Chocolate

Chocolate. 😍 Sigh. 

Such a marvelous thing, chocolate. I don’t think I will ever stop being surprised when someone tells me they don’t like chocolate.

When my youngest was turning 3, I asked him what he wanted for his birthday dinner. “Chocolate. Just chocolate,” he said in his little sing-songy voice.

I happen to agree with him. Chocolate, (100% cacao is my preference), any time of day. (Click here for a link to my current favorite.) 

Just before flying to England last year I read about a study in a Mark Sisson email: “Chocolate for breakfast prevents circadian desynchrony in experimental models of jet-lag and shift-work.” I didn’t even check to see if there is good science behind this study because I am more than happy to do some self-experimentation when it comes to chocolate! Did it help? It seemed to. However, when we crossed the pond again a few months later, I forgot to bring the chocolate and I still did as well as last year on the jet lag front. NOTE: I did use homeopathic remedies on both flights, so I’m going to go out on a limb and say that was the more important factor. But, next time I make that physically painful trip, I shall do both — just in case!😉

As you may (or, may not) know, classical homeopathy loves basic information about a person — their preferred weather; if the person runs hot or cold; if they are aggravated by damp places; early bird or night owl; sensations they may experience and food likes and dislikes as well as how certain foods affect them.

This homeopathic fact-gathering point brings us to chocolate and homeopathy.

There are two main remedies associated with the desire for chocolate: Argentum nitricum and Phosphorus. Today, I shall focus on Argentum nitricum.

Arg-nit, as it is known, is a homeopathic remedy made from silver nitrate. One of Arg-nit’s keynote symptoms is a desire for sugar, which at the same time makes the person feel worse. I have written a few times about Arg-nit: Hoarseness; What goes up; Feel the Fear; Back to School.

Anxiety is a big part of Arg-nit as a homeopathic remedy picture: anxiety for health; anticipatory anxiety; anxiety when alone; anxiety in the morning on waking; anxiety about the future; anxiety when hungry; diarrhea from anxiety. So, I went looking for links to chocolate and anxiety. Turns out there are some interesting studies out there.

• A tiny little study out of France found that “self-labeled ‘chocoholics’ do not seem to suffer from eating disorders, but may represent a population of psychologically vulnerable and depression—or anxiety—prone people. They seem to use chocolate as a light psychotropic drug able to relieve some of their distress” (Dallard et al. 2001).
• Jackson (et al. 2019) found that those who consumed chocolate, “particularly dark chocolate, may be associated with reduced odds of clinically relevant depressive symptoms.” 
• Martin (et al. 2012) found eating a piece of chocolate after a meal decreased anxiety. Note: Arg-nit is also in the rubric for Anxiety while or after eating.
• Take the chocolate away for 2 weeks, say Moreno-Dominguez (et al. 2012) and the anxiety increased for “high-cravers.” 
• In rats, Yamada (et al. 2009) concluded that chronic consumption of cacao mass did not show an anxiolytic effect. (See below for further random studies on chocolate.)

Maybe we chocoholics are just self medicating? 🧐

Back to Arg-nit and chocolate…

Homeopathic Argentum nitricum may be helpful for people who suffer abdominal pain or diarrhea after eating chocolate. Additionally, if a pet gets into chocolate, I have been told that giving them some Arg-nit ASAP can be very important!

Those who experience acne as a result of eating chocolate may also benefit from Arg-nit. Note: the chocolate/acne connection is disputed in conventional science. See (Daszkiewicz 2021), (Goh et al. 2011), (Vongraviopap and Asawanonda 2015). Regardless of the scientific controversy, Argentum nitricum may benefit those who suffer ill-effects after eating chocolate, regardless of what those effects are.  

For those who have chocolate cravings, that tendency could be addressed through a number of remedies, but Arg-nit and Phosphorus are particularly well indicated*.

If there is a tendency to become addicted to chocolate, homeopathic Chocolate may be the remedy to turn to.

Chocolate as a homeopathic remedy was proven** by Jeremy Sherr after seeing frequent complaints from patients resulting in adverse effects after eating chocolate as well as “the impressive” number of his patients who were seriously addicted to chocolate.

There’s not a lot in this remedy that stands out in terms of symptoms, actually. In my never-to-be-humble opinion, it’s because they didn’t actually do the proving on the important part of the chocolate. For the proving, Sherr used the “purest form of processed chocolate” (Sherr 2015). That, to me, is like doing a proving on a Starbucks Caffeè Mocha instead of doing a proving on the important ingredient which, in this case would be the coffee bean. (Note: we have good information on Coffea cruda, the raw coffee bean, which was originally proved by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann and again in modern times.)

Similar to Arg-nit, anxiety is also part of the Chocolate remedy picture: anticipatory anxiety as well as anxiety about health and money and anxiety in the morning.

