I love chocolate.
As a child, I remember chocolate nut bars during the winter holidays, steaming hot chocolate after a day of skiing in Vermont, and chocolate chip cake every year for my birthday. Always homemade and always delicious.
I still enjoy chocolate, though now I prefer it in its raw form, known as cacao. Cacao is harvested from the cacao bean, and contains no refined sugar, no dairy, zero processing.
Cacao is a superfood with one of the highest concentrations of antioxidants of any food in the world. And, it’s the best source of magnesium, second only to seaweeds like kombu, wakame and kelp.
Magnesium is an essential mineral known for its calming effects. It helps to reduce stress, promote relaxation, take the edge off, and improve your sleep.
If you’re feeling tight, tense, constipated, prone to headaches, menstrual cramps, constipation, or have trouble sleeping, adding magnesium to your diet will support you. And the new science literature shows that magnesium is essential for calcium absorption, making it a critical component for bone health.
If you’re craving chocolate, chances are you’re low in this miracle mineral. In fact, most of us are grossly lacking magnesium in our diets.
You can find magnesium in dried seaweed, beans (mung, aduki, black, kidney, lima, lentils), millet, quinoa, nuts, seeds, bone broth, spinach, oatmeal, and raw cacao.
Or, try my favorite hot chocolate elixir to nourish and calm, helping to keep the winter blues at bay:
Hot Chocolate Elixir
Your Simple Action Plan:
Choose 1-2 magnesium-rich foods and add them to your weekly shopping list. If you have signs of magnesium deficiency, a supplemental form of magnesium may be beneficial. Try a cup of Magnesium Calm right before bed (it makes you sleepy). Or, magnesium glycinate is another good alternative if loose stools is a concern. Here’s my favorite brand.
