In the Pink
No cane sugar
No Corn Syrup
No Fructose
No White Flour
No Caffeine
No Milk Products
No Butter
No Table Salt
No Preservatives
and Still Lip Smacking Good
"In the pink" is a phrase that means "in good health." There have been many instances in my life that have led me to make a serious change in my family's eating habits. My three year old son was diagnosed (at 4 months of age) with urticaria pigmentosa. This is a skin disease that (I am told) no one can cure, however I have noticed that there are certain foods that make the situation worse for him. Another is my younger sister who was recently diagnosed with wegeners disease. She too has to be extremely careful on what she eats.
The problem is that I always thought healthy food was gross... I am so pleased to find out that there are healthy yet major yummy foods out there. I stick to a simple plan including the "No's" listed above. Meat is used sparingly. When meats are used I try to stick with chicken (organic) and fish (wild caught).
Enjoy! Feel free to comment!
Article of the Week
Article of the Week
I
would like to take this opportunity to discuss one of the most controversial subjects
that I come across--and that is-- wait for it… CHOCOLATE. That’s right ladies--I
went there. Is it actually good for you or are you just justifying your
addiction or craving for wanting to eat it? What about dark chocolate? What
about cacao? Isn’t it a “super food” with antidepressant properties? Doesn’t it
relieve headaches? What about antioxidants? Hmm. Let us take a look shall we?
A study that I want to focus on, deals
with chocolate and premenstrual syndrome (Vo, 2007). This study was conducted
at the University of Maryland. The reason why I personally want to focus on
this subject is because I have premenstrual dysphoric disorder and I feel that
I can contribute a lot of personal experiences to the subject. Also, there are
a lot symptoms involved in premenstrual syndrome that can be measured upon
their severity. This makes it a little bit easier to track the effects that
chocolate can have on the symptoms.
In an article by Lori Zanteson the author
discusses how dark chocolate is good for your heart (Zanteson, 2014). However
another article has information about how caffeine which is contained within
chocolate has been linked to heart disease (PMS Risk, 1990). Another article
states that chocolate only has short-term benefits on heart risks (Harvard
Women’s Health Watch, 2014). There is so much controversial information out
there about chocolate.
I think there are a lot of conflicting
findings about the subject because chocolate has been around for centuries. It
comes in many forms, which is also a leading reason why there are conflicting
findings. I think a small reason that contributes to this conflict is that
chocolate is addictive which can create some bias on the subject. The media
also plays a role in creating conflicting findings. In an article, Dr. Eric
Ding stated that the media will snatch up a cocoa story so that they can say
that eating chocolate is good for you (Harvard Women’s Health Watch, 2014).
For ladies, I would say the most common
time to crave chocolate correlates with the menstrual cycle. For me, it is
during the week before my cycle that I crave this yummy treat. Why is that?
Well, fatigue is one of a couple hundred premenstrual syndrome symptoms (Vo,
2007). Could it be that because we are tired we are craving stimulants? Memory
problems are also a symptom of premenstrual syndrome. Cocoa flavonoids when
consumed are absorbed into the part of your brain that assists in memory
(Zanteson, 2014). Maybe this is why chocolate is craved during this special
time of the month. Headaches are another symptom of premenstrual syndrome. How
many of our doctors have been prescribing chocolate as a way to relieve those
headaches? I know I’ve heard it from family physicians many times. Could this
be another reason why? Or could it simply be that food craving is another
symptom of premenstrual syndrome (Vo, 2007)?
Some
researchers suggest that caffeine is often craved or consumed because of the
lift that it provides during a menstrual cycle (Vo, 2007). However, it was
found during the study that caffeine increases the severity of symptoms of
premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (Vo, 2007). So may
cause a lift for temporary amount of time, but once that lift is taken off the
results end up being worse than they were to begin with. The sugar crashes or
the caffeine crashes from chocolate end up creating worse symptoms. The fatigue
that you had been experiencing before will increase. The depression, headaches,
the food cravings, will all increase.
