CHOCOLATE, AYURVEDA, DEPRESSION AND NOT UNDERSTANDING YOURSELF: WHAT IS THE CONNECTION?
In Ayurveda, modern milk chocolate (we will discuss dark chocolate with more than 80% cocoa and no sugar in another article) is considered a classic blocker of srotas. Srotas are the body's channels, which, when unobstructed, provide good health and vitality, but when blocked can lead to all kinds of serious diseases.
The main culprit behind the harmful properties of milk chocolate is powdered milk. So, if possible, first try to find varieties of chocolate without powdered milk. Organic and good-quality (European) varieties are usually the best.
The antidote is hot, boiled water with cardamom seeds. Hot water helps “melt” foods that are poorly digested, and cardamom seeds are known for reopening srotas (channels). Water with cardamom seeds is also useful after heavy cheese dishes or rich desserts.
According to Ayurveda, chocolate is a moderately nourishing substance, a stimulant and an aphrodisiac. Unfortunately, so much sugar is usually added to it that all its nutritional qualities are lost.
Cocoa beans are very bitter and have many medicinal properties that are lost in the production of chocolate candies.
Pure cocoa or chocolate is considered rajasic. This means that it stimulates the intellect, causing increased mental activity. If too much cocoa is consumed (or too often), it can lead to chronically overstimulated mental activity.
Ayurveda explains that the abuse of stimulants leads to a depressed state. An old saying applies here: “The higher you climb, the harder you fall.” A depressed state is called “tamas,” which also means “inertia.”
The danger of modern life and stimulants is that we enter a vicious circle of “stimulation - depressed state - stimulation - depressed state,” and so on. It would not be so bad if this were simply movement back and forth, but unfortunately it is more like a downward spiral. As a result, conditions such as emotional burnout, chronic fatigue and depression develop.
For example, lack of sleep leads to exhaustion (depression). To compensate, we use stimulants such as coffee, chocolate, Coca-Cola and the like, which give us a short-lived boost. We do this every day until one day we get sick.
In youth, this may be only a temporary deviation, like a bad mood for a few days. Our immunity decreases because of depression, and we may catch a severe cold or some other infection. If we continue to live this way for many years, this behavior eventually becomes part of our program, a habit carved in stone.
Breaking a habit is very difficult, and it leads you deeper and deeper into chronic depression. This is the danger of stimulants, not only chocolate but all modern forms of sensory stimulation, including music, video, television, computers, constant conversations on mobile phones and so on.
Is eating chocolate a symptom or a cause of depression? Ayurveda would say it is both.
But the problem is not chocolate; it is not understanding yourself. People are no longer accustomed to studying themselves and their bodies. I do not mean academic study or following health news (which mostly adds to confusion rather than providing useful guidance). I mean learning to listen to your body and to fine-tune your lifestyle habits based on your body's immediate feedback. It is free, simple and requires no special training.
Ayurveda taught me this. In the past, it was easy for me to ignore certain things, to miss small details and minor difficulties. Through Ayurveda, by understanding my doshas and how to observe them every day, I have become more attuned to my body and its needs.
I may crave chocolate, and I will eat it. If the craving comes up more than once, I ask myself why I am craving chocolate. Looking at the situation, I realize that I am a little depressed and in a bad mood. Perhaps the weather is making me gloomy. At that point, I can choose whether to eat more chocolate (an immediate response) or do something else to lift my mood, such as put on positive music and dance for half an hour.
The main thing to know about stimulants, including sweets, is that they provide a false boost of energy.
Most people turn to stimulants for a quick burst of energy. This is acceptable from time to time, for example, to stay awake during a very long car journey. But in everyday life, if you use stimulants (coffee, tea, chocolate, etc.) as support, you will soon have to pay for it.
Low energy and chronic fatigue, which so many people experience, result from several factors coming together:
- A mentally overactive, overstimulated lifestyle and lack of sleep. This quickly leads to sporadic periods of mental and physical fatigue. The immediate solution is coffee or sugar.
- A diet low in unprocessed whole foods and high in processed and nutritionally poor foods. This disrupts metabolism and leads to toxin accumulation, resulting in low or fluctuating energy levels.
- A lifestyle that does not encourage sufficient physical activity or deep breathing. The whole body becomes stagnant, leading to reduced energy distribution.
Ayurveda looks at energy from three perspectives:
- how it is absorbed;
- how it is distributed;
- how it is spent.
For example, Ayurveda explains that energy is absorbed through the skin, the lungs (the respiratory system) and the large intestine. Therefore, maintaining the health of these systems is part of the equation for keeping energy levels balanced.
According to Ayurveda, optimizing energy and maintaining health and happiness depend on a daily routine (dinacharya), which includes:
- personal hygiene (cleaning the tongue, oiling the skin and using oil drops in the nose);
- sufficient physical activity adapted to your constitution;
- a whole-food diet adapted to your constitution as well as climate, season and other lifestyle factors;
- yoga practices, including breathing techniques, poses, relaxation and meditation;
- enough sleep.
When this basic support is in place, you are much less likely to suffer from low energy, stimulant abuse and, ultimately, disorders such as depression.
So enjoy chocolate! Find a good-quality variety and eat a small piece. But if you become a chocoholic, eating a whole bar every day, this is a sign that an imbalance has arisen in your body and should be corrected.
I have noticed that when my clients begin eating more vegetables and whole grains along with mild spices such as cumin, fennel, turmeric and coriander, they naturally crave stimulants and sweets less, suffer less from digestive disorders and experience improved cleansing of the body.
I think that in exchange for reading this tirade I should offer you some useful advice, so here it is!
Anyone can have the following spice mixture with food to experience benefits for metabolism and energy levels. I would need more than the fingers of both hands to list all of its beneficial properties.
A universal spice mixture to balance digestion, improve absorption, raise energy levels, reduce chocolate cravings and much more:
Mix the following spices in a small jar:
- 15 teaspoons ground turmeric
5 teaspoons ground cumin
5 teaspoons ground fennel
5 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Immediately before a meal (twice a day), put ¼–½ teaspoon (level) of the mixture into a small glass with a little warm water and drink it all, including the powder. If you like, you can add the mixture to food, but this is slightly less effective.