By Jennifer Whitmire, MS, MEd, MH, CHES, NEP

I didn’t want to believe it.

Chocolate was my favorite. My comfort, my daily ritual, my antioxidant-rich, heart-healthy, metabolism-boosting, supposedly healing food.

Until it wasn’t.

If you’ve ever been told to give up your favorite food for a few weeks, or forever,  you feel my pain. But sometimes, the foods we crave the most are the very ones keeping us inflamed.

I know this. I teach this. And yet… I had to learn the hard way. Twice.

Round One: The Chocolate Experiment

It started as an experiment. I was feeling a little more puffy than usual. Not full-blown autoimmune flare, just… off. The kind of off that makes you start second-guessing every bite and blaming the full moon. (Yes, I blame the moon often).

I noticed in pictures that my face was red, especially compared to my very white neck. It looked almost like I had a turtleneck on.  And, no, it’s not the sun. Contrary to what I teach, I do not get enough sun.

So I did what I often ask my clients to do: a short-term elimination. Two weeks. No cacao. No cocoa. No chocolate chips, no cacao nibs, no raw truffles, no chocolate powder in smoothies. None of it.

And guess what?

My puffiness went down. My energy felt more stable. I looked in the mirror and actually saw a difference in my face. Less inflammation, less water retention. I didn’t weigh myself, but my clothes felt better.

It worked.

But here’s where things got tricky.

Chocolate Makes a Comeback

You’d think that would be the end of the story. But no. Because, like so many of us, I didn’t want it to be true. I wanted cacao to be my friend.

Chocolate is my ride or die.

Then my doctor, someone I really respect, told me I should be having cacao daily. For the antioxidants. For the flavonoids. For my heart.

And I told her, “But cacao doesn’t work for me.” She reassured me that it’s anti-inflammatory and would be good for me to have daily.

So, I chose to ignore my lived experience and follow her suggestion. After all, cacao is a superfood, right?

Right?

So slowly, it crept back in. A little raw cacao in my smoothie here. A dark chocolate square after lunch (okay squares). A cacao elixir at my desk. Soon, I was eating it daily… again. Usually multiple times a day.

The Lab Work Doesn’t Lie

After a few months back on daily cacao, I got my labs done. I was hoping for praise. What I got instead?

Yikes.

• My LDL cholesterol went up.
• My LDL particle count went up.
• My HS-CRP (a key inflammation marker) went up.

Oh no. It was true. Again.

That little voice inside me, the one I’d been trying to ignore, got louder, “This isn’t working for your body, Jen.”

But I still didn’t quit. Not yet. Because it takes more than knowledge. 

You have to be ready to make a change 

AND

be willing to actually do it.

The Emotional Side of Giving Up a “Healthy” Food

Here’s the thing people don’t talk about enough: letting go of a favorite food is HARD, even when it’s “healthy.”

Especially when it’s healthy.

My chocolate wasn’t junk food. It wasn’t ultra-processed. It wasn’t coated in sugar or wrapped in plastic. It was organic, raw, full of flavonoids, and praised by nutrition experts everywhere. It was supposed to be healing.

But it wasn’t healing me.

It took six more months, before I fully committed to eliminating it again.

YES, I know better. BUT I didn’t want it to be true. I didn’t want to let go.

Sound familiar?

Round Two: Same Experiment, Same Results

Finally, I did it. I gave it up again. No cacao, no cocoa, no chocolate. For two weeks.

And once again, the inflammation melted away.

• My face de-puffed.
• My gut felt lighter.
• I felt more emotionally steady.

I didn’t even have to step on a scale to feel the difference in my body.

This time, I was ready to listen, not to the labels, not to the experts, but to ME.

What I Learned From Dr. Ritamarie (and My Body)

All of this came to a head because of something Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo, my mentor, my teacher, said in one of our advanced trainings:

“If you have autoimmune disease or chronic inflammation, you must do an elimination diet. You can’t just assume your favorite foods are safe. You have to test them.”

She was right.

So many of us say, “But I feel fine when I eat that.” And maybe you do. Until you realize you can feel better.

Sometimes we don’t realize how much inflammation we’re living with until it’s gone.

Cravings Can Be Clues

Want to know one of the biggest red flags?

Cravings.

Cravings can be your body’s way of asking for nutrients… but they can also be a sign of low-grade inflammation, dysbiosis, or even addiction-like brain chemistry triggered by certain foods.

Sugar and gluten are the obvious ones. But sometimes it’s those sneaky “healthy” foods, too.

Like cacao, like almond butter, like cashews, tomatoes, or even bananas. There are several that can increase your autoantibodies.

That doesn’t mean they’re bad for everyone. But if you’re craving something like your life depends on it, it might be time to ask: Is this food actually helping me? Or hurting me?

The only way to know is to test it.

Elimination Isn’t Forever (But It Can Be Eye-Opening)

Let me be clear, I’m not saying cacao is the enemy for everyone. I’m saying it might be a trigger for me. And maybe for you, too.

But you won’t know until you try going without it for a little while.

Two weeks.

That’s it.

Two weeks** of no cacao (or dairy, or gluten, or whatever food you suspect). Then reintroduce it and watch what happens. You don’t need a fancy lab test to get real data from your body.

Because your body is the best lab.

And if you listen, it will tell you exactly what it needs.

**As a side note, remember, 2 weeks may not be long enough.  It took over 4 months for me to experience a change after eliminating gluten. But… I’ve had clients experience major joint pain relief after just 3 days off of gluten. We’re all unique. So go as long as you can go before testing.

So… What Are You Craving?

What’s that one food you think you “can’t live without”?

The one you reach for when you’re tired, overwhelmed, anxious… or even when you’re celebrating.

What if it’s not helping you feel better?

What if it’s the very thing keeping your body stuck in low-grade inflammation?

If you’ve been dealing with symptoms like:

• Bloating
• Joint stiffness
• Brain fog
• Puffy face or hands
• Slow weight loss (or unexplained gain)
• Crashing energy

…then it might be time to try an experiment of your own.

No guilt or judgment. Just curiosity.

True healing involves discovery.

Want help figuring out your food triggers? That’s one thing we do inside The Culinary Healing Circle. You’ll learn how to tune into your body, spot inflammatory foods (even the sneaky ones), and cook meals that actually make you feel better, not worse.

Let’s ditch the guesswork together.

To join the inner circle, head to CulinaryHealingCircle.com and find out how to get started.