Let’s talk about headaches. I have to
laugh every time I hear a doctor suggesting chocolate to relieve headaches. I’m
married to a psychologist who specializes in addictions. Caffeine is highly
addictive. One of the biggest symptoms of withdrawal is a headache. It does not
surprise me that consuming caffeine will get rid of the headache. That’s because
you’re feeding the addiction! The problem with that is that as soon as it wears
off you need to eat more chocolate! You are stuck in this endless cycle. You
are not fixing the problem.
Let’s talk about depression. I have
depression. It is part of my premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Sure I feel great
after eating chocolate in any form (i.e. cacao, dark, milk, etc). Once the fun
wears off I end up having a panic attack. My symptoms are worse than they were
before. I find it humorous when I read about the antidepressant properties of
chocolate. Like this one article for instance called “The Food of the Gods”
(Crespo, 2012). Let me tell you, chocolate makes me very happy. It does relieve
stress... for a while. Just let me tell you that the last time I ate a brownie,
within 24 hours I was hyperventilating and having an anxiety attack. Ever since
I took chocolate out of my diet I haven’t had a single attack.
Let’s talk about food cravings. Based off
the glycemic index, when your blood sugar drops, you crave food. Cocoa has a
very bitter taste. Sugar is needed if it is ever going to be palatable. So what
happens when you have a sugar crash? Cravings!
Some studies link depression and cravings
to low serotonin levels (Grain, 2006). One thing that happens in accordance to
my premenstrual disorder is when my estrogen levels raise my serotonin levels
are not raising with it or at least not as much as it should. One of the
biggest things that I’ve been cautioned about has been my consumption of
chocolate and caffeine. In a study conducted at Oregon State University women
who partook of caffeine or seven times more likely to experience depression,
anxiety, mood swings, and bloating (PMS risks with caffeine, 1990). This
suggests a dip in serotonin levels. In another study conducted on rats with
serotonin deficiencies, caffeine proved to increase their serotonin levels but
as soon as they were taken off the caffeine, they received caffeine-induced
depression particularly due to conditions under caffeine withdrawal (Haleem,
Yasmeen, Haleem, & Zafar, 1995).
Dr. Ding from Harvard states that
flavonoids are the contributors to the health claims of chocolate (Harvard
Women’s Health Watch, 2014). The flavonoids are greater in raw cacao and dark
chocolate. Dr. Ding felt it was important to note that while the flavonoids
help to counteract factors that contribute to a heart attack, there is no proof
suggesting that the flavonoids can actually prevent heart attack (Harvard
Women’s Health Watch, 2014). Because of this situation, I feel that the media
and people in general jump to the conclusion that chocolate can prevent a
tragedy from occurring. What a novel idea! Something as delicious and
delectable as chocolate can save the world from heart attacks, headaches, depression,
etc? No wonder the rumors started to fly. So sure, there are benefits to
chocolate. But do the benefits outweigh the consequences? I’m going to go with
“no.”
References
Chocolate:
Pros and cons of this sweet treat. (Cover story). (2014). Harvard Women’s Health
Watch, 21(6),
1-7.
Crespo, H.
(2012). The food of the gods. Lilipoh. 17(68),
49.
Grain, E.
(2006). Why do I get cravings when I’m PMS-ing?. Cosmopolitan. 240(3), 218.
Haleem, D.,
Yasmeen, A., Haleem, M., & Zafar, A. (1995). 24h withdrawal following
repeated
administration of caffeine attenuates
brain serotonin but not tryptophan in rat brain:
implications for caffeine – induced
depression. Life Sciences. 57(19). PL
285-PL 292.
PMS risk with
caffeine. (1990). Off our Backs, 20,
8. Retrieved from http://login.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/197159338?accountid=4485.
Vo, H.
(2007). The effects of caffeine on
premenstrual syndrome. (Order No. 1443434,
University of Maryland, College Park). ProQuest Dissertations and Thesis, 121.
Retrieved
from
http://login.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/304847330?accountid=4485.
(304847330).
Zaneteson, L.
(2014). Dark chocolate for your heart. Environmental
Nutrition. 37(2), 1.
