Pregnancy always comes with cravings, but this past pregnancy, chocolate was a HUGE craving of mine. And let's be honest- you don't need to be pregnant to get a hankering for a handful of chocolate chips or some other chocolatey goodness! Now I always enjoy chocolate, but it does seem that my cravings for chocolate are greatly increased when I'm feeling stressed! When I have a deadline to reach or my kids are having a particularly hard day, I can't help but reach for the nearest source of chocolate!

Have you wondered why you crave chocolate when you're having a stressful day?

Well let's get down to the science of it- because there's actually quite a bit!

Interestingly, the actual process of eating chocolate releases dopamine- a hormone in our bodies that makes us feel really good! And it's not just the chemical makeup of chocolate that releases this hormone- it's the actual eating of the chocolate, the experience! Dopamine is the hormone that motivates us to accomplish things, to seek rewards and success- it drives us! It motivates us to seek to achieve goals, and gives us that euphoric feeling when we accomplish them!

In addition, when we are stressed, our brain naturally is working harder, which means it needs more fuel. The brain actually needs glucose to function, and when you're experiencing a lot of stress, your brain will use up to 12% more fuel than usual- which definitely makes those sugary cravings make sense! Carbs are also the quickest source of energy, which makes grabbing a handful of chocolate chips all that more alluring. Basically, when our brain is lacking in glucose, it has to start taking it from other sources in our body, like our muscles, and this in turn can cause us to produce more stress hormones, and then you're in a never-ending cycle of carb-loading and feeling stressed! So staying on top of your blood sugar levels (in a healthy way) is definitely important!

Chocolate actually contains quite a bit of magnesium as well (obviously not as much as more nutritious options, like avocados and leafy greens). Many people, particularly women, are deficient in their magnesium intake, and this could definitely be adding to your chocolate craving as well!

So what does all this mean? That chocolate in moderation can actually be ok! While we shouldn't be eating just chocolate, a few pieces of dark chocolate (dark has the lowest amount of sugar compared to milk or white chocolate) can help our body to function better and help us regulate our stress levels. So basically we need chocolate, right? ;) Of course, this really is worthless if the rest of our diet is horrible. The key is to be eating well, staying fit, and then let yourself indulge in a few bites of dark chocolate on occasion ;). It also doesn't hurt to learn some other healthy ways to cope with stress, or you might find yourself grabbing for the chocolate a little too often!