I love chocolate. Who doesn’t? Forget the chips and candy… chocolate is numero uno for me. Well, it turns out that there may be another wonderful thing about chocolately goodness: pain relief for those who suffer the unexplained moderate-to-severe pain that marks complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) / regional sympathetic dystrophy (RSD).
I eat an extremely large (let me try that again) — a healthy amount of chocolate every day and will likely do so until my metabolism catches up with me or my pants don’t fit (hopefully, neither).
But we all know chocolate is the ultimate feel good food, right?
I mean, who doesn’t love curling up with some chocolate after a particularly stressful day?
In times of stress, chocolate is a reliable consolation to help us get through tough times in our life.
There’s a reason that chocolate inspires gotta-have-it cravings for so many of us, perhaps more than any other food: It’s good for you (yes, you read that right).
The smooth, sweet, irresistible guilty pleasure can be part of a healthy food as medicine.
Chocolate has all but been elevated to superfood status.
And the benefits of chocolate keep rolling in.
We are bombarded with information about “healthy living,” but we (I include myself in this) suffer from higher rates of obesity and chronic disease than ever before.
We are told one year to avoid fat and the next to avoid carbohydrates (insert eye roll).
It is enough to make anyone distrust nutritional advice altogether, particularly anything that claims that “food is medicine.”
Let’s face it — we LOVE chocolate! (You know it’s true. Denial rarely helps anyone).
Research shows that chocolate affects levels of brain chemicals, like serotonin, which is probably why we love it so much.
Unfortunately, since we’ve been teens we’ve been hearing all about bad things that happen when we eat chocolate.
We were told we’d get pimples, migraines, and fat (what a great visual that is).
Chocolate has always been a big no-no.
But…
I recently stumbled upon an article on The Power of Chocolate for Pain Relief.
Who knows? Just maybe.
If you or a loved one are experiencing complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) or reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD), there may be a possibility that chocolate could help.
There have been plenty of studies that show health benefits to chocolate, and there are still more being done all the time. We’d like to thank these small heroes who have proven that chocolate may just be the answer we’re looking for.
“You have low blood chocolate.” THAT’S a phrase I’d be happy to hear from my doctor!
My verdict is out on whether chocolate is a cause or a cure when it comes to pain relief, but I choose to believe that it helps, and we all know the power of suggestion.
