Women always dread that time of the month and usually this is the time when we most crave chocolate. In fact 50% of women in the U.S. according to the National Institution of Health, crave chocolates during their menstruation periods. But this raises a common question: what is the exact reason we crave these sweets?
There have been many studies linking the cravings of chocolate to hormones, or that it raises the levels of serotonin and dopamine. Others say that some ingredients alleviate premenstrual nutritional deficits as chocolate holds high levels of magnesium, which women lack at the time of their cycle. These have been theorized as reasons on why women crave chocolate during their periods for a while, but evidence has consistently failed to support these hypothesis’.
A study done by the University of Albany seems to show that there might be another reason why. Their hypothesis was that these chocolate cravings were culturally driven, mainly in the United States. In other words chocolate cravings only seem to be prevalent in the U.S. and rarely in other countries. Statistics say 6% of Egyptian women endorse craving chocolate and only 28% of Spanish women experience these cravings, compared to 90% of women in the U.S. who endorse chocolate cravings. To prove their hypothesis the University of Albany conducted a study to prove it.
For the study they questioned correspondents and they were categorized, American, second-generation immigrant, and foreign-born, based on birthplace and native language. Some of the questions were as followed, “Have you ever experienced a craving for chocolate?”, “If you experience any chocolate cravings, do you feel that they occur at any specific point in time (i.e. time of year, month, day, etc.)?” and “If you experience any chocolate cravings, do you feel that they are caused by any particular triggers?”. These questions came before any mention of other questions related to menstrual craving to avoid priming effects (National Institution of Health).
The study showed that menstrual cravings were least prevalent in foreign-born women with only 17.3% craving chocolate during their cycle. This successfully supported the idea of chocolate cravings being culturally driven. They hypothesize that in the U.S. culture that follows the “thin ideal” for female beauty, it creates a perception that cravings like chocolate or other junk foods are only socially acceptable during menstruation. Even in pregnancies, as we see all the time the “weird cravings” women usually have when pregnant.
Through this toxic ideology of beauty, socially, we create this culture of eating and craving chocolate during our periods. However, we shouldn’t be letting this ideology dictate how we eat. It’s acceptable to indulge in chocolate and junk foods at moderate rates. So the next time you’re craving chocolate or any other snack outside of your menstrual cycle, don’t beat yourself up over it. Sometimes our body needs it.
