoms that we just live with, unquestioning.
So, the symptoms?
• Fatigue
• Muscle twitching and Tingling
• Anxiety
• Poor Sleep
• Nausea
• Delirium or confusion
• Weakness
Unfortunately, with processed foods, poor diets and stress, our magnesium supplies can easily be depleted and the chocolate cravings may just stem from this.
I reckon our body is quite efficient in letting us know what we NEED. I recall a terrible pregnancy with the worst morning sickness and the utter wretchedness experienced, only having one resolve. McDonalds.
It was 6 months of cheeseburger and fries and it produced a craving like no other. I would pace the house, waiting like a trapped, wild animal, wide eyed and shaking, desperately waiting to hear the door slam outside, as my husband's car returned to the house with that brown paper bag. Looking back, I think my body was aching for lost salt and sugar from the sickness and McDonald's seemed to be the perfect answer! It was hell bent in getting what it wanted and it did! The result? A 10 pound 5 ounce baby and a total balk from the fast food chain ever again!
So, back to Magnesium - What does it do for us?
• It strengthens the immune system
• Protects the heart and assists with heart palpitations.
• Protects the liver and kidneys
• Keeps the central nervous system in order
• Maintains muscle health
• Helps with anxiety, irritation and depression
• Fortifies the bones
• Helps regenerates body cells.
What? All this? Yes! And more! With more women experiencing chocolate cravings than men, there must be a hormonal element to this too I reckon? Or maybe it's just that feel good factor it gives us to get us through certain times of the month!
I am somewhat disappointed though. There are other foods out there that equip us with a helping of Magnesium, so why can't we crave those? May be the leafy greens just don't get the body interested enough? I suppose I could have been reaching for many other sources of sugar and salt in my pregnancy, but maybe those other options just weren't packaged in the correct way either?
Before we all go on our way and stock up with Magnesium Supplements to prepare us for the chocolate onslaught that will be commencing next month, I would add here that there are a number of conditions that may be affected by them, so as with introducing any supplements to your diet, speak to the doctor looking after you first.
I reckon chocolate does give us more than a hit of Magnesium though. I think it would be easy to blame a deficiency for what sometimes, can be deemed as just "bad behavior". You know, when the 2 or 3 squares isn't quite enough and suddenly the whole bar has gone!
Maybe there is a lingering villain here, hiding behind the masquerade of magnesium deficiencies, intolerances and emotional needs, willing us to fall in to bad habits of snacking and craving? That villain is being labeled as the new "drug" of our time, producing more disease and implications than any of us can imagine, and that's the little chap called "sugar" and he has his own Blog all to himself!
In the meantime, do the best you can. Spend the run up to Easter eating more leafy greens, nuts and seeds. Arm yourself with avocado and bananas and at least be reassured that it isn't the Magnesium calling when that Easter Egg comes knocking.