In my teenage years, if I tripped over my own tongue and uttered something that was thoughtless, I was often issued a sharp rebuke by my mother, telling me to think before I opened my mouth.

Now as an adult, I’d like to think that I’ve brought my tongue under better control, but I haven’t. No, I don’t run around spewing forth the thinly contemplated drivel of my teen years. Rather, now I consider my mother’s reprimand in a whole new context – diabetes.

You see, I can tame the content coming out of my mouth, but I have a harder time controlling the content that goes in it.

 

Open Mouth, Insert Food

 
We all have our weaknesses (yes, you too). Mine is chocolate. There’s something about that soft, creamy mix of cocoa powder, sugar, and milk that drives my taste buds into a mind-altering frenzy.

Indirectly following my mother’s advice, I try to think before I open my mouth, but in the presence of chocolate my thought process becomes tense, anxious, and cloudy as the little devil and angel that occupy my opposing shoulders issue their own advice:

   D: Smell the sweet delicious aroma!
   A: Think of what the calories will do to your waistline.
   D: Just have a small bite. What’s the worst that could happen? It’s not like this is the Garden of Eden.
   A: It’s late at night and it could make your nighttime blood sugars unpredictable.
   D: Remember, you only live once – Seize the moment . . . and the chocolate!
   A: You know you’re lactose intolerant and the dairy will upset your stomach.

AHHHHHHH! STOP IT, YOU TWO!!!!!!!!

The clatter is deafening as I reach the proverbial crossroads . . .

. . . And I give in.

What? You were expecting me to be some paragon of restraint?

Hey, I may keep my blood sugars under good control and do almost everything right with my diabetes self-management, but I do have moments where my humanity shines forth with all the luminosity of a supernova. And sometimes, I really dig that part of my humanity.

 

Awesome Addiction

 
The other day I was having one of those moments with a Hershey bar. In the middle of allowing small squares to slowly melt in my mouth until I was finally pushed to the brink and compelled to swallow, it occurred to me that I just might have a problem with addiction.

If you know me, then you know that physical fitness is a huge part of my life and my diabetes self-management. But I’m not one of those gym-goers who’s cranking out reps to satisfy my doctor’s mandate or some unwanted sense of obligation. I really enjoy working out.

What you may not know about me is that I also love spicy foods, especially hot peppers. Forget salsa, I like topping my tortilla chips with sliced jalapeños! If my wife, Kelsy, doesn’t pry it from my overexcited hands, I can easily consume one of those small jars in a single sitting.

So where am I going with this? What’s the connection between all of these things I find exceedingly pleasurable?

The answer – endorphins.

Chocolate, exercise, and hot peppers are all things that trigger a release of endorphins. Just FYI, endorphins are neurotransmitters (chemicals released by the brain) that are responsible for feelings of well-being, euphoria, and bliss. They enhance our pleasure, reduce our perception of pain, and can even help improve our mental focus and memory. Endorphins are our bodies’ naturally-produced opiates, but you can relax. The good news is that they aren’t really linked to addiction.

So, the next time you feel a surge of energy after a trip to the gym, or a rather intense craving for chocolate, or you wonder how your enjoyment of peppers outweighs the spiciness, it’s no longer a mystery. It’s just our brain doing a really good thing for us.

Actually the list of endorphin releasing foods and activities is pretty long. Smiling, laughing, the herb ginseng, and sex are just a few other potential triggers.

And, the potential benefits of chocolate – well, dark chocolate to be exact – go far beyond exciting our palettes and making us happy. Dark chocolate has been reported to increase circulation, decrease inflammation, and reduce heart disease. Dark chocolate also has some advantages over its counterpart, milk chocolate, because it contains more cocoa, which is the ingredient that stimulates endorphin release. It also has less carbs, less sugar, more nutrients, and more fiber.

And now, the #1 benefit of dark chocolate for diabetics:

(Insert drumroll)

So maybe thinking before we open our mouths isn’t always a good thing. Maybe I should heed my Grandfather’s advice who in his simple rural east Texas wisdom would remind me to use my head for something other than a hat rack.

Sure, Grandpa. It’s the place where chocolate goes!