Happy chocolateering

There seems to be a slump of some sort. Many people I know are low on endorphins. Yours truly included in this Pity Party. I wondered if it was in the alignment of the planets? The position of the moon? A new ingredient in the drinking water? Then I got too tired and even more depressed and dived deeper into the comfort of my bed.

When I FINALLY crawled out - I turned to day time talk shows and reading agony aunt columns simply because they make me feel my problems are but a milligram in the worlds chocolate supply.

Firstly, on the Dr Phil show some time back:
The audience was introduced to a nice old lady. She was portrayed as having a secret that could spell destruction for her marriage. An affair? An addict of sorts? A closeted lesbian? All these scenarios passed though my mind like a kaleidoscope.

But no, lo and behold, this nice old lady was just a shameful self confessed chocoholic. Bah Hamburg! There are probably children in forgotten corners of planet earth that have never had the luxury of savouring these tasty morsels! And nice old lady was complaining that she was having too much, baking too many truffles...and lying to the hubby about it. Oh, brother!

But Doctor Phil, in his Voice of God, said to her: "When you are not eating chocolate, you are thinking about it. And when you are making it, you both thinking about it and eating it! Then you are giving it to your neighbours too? You're a pusher!"

She shook her head in shame, lowered her eyes and beseeched the doctor of all cures to help her.

I did not know whether to throw my mug at the TV, laugh till my eyeballs popped or cry till I turned to dust.

Secondly in Financial Mail Campus for April 20, the Q&A Ask the Guru section
"Q: I can't stop eating chocolate. Aren't there some benefits to chocolate?

A: It's been said that dark chocolate lowers blood pressure and is an antioxidant that gobbles up destructive molecules that causes heart disease. But that is not the only Good news. Researchers have recently tested the buzz that chocolate gives against what is regarded as one of the biggest buzzes- kissing. And chocolate worn. When the volunteers in the medical study (hmmmmm...where was I for this?!) let dark chocolate melt on their tongues, their heart rates more than doubled. All regions of their brains received a boost far more intense and longer lasting than the excitement seen with kissing. This does not mean that you should eat all the chocolate you want.(And who will dare stop me?) It should still be consumed in moderation - balance the other calories by eating less of other things."

Note to self: switch to dark chocolate, and consume only that from hereon after.