“One of my earliest observations about the chocolate industry was that it felt like men were marketing chocolate to women,” says Jean Thompson, owner and CEO of Seattle Chocolate Company. “The ads showed women in negligees draped across the settee waiting for their man to come home and gift them chocolate. I knew that was not how my friends or I were buying chocolate! We eat chocolate when we’re happy, sad, celebrating, commiserating or just because it’s delicious.” She also noticed that women were shamed for loving chocolate, being conditioned to think health means abstaining from chocolate.
Another situation you may be familiar with: women being depicted as craving chocolate around their period.
Cory Ruth, a Registered Dietitian and PCOS expert—also known as The Women’s Dietitian—notes that there is some physiological relationship. “There is a huge connection between magnesium levels and mood. Chocolate is an excellent source of magnesium, so we often crave it around the time when our mood takes a plunge (thanks, PMS). Eating chocolate also helps increase levels of the feel-good neurotransmitter serotonin, so it can be a bit "self-medicating" in a sense!”
Dietitian Jaclyn London, a food and beverage consultant, author and podcast host, points out there is also media messaging involved. “There may be some physiological factors at play, but the degree to which women’s chocolate cravings are uniquely hormonal has been wildly overstated and exploited for the purpose of marketing sweet foods to women. It’s created a degree of conditioning in which women are taught from the time of their first period to believe in marketers instead of trusting their own hunger and satiety cues.”
Health and food industry experts point out some of the problematic ways the relationship between ... [+]
She explains, “During the mid-luteal phase, we typically experience a decrease in estrogen and an increase of progesterone, which may increase feelings of hunger. However, the most interesting distinction within the existing literature is that the timing of increased appetite during the mid-luteal phase and cravings for chocolate don’t match up from a physiological standpoint. Research has shown that specific cravings for chocolate are reported during the late-luteal phase, when both estrogen and progesterone are at their lowest. In other words, the theory that we crave chocolate because we’re physiologically hungrier doesn’t quite add up.”
While the physiology isn’t crystal clear, she says, a pattern that does show up across the literature “is that what so many of us perceive as a chocolate ‘craving’ may be better understood as a learned behavior in response to feelings of stress.” PMS symptoms like cramps, depressed mood, soreness and bloating can prompt our brains and bodies to “seek modalities that make us feel better. Enter: Chocolate, which provides pure goodness in the form of salty, sweet, deliciously creamy joy that triggers the release of dopamine,” another feel-good brain chemical.
She adds that psychology researchers have postulated that “consuming higher fat, higher sugar foods in response to or in tandem with PMS symptoms may also be a response to cyclic restriction during the follicular phase, followed by patterns of less restriction during the luteal phase,” encouraging a cyclical restrict-binge pattern. This is exacerbated by marketing conditioning women to reach for sweets (like chocolate) during times of stress or when they go off their restrictive diets, only to have that dopamine rush followed by guilt and shame that perpetuate the cycle.
Doesn’t Chocolate Have Health Benefits?
Chocolate has some noted health benefits, though, according to health experts. Ruth shares, “First, choosing dark chocolate with a higher cocoa level, over milk chocolate can help us get more nutritional bang for our buck! Chocolate is high in antioxidants such as polyphenols, flavanols, and catechins, which may improve blood pressure, protect against high cholesterol, protect your skin, and improve brain function. It's also a great source of magnesium which helps improve mood, digestion, and sleep.”
London echoes these points and also encourages us to zoom out beyond the physical benefits. “It’s a vehicle that allows all of us–of any/all genders– to eat real, delicious, decadent tasting dessert in a form that’s not masquerading as a health food or a keto cookie!”
Concerned about the December 2022 Consumer Reports findings about levels of lead and cadmium in many brands of chocolate? “If you look hard enough,” says Ruth, “you'll find articles on absolutely every ingredient and food product; some raving about the benefits, and others warning you to avoid them like the plague.” London also points out that lead and cadmium can be found “in trace amounts from a variety of sources” and that “the amount of lead and cadmium found in these chocolates exceeded the ‘safe’ amount only by California law.” Both dietitians stress the importance of moderation.
Ruth recommends, “Choose high-quality chocolate and enjoy it for what it is: a treat, and not something to be consumed in mass quantities at every single meal every single day.” London adds that if you’re concerned, “switching up the types of chocolate you consume” and sticking to a one-ounce serving per day can help “decrease safety risks and optimize enjoyability.”
Health experts agree that chocolate can have a place in an overall healthy diet when enjoyed as an ... [+]
Enjoying Chocolate Mindfully
Thompson says that while reframing the relationship between women and chocolate isn’t just done in marketing, “we are working to change the perception of chocolate. It is loaded with nutrients and is a healthy treat. But, even if it wasn’t, if you want to eat it, eat, relish, enjoy it and then lick your fingers!”
She’s taken that mission at Seattle Chocolate Company a step further to empower women along with the chocolate supply line. “We are proud to be owned and run by women and to use our voice to speak up for the marginalized, especially girls, and protect the earth.” The brand puts an emphasis on ethical sourcing practices, addressing issues like gender equality, child labor, sustainable farming methods, higher profits, and more. Additionally, 10% of net profits are donated to Girls Inc, and packaging features artwork by various female artists.
When it comes to the health aspects of mindful chocolate consumption, health experts agree it has a place in an overall healthy diet when enjoyed in moderation as a treat.
If you struggle with cravings, London says, check in with yourself about what might be behind that craving. Maybe it’s actually that you’re exhausted, thirsty or hungry—all physiological states that can manifest in the desire for sweets. Or maybe white-knuckling it has put chocolate on a “forbidden fruit” pedestal, making it seem irresistible. She encourages having a serving of what you truly want and then moving on with your life, no guilt required.
Ruth also recommends incorporating it into your favorite healthy foods. “Adding chocolate chips to whole grain breads or pancakes, tossing unsweetened cocoa powder into a smoothie, or melting chocolate and drizzling it over nuts or fruit are all healthier ways to enjoy this indulgent treat. Life is short, and it's hard enough to be a woman in today's world—eat the chocolate and enjoy yourself.”
