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Dark Chocolate - Not cool

peggy-sue

Senior Member
Messages
2,623
Location
Scotland
I signed a campaign promising to boycott Lindt until they start using ethical production methods.
Now I can't remember if it was child slaves picking the beans or their refusal to use sustainable forests for their packaging. I think it might have been the latter, because I wouldn't have forgotten if it had been child slaves.

But I'm still boycotting them. I've boycotted Nestle for donkey's years too - getting harder and harder as they get bigger and bigger and hiding the fact that they now own something.

Cadbury's choccie has gone all horrible and gritty and has a bad taste since it got taken over recenttly.
 

jimmy86

Senior Member
Messages
119
I ate about 50mg of dark chocolate (78%) yesterday and it gave me a really bad reaction, an almost immediate increase in heart rate, and low blood pressure. Today I feel like I do after drinking too much alcohol (headache etc).

Does anyone know which ingredient of chocolate triggers these symptoms? I have hyper POTS.

I thought about histamine, but then I do not get the same effects from other foods like cheese etc.
 

Sasha

Fine, thank you
Messages
17,863
Location
UK
I ate about 50mg of dark chocolate (78%) yesterday and it gave me a really bad reaction, an almost immediate increase in heart rate, and low blood pressure. Today I feel like I do after drinking too much alcohol (headache etc).

Does anyone know which ingredient of chocolate triggers these symptoms? I have hyper POTS.

I thought about histamine, but then I do not get the same effects from other foods like cheese etc.

Don't know. I realised dark chocolate gives me migraines (as do other foods high in tyramine). I haven't noticed that it makes my OI worse, though (I have NMH).
 

jimmy86

Senior Member
Messages
119
Don't know. I realised dark chocolate gives me migraines (as do other foods high in tyramine). I haven't noticed that it makes my OI worse, though (I have NMH).

It could be the tyramine. The same night I was eating ricotta and parmesan, both high in tyramine... It also regulates blood pressure.

On the other hand, if I understand that correctly, POTS people have a blunted response to tyramine. http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM200002243420803 and https://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/root/vumc.php?site=adc&doc=4792
 

Crux

Senior Member
Messages
1,441
Location
USA
I love the stuff, but it's been worsening my migraines.
There are many reasons for this - all valid.

One salient possibility is that cocoa increases nitric oxide in the body.
Nitric oxide is necessary for many functions, but too much can be neurotoxic.
 

Invisible Woman

Senior Member
Messages
1,267
90% here!

Tada! 100% - Willlie's Pure Gold Cacao! Yuck!

In fairness I think your supposed to cook with it & liven it up with something like chilli rather than have it with a cuppa.

I eat dark choc every day and I flatly refuse to give it up. I recently saw a haematologist because of iron probs and he queried my diet & then asked about chocolate. I told him I ate dark choc every day and he queried how much. I had my stubborn face on & told him a "few" squares all ready for an argument. "Very good!" he says. "Have more!"

Nice chap.
 

Mij

Messages
2,353
Giddy YoYo Raw cacao paste and powder. I heat it up on a double broiler, add brown rice syrup (sweetner), coconut oil until melted in and refrigerate. I sometimes make whole desserts with the raw chocolate.
 

erin

Senior Member
Messages
885
I love dark chocolate. Though, it does give me a funny sluggish nauseous feeling if I eat more than one square. I have never tasted raw cacao paste and the recipe with coconut oil made my mouth watering!
I remember tasting cacao beans and a chicken recipe made with the cacao paste. They were both absolutely delicious. Can you buy cacao beans online? Or in shops?
 

Mij

Messages
2,353
I can find these at my local health food store, but I buy mine mostly online because I can get discount codes and free shipping.
 

rosie26

Senior Member
Messages
2,446
Location
NZ
I love the stuff, but it's been worsening my migraines.
There are many reasons for this - all valid.

One salient possibility is that cocoa increases nitric oxide in the body.
Nitric oxide is necessary for many functions, but too much can be neurotoxic.
As much as I love chocolate I can't eat too much of it. I get a headache as well and it irritates my gut.

One Christmas about 10 years ago a neighbour gave me a basket full of chocolates. It was really lovely of my neighbour to do that and I was so delighted but..."oh, please, no one do that to me again, please" LOL. I did not feel good and was so glad when I got to the end of it.