Peri? Eat Chocolate because SCIENCE!
Ange here! SheBANG!'s Clinical Nutritionist - hopping in to share with you some excellent news - if you're in peri, you should totally eat chocolate!
I bloody love chocolate, I have it at least twice a day every single day. I’m talking about the good stuff. I have the 78% cocoa Lindt, good quality hot chocolate or raw cocoa added to baking/smoothies/stirred through porridge or yogurt daily.
For chocolate bars always look at the ingredients label and check the cocoa percentage and aim for least 70%.
5 Reasons Cocoa in Perimenopause is Good For You
1. Cocoa reduces your chances of neurological disorders and cardiovascular diseasesFlavonoids are a natural substance found in fruits, vegetables, grains, bark, roots, stems, flowers, tea and wine.
Flavonoids are especially high in cocoa beans. Flavonoid-rich foods hold a potential to “limit the neurodegeneration associated with a variety of neurological disorders and to prevent or reverse normal or abnormal deteriorations in cognitive performance”1
The high flavonoid content of cocoa is also linked to reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases like heart disease and strokes.
2. Cocoa reduces perimenopause symptoms by soothing the nervous system
Cocoa is a great source of magnesium. There is approximately 124 mg of Magnesium in 25g of cacao. Our daily recommended intake per day is 310mg.
Magnesium is the Mineral of the Gods for women with perimenopause symptoms and is brilliant for reducing:
- Mood swings
- Anxiety
- Rage
- Hot flashes
- Bad sleep
- Migraines
- Hot flushes and
-
Improving glucose and insulin metabolism.
It's for these reasons we included Magnesium in both our SheBANG! Peri Chai Latte and Peri Hot Choccy Sleep 'n' Soothe blends.
3. Cocoa boosts your mood and increases your alertnessCocoa beans contain theobromine which is an alkaloid substance that increases those yeehar feel-good chemicals: endorphins.
Endorphins provide a natural high similar to the natural high you get after exercise. It’s also a natural stimulant that can help keep you sharp.
4. Lowers blood pressure and protects your arteriesCocoa is a rich source of high-quality antioxidant polyphenols.
Studies show promising cardio-protective effects in humans. The potential cardio-protective properties of cocoa include lowering of blood pressure, reducing plaque in the arteries and anti-inflammatory properties.2
5. Reduce inflammationAlong with polyphenols there is another antioxidant called resveratrol in cacoa (which is also found in red wine) which is linked to reducing inflammation, calming the nervous system, protecting the brain and associated with reducing the development of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.3
So if you're in perimenopause, those are five damn good reasons to get on the (good quality!) choccies!
You're very welcome 😉
Keen to find out more about foods that can nourish you through perimenopause: check out our Top 10 Foods in Peri.
Keen to have more choccy and reduce perimenopause symptoms?
Other Resources:
Cocoa and Chocolate in Human Health and Disease - PMC.
Flavonoids and brain health: multiple effects underpinned by common mechanisms - PMC
The relevance of theobromine for the beneficial effects of cocoa consumption - PMC