Frans Vermeulen in his Synoptic Reference (2011) notes that homeopathic chocolate has an affinity for the reproductive system, the central nervous system and hormones.

I’ve never used homeopathic Chocolate with a client. Maybe I will have to try it out on myself one day to get a better feel for it. But, I eagerly anticipate reading a full proving on Cacao one day. I have no doubt it would be a much more impressive remedy than Chocolate. (Cacao does appear in "Encyclopedia of Pure Materia Medica" by T. Allen but all that is stated is about the separating out of theobromine from the butter of cocoa and no actual symptoms are listed.)

So, the good news on chocolate is, according to the above listed studies, it appears we chocoholics have nothing to fear with a daily indulgence of our favored treat. Phew!

“It was like having a box of chocolates shut in the bedroom drawer. Until the box was empty it occupied the mind too much.” --Graham Greene 
Perhaps Mr. Greene could have used a dose of Argentum nitricum? 🧐

Julia Coyte, CHom
Classically Practical homeopath


#wellnessawaits


** for more information on provings, see: The Original Drug Testing.
Provings are a little like a box of chocolates, I suppose … You never know what you’re going to get! 💝

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Reference list:

Chocolate Class, 2016. Understanding The Chemical Compound that Confirmed Chocolate was Consumed by the Maya [online]. Chocolate Class. 

Dallard, I., Cathebras, P., Sauron, C. and Massoubre, C., 2001. [Is cocoa a psychotropic drug? Psychopathologic study of a population of subjects self-identified as chocolate addicts]. L’Encephale [online], 27 (2), 181–186.

Daszkiewicz, M., 2021. Associations between diet and acne lesions. Roczniki Państwowego Zakładu Higieny [online], 137–143. 

Fusar-Poli, L., Gabbiadini, A., Ciancio, A., Vozza, L., Signorelli, M. S. and Aguglia, E., 2021. The effect of cocoa-rich products on depression, anxiety, and mood: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 62 (28), 1–13.

Goh, W., Kallianpur, K. J., Chow, D., Almeida, P. G., Brown, A. C., Pager, S. and Sil, P., 2011. Chocolate and acne: How valid was the original study? Clinics in Dermatology [online], 29 (4), 459–460. 

Jackson, S. E., Smith, L., Firth, J., Grabovac, I., Soysal, P., Koyanagi, A., Hu, L., Stubbs, B., Demurtas, J., Veronese, N., Zhu, X. and Yang, L., 2019. Is there a relationship between chocolate consumption and symptoms of depression? A cross‐sectional survey of 13,626 US adults. Depression and Anxiety [online], 36 (10), 987–995. 

Martin, F.-P. J., Antille, N., Rezzi, S. and Kochhar, S., 2012. Everyday Eating Experiences of Chocolate and Non-Chocolate Snacks Impact Postprandial Anxiety, Energy and Emotional States. Nutrients [online], 4 (6), 554–567. 

Martin, F.-P. J., Rezzi, S., Peré-Trepat, E., Kamlage, B., Collino, S., Leibold, E., Kastler, J., Rein, D., Fay, L. B. and Kochhar, S., 2009. Metabolic Effects of Dark Chocolate Consumption on Energy, Gut Microbiota, and Stress-Related Metabolism in Free-Living Subjects. Journal of Proteome Research [online], 8 (12), 5568–5579. 

Martinez-Pinilla, E., Oñatibia-Astibia, A. and Franco, R., 2015. The relevance of theobromine for the beneficial effects of cocoa consumption. Frontiers in Pharmacology [online], 6. 

Moreno-Dominguez, S., Rodríguez-Ruiz, S., Martín, M. and Warren, C. S., 2012. Experimental effects of chocolate deprivation on cravings, mood, and consumption in high and low chocolate-cravers. Appetite [online], 58 (1), 111–116.

Sathyapalan, T., Beckett, S., Rigby, A. S., Mellor, D. D. and Atkin, S. L., 2010. High cocoa polyphenol rich chocolate may reduce the burden of the symptoms in chronic fatigue syndrome. Nutrition Journal [online], 9 (1). 

Sherr, J., 2015. Homoeopathic Proving of Chocolate. B Jain Pub Pvt Limited.

Vermeulen, F., 2011. Synoptic reference. B Jain Publishers Pvt Ltd.

Vongraviopap, S. and Asawanonda, P., 2015. Dark chocolate exacerbates acne. International Journal of Dermatology [online], 55 (5), 587–591.

Yamada, T., Yamada, Y., Okano, Y., Terashima, T. and Hidehiko Yokogoshi, 2009. Anxiolytic effects of short- and long-term administration of cacao mass on rat elevated T-maze test. The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry [online], 20 (12), 948–955.