Chocolate’s Good For You — But NOT Fido
Most of us women LOVE chocolate — chocolate’s loaded with important brain-pleasing chemicals the improve the mood and soothe cravings. I’ve loved chocolate since I was a little girl sneaking bites from the yearly samplers my Dad would buy Mom for Valentine’s Day and their anniversary.
Most of us also know that sharing our beloved chocolate with our Fidos is a no-no. Chocolate contains a variety of chemicals, including theobromine, which dogs can’t digest. Because dogs can metabolize chocolate, it can act as a poison. In recent years, accidental chocolate poisoning of pet dogs through cocoa bean mulch has hit all the dog blogs. Get the scoop on chocolate toxicity in dogs — how much is likely to cause problems, what symptoms chocolate poisoning can cause in your dog, and what to do if your dog does get into the holiday chocolate stash.
So now that you have permission to hoard all of that yummy chocolate for yourself, you might wonder if chocolate’s bad for you, too.
I’ve been studying chocolate for years — not just eating it! One of my earliest research projects helped debunk the common myth that eating chocolate triggers migraines. Migraine sufferers came to my office and sat in the waiting room eating big 60 gram bars of chocolate or a chemical-free carob bar and then monitored their headaches for the next day. My waiting room became a VERY popular place and we had many envious patients wondering what they had to do to get a big bar of chocolate while they waited to be called in for their appointments! This study showed that, while chocolate eating is often linked to migraines, it doesn’t actually CAUSE the migraine. People eat chocolate when they’re stressed, having menstrual periods, have skipped meals, or have cravings at the beginning of their migraines. While the chocolate may be blamed, it’s probably the other triggers, like stress, menses, and fasting that are actually the culprits.
A new study published in the European Heart Journal found that regularly eating chocolate is good for your heart health! In their study, people eating about 6 grams a day (just one little square of chocolate unlike the big bars we gave our migraine patients) had a 39 percent decreased risk for having a heart attack or stroke! While reporters have called these results “amazing,” they’re really no big surprise to us women who, for years, have insisted we not only LOVE but NEED chocolate! And now science has proven us to be correct — again!
So what does Fit As Fido have to say about all of this. First, let me put down my mug of calcium-rich hot chocolate. The tip for enjoying the health benefits from chocolate without the unwanted calories from over-indulging is simple. Eat chocolate like you give our dog his training treats. Pull out your dog’s training treats — I use low-calorie kibble for my dogs, which they love. Anyway, if you have any of the typical treats, they are very, very small. And how does your trainer advise you to give treats? Do you treat your dog for being cute, having a tough day, or simply breathing? Certainly not! You make the dog run through a battery of tricks and THEN he gets a single, tiny treat the size of a chocolate chip. Take a lesson — make your chocolate treats small and have one only when you’ve done something good — like come back from a nice walk with Fido! The bags of tiny chocolate treats — like Halloween sizes — can be ideal for this.
Get more tips on learning lessons from Fido to improve your health by getting your own copy of Fit As Fido. Order your copy today and the Easter bunny might even add a personal message before you tuck this fabulous book into the welcoming basket for that lucky someone!
Leave a Reply
Books by Dr. Marcus
