Chocolate-why is it a trigger?

I have read several posts about this, and since I love chocolate, it's hard to give it up unless I hear that it's a definite AF trigger---and why.

Thanks,

Calli

Some say it's a trigger, for others it is not. I eat two pieces of Dove dark chocolate every evening after dinner. I am 4 years afib free since my ablation, but I also ate it when I had afib. No correlation that I could see to my about twice a month afib.

Test it out and see. No reason to go without chocolate if it is not a trigger. If we avoided everything that has been identified as a possible trigger, little would be left to enjoy. Everything in moderation.

Calli - some of the reasons why chocolate can be a trigger:

No one eats plain raw chocolate... it is usually sweetened... sugar depletes magnesium and potassium.

If you eat chocolate as a snack without other food rather than after a meal, you may experience a hypoglycemic reaction as a result of sugar entering the blood stream very quickly. Hypoglycemia is a known trigger of AF.

Unless organic, chocolate is another of the highly-pesticided products... because bugs love the cocoa beans and they are sprayed vigorously in storage and transport before processing. There is even a certain acceptible amount of insect residue and rodent droppings (termed insect filth) that in chocolate products. Pesticide residues are neurotoxic and some people will react more than others.

Recommendations for chocolate consumption are based on the benefits of the polyphenol/antioxidant properties of dark chocolate with high cocoa content...like over 70% and the lowest amount of added sugar, typically 6-8 grams/serving. Of course, you can get all the benefits and none of the risks by chewing some of the cocoa nibs... it's an acquired taste but really quite tasty and addictive. Milk chocolate does not offer the same polyphenol benefits.

The caffeine content of chocolate may bother some individuals even though it's quite low... one ounce contains 20 mg caffeine. It's probably relative as to how much one consumes in one sitting as to the trigger factor.

Calories (from fat and sugar) aside - dark chocolate does have small amounts of minerals including magnesium.

Jackie

[en.wikipedia.org]

Calli,

I would estimate that chocolate consumption (especially of the dark variety) is a trigger for about 20% of lone afibbers. The only way to find out if you are one of them is by trial and error. I suspect that adrenergic and mixed afibbers would be more likely to be detrimentally affected than are vagal afibbers.

Chocolate contains three potential triggers, sugar, caffeine and theobromine. Theobromine, in general, is a weaker stimulant than caffeine, but has a stronger stimulating effect on the heart.

<[en.wikipedia.org];

An interesting case history on theobromine and atrial fibrillation is reported here:

[www.associatedcontent.com]

Hans

Thanks for the replies. I tend to eat too much at a sitting, and prefer the not-healthy milk chocolate type. But I overindulge. I can't tell if it's a trigger or not for me yet.

I'm still confused about whether I'm a vagal or adrenergic. Someone here said that because the "bearing down" maneuver doesn't work for me, that means I'm vagal. My AF have all occurred first thing in the morning---startle reflex from the alarm clock, and while going from sleeping to awake too abruptly. Does that sound vagal?

Calli

Another explanation for a connection between afib and eating chocolate may be because chocolate is one of the foods that relaxes the esophageal sphincter, causing acid reflux and acid reflux can cause afib.

In college we were taught "everything correlates!".
Carol

Calli,

Time to develop a taste for dark chocolate. I find it much more satisfying, especially of you let it melt in your mouth slowly.

Hershey's Bliss and Dove are two that are very smooth and not too bitter. I only eat two pieces (small individually wrapped), eating each piece in two bites, allowing each one to melt in my mouth.

Two pieces = 70 calories, 5g of fat & 7g of sugar, 1g of fiber & 3g of sodium.

I think you will find that it meets your craving with very little "junk food" impact.

Ken---thanks for the tip.

I'm in a stage now where I'm examining my diet again. Two things---the chocolate and the green tea---might be on the list of items I have to eliminate.

I was drinking 3 cups of green tea at breakfast (a small teapot amount) and have cut back to one cup. And am doing without chocolate for now.

I think maybe my heart feels calmer. I also notice that my cheap wrist monitor is having an easier time detecting my slow heart rate, and I'm wondering if maybe that's because the beats are more regular now.

Calli

Calli,

What about the green tea is bothersome? The caffeine? The vit K? Something else?

lisa

Green tea---I read that article Hans posted above---about
"The Triple Threat of Caffeine, Theophylline and Theobromine on the Heart." Page 2 of article.

My brain really appreciates a bit of caffeine to get going in the morning. I even looked up Yerba Mate and it has those same heart-stimulating compounds.

I switched from coffee to green tea 4 years ago because it's supposed to be healthy for immune problems (which I have). I know I'm doing better on it than coffee, that's for sure. Now I'm down to one cup a day---pretty wimpy---but it does help me wake up.

Calli