How might you change your relationship to chocolate and make it apart of your every day life in the spirit of health, energy andself-empowerment? Janice Taylor, Chocoholic tells all!

Agreat many of us are chocolate lovers and have been known to indulgeand sometimes even over-indulge. One modest square of chocolate leadsto another, and while we fight the urge, in the end, we mysteriouslyfind ourselves holding an empty 1-pound box. Remorse sets in followedby self-deprecating chatter.

Now ... Imagine savoring one trulyamazing square of dark chocolate, knowing that it is anchoring you to yourbest self, your energized self, and that it is fueling your fortitudeand resolve. Here's how you can indulge, savor, incorporate, live withand love chocolate on a daily basis, as you stay healthy, wealthy andwise!

The Ten Truths of the Power of Pure and Earthly Chocolate

1. Sacred Roots.Unadulterated, untainted, unmodified, pure cacao beans, the source ofpure raw chocolate, is where it's at! They are still used for rituals,in medicine and celebration in the Yucatan Peninsula.

2. Love and Sex.Cacao beans are a natural drug. They contain up to 2.2 percentphenylethylamine, the 'love and sex' chemical. And cacao beans containother compounds that enhance mood, joy, creativity and imagination.Imagine that!

3. Buyer Beware. The main ingredient in most commercial chocolates bars is sugar, not cacao. Read the labels!

4. Suppresses Appetite.Go know - a shocker!! Good fats are present in pure chocolate that thathelp to suppress appetite and stimulate the digestive system.

5. Ward Off Vascular Disease.Chocolates contain a compound called Flavanoids, which can ward offvascular disease that can lead to heart attacks and strokes. The darkerthe chocolate, the more bitter tasting it is, the higher the Flavanoids.

6. Milk Chocolate Nullifies.Milk chocolate is created when milk is added to chocolate liquor. Whileit creates that creamy taste and texture that we all love so much, itcancels out all the healthful benefits of the cacao. In fact,technically it's milk candy not chocolate!

7. Mental Acuity.Research at West Virginia's Wheeling Jesuit University suggests thatchocolate may boost your memory, lengthen your attention span, shortenyour reaction time and strengthen your problem-solving skills as itincreases blood flow to the brain.

8. Natural Joy.Unfortunately, we have been cut off from the natural joys of chocolate,due to mass produced candies that are cooked at high temperatures,whose ingredients include refined sugars, processed milks, stabilizingagents, extra caffeine and waxes. Dark chocolate with high levels of cacaois naturally joyful.

9. Meant to be Savored. Isuspect that chocolate was not put on this earth to help you escape. Itis a sacred way of connecting - to the moment. To the beauty. To theability to taste. Savor the moment.

10. Know Your Limits. Plan on your one square per day, no more than one-ounce, and again make it a ritual of beauty, peace and empowerment.


Janice Taylor is a Life & Wellness Coach, the author of Our Lady of Weight Loss and All Is Forgiven, Move On.

Visit Janice: Our Lady of Weight Loss
Janice's Beliefnet Blog.