The Lemon/Chocolate Experiment: Day 1

I started my “Lemon Chocolate Experiment” a little more than 24 hours ago. So far, so good. I even noticed some ‘results’, be they psychological or not.

First let me clarify what I am doing and why. Every morning upon waking, I drink a cup of warm water with the juice of ¼ lemon. I don’t consume anything else for at least half an hour. Then later in the day or evening, I consume 1 oz. of organic dark chocolate. Why am I doing this? I’m constantly seeing articles about new health fads: the quinoa diet, the coconut oil diet, etc. Two that consistently pop up are the lemon water thing and the dark chocolate. I’ve researched both, and both seem to have some legit scientific backing.

The supposed benefits of the lemon water include: weight loss, improved digestion, boosts immune system, balances pH (reduces acidity in your body), clears your skin, acts as a diuretic, relieves respiratory problems, freshens breath, reduces stress, helps kick the coffee habit, hydrates the lymph system, boosts energy, flushes toxins from your liver and kidneys, suppresses appetite, reduces cellulite (because it increases blood flow to the skin and helps your body flush out waste), boosts your body’s ability to metabolize fat, and lowers your risk for heart disease, strokes, cataracts and gout because of the high amount of vitamin C. With all those claims, how could you NOT want to try it?!

I started out with ¼ lemon in one cup of water. I think by the weekend I will up it to ½ a lemon since it’s not as sour tasting as I thought it would be. And right now, I’m only doing it in the morning. The recommendation is if you weigh less than 150 pounds, squeeze the juice of one half a lemon (one ounce) into a glass of purified water and drink this mixture twice a day (one whole lemon a day.) If you weigh over 150 pounds, squeeze the juice out of an entire lemon (two ounces) into a glass of purified water and drink this mixture twice a day (two whole lemons a day.) The lemon juice can be diluted more according to taste.

I actually find that I’m looking forward to my lemon water when I wake up. It’s refreshing, and makes me feel like I’m doing something good for my body. I’ve found that I make better food choices during the day. I’m sure this is all psychological. And hey, it’s only been a little over a day.

On to the chocolate. There are many more articles out there about the benefits of eating dark chocolate. And the claims are just as numerous. They include weight loss, improved heart health, improved cognitive function, helps control blood sugar, has antioxidants (even more than the ‘superfruits’ acai, pomegranate, cranberry, and blueberry) which help fight free radicals, contains theobromine which helps harden tooth enamel, has anti-inflammatory properties, lowers cholesterol, stimulates endorphin production, contains serotonin, which acts as an anti-depressant and even has cancer fighting abilities. Like I needed an excuse to eat chocolate in the first place?! BUT it must be noted that none of this applies to milk chocolate, white chocolate or even some of the lame dark chocolate. These claims apply only to dark chocolate with high cacao (65% or greater) and low sugar levels.

But what about the fat in chocolate? Some of the fats in chocolate do not impact your cholesterol. The fats in chocolate are 1/3 oleic acid, 1/3 stearic acid and 1/3 palmitic acid:

•Oleic Acid is a healthy monounsaturated fat that is also found in olive oil.
•Stearic Acid is a saturated fat but one which research is shows has a neutral effect on cholesterol.
•Palmitic Acid is also a saturated fat, one which raises cholesterol and heart disease risk.

That means only 1/3 of the fat in dark chocolate is ‘bad’ for you.

I chose Endangered Species Chocolate for my experiment. I chose this brand because I like their ingredients (low sugar, high cacao content), it’s reasonably priced, part of the line is organic, they donate to animal causes/conservation efforts, oh and it tastes good. I decided for this experiment I would eat 1 oz a day. It was hard to find a recommendation for how much to eat a day, but 1 oz seemed reasonable. The big ESC bars are 3 oz, so this made it easy for me to divide it into thirds. The nutrition content for 1 oz. breaks down as follows:

Calories: 140 Total Fat: 12 (saturated 7.3, trans 0) Cholesterol: 0 Sodium: 0
Total Carbs: 14 (dietary fiber 3.3, sugars 8 ) Protein: 1

This is not something that was gonna kill my diet. The first day I made the mistake of leaving the chocolate bar on my desk all day. There it was. Staring at me. Saying “eat me!!”. Or maybe that was the PMS talking (sorry, TMI). I finally put it into my work bag and didn’t think about it again until later that night. My boyfriend HAS to eat some kind of dessert every night. And he never gains weight. It’s so frustrating. So last night as he was looking to devour a quarter of a chocolate cake with peanut butter icing, I grabbed my chocolate bar and started gnawing on it. I’m a fan of dark chocolate to begin with, so the slight bitterness is okay with me. The fact that it doesn’t have a lot of sugar, oils or other gooey junk that instantly melts in your mouth means it takes longer to chew….longer to savour. You spend more time eating an ounce of dark chocolate than you would popping three Hershey’s Kisses into your mouth. It’s an experience. I finished my last delicious bite just as he was finishing his last bite of the giant cake wedge. And I felt satisfied. I didn’t feel slighted or cheated because I didn’t have the cake. I felt GOOD. I had eaten my dessert, enjoyed it, and didn’t feel bloated or guilty. I could get used to this! In summary, the dark chocolate made me avoid making a poor food choice, gave me an enjoyable dessert experience, and had a positive impact on my mood. To me, it was a win-win.

Let’s see what happens over the next 29 days…..