The Holiday Season just ended, we barely had time to make our New Year’s resolutions, and Valentine’s Day is already around the corner. The fear of overindulgence is coming back to visit us. But how can we make it stop? It seems like it always starts again!

The feeling of guilt wants to settle again at the sight of those beautiful heart-shaped chocolates. But why? Is it possible that you ate too many once again? And besides, you will have no other choice but to eat them, since they come from your sweetheart.

Make Peace with Chocolate

I suggest you make peace with chocolate once and for all. I will tell you how… Follow these lines and you will see that the experience will be worth it to finally end this war against chocolate on Valentine’s Day, Easter, your birthday, Father’s or Mother’s Day, Halloween, or Christmas.

How Your Body Works

To begin, you need to understand how the body works. Science doesn’t fully know everything about this subject yet, but we already know a lot. The body is very well made and provides us with tools that we often ignore or do not use to their full potential. To respect your body, the senses of taste and smell must be understood, otherwise you might overindulge in good things once again.

The Sense of Taste and Smell

These senses stem from our most primitive survival instincts. Have you noticed that the tongue is covered with taste buds? That the food, such as chocolate, mixed with our saliva, releases molecules into the taste buds to trigger reactions on specific receptors? This causes reactions, even electrical impulses that travel to the brain to inform you of the flavor.

There are 5 basic tastes: salty, sweet, bitter, sour, and savory. To have a multitude of flavors, there is an important relationship between taste and smell. When we take time to smell our food, molecules bounce in our nasal cavities and stimulate the upper parts of the nostrils, called the olfactory epithelium. This is made of 5 million receptors with a repertoire of 350 different types. This creates a kind of pattern that allows us to distinguish from 10,000 to 100,000 different smells. These patterns travel to the brain, enabling us to interpret whether we just smelled lemon or chocolate.

Usually, people pay little attention to their senses of taste and smell, but they are so important in the act of eating. The more consciously you use them, the more you will be able to appreciate food in smaller quantities. You will thus recognize your satiety and no longer need to eat large amounts.

Try This with Your Chocolate

I suggest you try this test when you receive your chocolate. Take time to smell it for a few moments, rub it against your wet lips, let it melt slowly in your mouth, and coat your taste buds with it. Experiment by putting a piece in your cheeks or under your tongue, and notice the difference when you eat it quickly or slowly. You will realize that by taking time to savor chocolate, you engage your senses and quantity no longer matters. Note that deprivation leads to craving. And, the beauty of it is better shared with someone else! Happy Valentine’s Day! … I wonder if my Valentine will bring me a beautiful heart-shaped chocolate this year!

If you want to consult me to try tasting experiments, don’t hesitate to make an appointment. Whether you want a complete nutritional evaluation or just want to discuss food, I will be happy to meet you.

Shirley Pomerleau, Dietitian – Nutritionist