A few weeks ago I decided to try to eat a bit healthier, at the urging of my kids.  I cut way back on chocolate and coca-cola, my two daily staples.  This wasn’t the first time I tried this little exercise and the results were the same:  I gained weight.  Talk about total frustration.  So I gave up.  I am back on the chocolate and coke diet and believe it or not, I have lost a few pounds.  But I am trying to add more fruits and veggies to my diet as well.  And today I went back to Zumba for a good workout.

Just read some interesting things in an article about good health and reducing stress.  Learned that we have a stress hormone called cortisol. Having small levels of this in our blood stream is a good thing, but high levels can be dangerous.  There is a very article on the good, bad and the ugly with regards to cortisol here.  It even gives you some activities which will relax the mind and body, positively affecting the levels of cortisol in the bloodstream.

Another interesting item which has an enormous impact on our body and how we feel is serotonin.  It is a neurotransmitter found in the brain, the lining of the digestive tract and in blood plates.  I read here that candy and sweets contain serotonin and can improve your mood, but only for 1 to 2 hours.  In my twisted mind, that means I should have some type of chocolate every two hours then, to keep up my good disposition.

I can always find reasons to keep eating chocolate!