Menstrual Phase Anti-Inflammatory Dark CHocolate CHia Mousse
That viral tofu chocolate mousse has been doing the rounds for a while now, and I’ve never been able to make it because I’ve not been able to find silken tofu on our travels across Europe so far. However, I am not too heartbroken, because it’s motivated me to think up my own version - and one that’s lower in FODMAPs too (only 39g of silken tofu is low FODMAP) to help us prevent endo belly flares.
This chocolate mousse dilemma is never far from my mind, and I’m always think about recipes, and then recently, I’ve been making my partner chocolate chia pudding for a snack, as he tends not to eat much and then gets low in energy, so I am doing what I can to entice him. It was so good, and so creamy, that it got me wondering why chia pudding has never been combined with melted dark chocolate, to create a really thick and decadent version? I was sure it could work, and after a few attempts, I got it.
This is the type of chocolate mousse you want with you on your period, whilst you’re in bed, watching your favourite comfort films, or on a Saturday night when you’re deep luteal. It’s rich, thick and creamy, and is made with real chocolate, but is also nutrient dense and won’t spike blood sugar, which is essential for keeping pain and inflammation at bay.
I also wanted to make it as easy as possible for you to make, so it requires just three ingredients, and a blender, and voilà.
A fantastic source of omega 3 to lower inflammation and improve endo symptoms.
Chia seeds are one of the richest plant sources of those beautiful fatty acids, omega 3 and us endo folk need all the omega 3 we can get…
A large body of research has shown links with endo and low omega 3 intake, and significant improvements in endo pain and period pain with increased intake or supplementing with omega 3.
In fact, numerousresearch is now showing dietary intake of omega 3 as a helpful treatment for endometriosis inflammation and symptoms.
A type of omega 6 called omega-6 fatty acid arachidonic acid makes prostaglandin E2 and prostaglandin F2α, but omega 3 makes anti-inflammatory prostaglandins. Research has shown that a higher omega 3:omega 6 ratio suppressed endo cell survival, whilst another study showed suppression of growth.
Why are omega 3 fatty acids so beneficial? It’s mainly to do with their effects on immune compounds called prostaglandins. Prostaglandin E2 and F2α are elevated in people with endometriosis and people with dysmenorrhea. It’s these inflammatory prostaglandins that are the key cause of our pain with endometriosis and they also play a major role in the development and progression of endo. And whilst we need a health inflammatory response to heal after surgery, elevated levels of prostaglandin E2 can also make surgery recovery more painful and slow down wound healing time.
The good news is, we can actually lower the amount we make by the we eat (and supplements we take). Omega 3 is found in foods like chai seeds, fatty fish like salmon and flax seeds. The more we eat of these foods, the better our omega 3:6 ratio will be, helping us to keep inflammation levels at bay and prevents excessive production of prostaglandins E2 and F2a.
Blood sugar balancing to stabilise hormones, reduce PMS and lower oxidative stress.
Blood sugar spiking foods such as high sugar foods and processed foods can potentially contribute to morePMS, menstrual pain and endo pain. Blood sugar spikes increase oxidative stress, which leads to more inflammation in the body and that may trigger further pain and symptoms. In fact, oxidative stress is higher in people with endo, and it’s a key driver of endo growth.
To avoid these issues, I have focused on fats (from the chia seeds and chocolate), fibre (chia seeds and a little from the chocolate) and protein (chia seeds and a little from the milk), which have all been shown to help stabilise blood sugar levels and slow down the uptake of glucose/starch from our food (sugar in the chocolate, this case) to our blood stream, preventing blood sugar spikes.
A great way to support blood sugar is with lower glycemic index foods, and every ingredient in this recipe, even the chocolate (because we’ve opted for 85% or higher) is low on the glycemic index scale. The glycemic index is a tool that looks at foods and the impact they can have on your blood sugar, on a scale of 0-100. A high GI index would be 70 and above, a medium GI is 56-69 and a low GI index is 55 or less. High GI foods are very likely to spike your blood sugar levels and do so quickly, foods with a medium GI rating tend to cause a moderate rise and low GI foods tend to keep blood sugar levels stable and steady over time with a gentle rise. This is because low GI foods break down slowly in the gut because they are rich in fibre and slow release carbohydrates, this means that the release of glucose to the blood stream is slow and gradual.
Whilst dark chocolate is low glycemic, there’s a lot in this recipe, which means it has a higher chance of spiking your blood sugar. So, to further slow down any rise in blood sugar from the chocolate, we have the help of chia seeds.
Chia seeds contain viscous fibre. Viscose fibre forms a gel-like texture when added to water, and when combined with liquids and food in the gut. This slows down digestion and the release of glucose. Just adding 3g, 5g and 7g of chia seeds to cookies was shown to reduce postprandial glucose spikes, and the higher the amount, the better the effect - so with 15g chia per mousse, your blood sugar is well looked after!
If you want to boost it even further, try drizzling your mousse with some extra virgin olive oil. Research has also shown that adding olive oil to meals reduces the post-prandial blood sugar levels (meaning it helps prevent blood sugar spikes from foods/meals), even in high glycemic meals (meaning meals/foods high in sugar or starch that can cause rapid blood sugar spikes).
Constant blood sugar swings can take their toll on hormones, leading to issues like elevated androgens (think testosterone), which can affect ovulation and cycle length. Blood sugar swings may also cause oestrogen excess or dominance and low progesterone if ovulation is interrupted or stopped entirely. Both of these imbalances can cause more PMS, heavier periods, and may also exacerbate endometriosis symptoms.
Additionally, this chocolate mousse can help us out with luteal phase cravings (of course it can, it’s chocolate mousse!).
When we’re in our luteal phase, we often experience more blood sugar swings because oestrogen, which dominates in our follicular phase, helps us to regulate our blood sugar response, but is lower in the luteal phase.
As a result, we tend to get cravings for sweet foods or foods high in starch. The problem is, these foods keep us on a blood sugar rollercoaster, and raise inflammation levels, resulting in more of those inflammatory symptoms and pain that we’re trying to avoid. This mousse, being lower in sugar and rich in fibre, can help us get our fix without the pain and PMS triggering spikes.
Finally, blood sugar swings are linked heavily with mood disorders such as depression and anxiety, so if you struggle with low moods in your luteal phase, supporting blood sugar can actually support your mental health.
we tend to get cravings for sweet foods or foods high in starch. The problem is, these foods keep us on a blood sugar rollercoaster, and raise inflammation levels, resulting in more of those inflammatory symptoms and pain that we’re trying to avoid. These flapjacks, being lower in sugar and rich in fibre, can help us get our fix without the pain and PMS triggering spikes.
Finally, blood sugar swings are linked heavily with mood disorders such as depression and anxiety, so if you struggle with low moods in your luteal phase, supporting blood sugar can actually support your mental health.
Now, let’s be clear before we wrap up this section. I am not saying you have to avoid sugar or refined carbs for the rest of your life, but if like me, you enjoy a sweet treat as a snack or after dinner, it can help to make these regular goodies a bit more blood sugar balancing, so that we’re looking after ourselves on a day to day basis.
Rich in prebiotics and polyphenols to help heal the endo belly and reduce systemic inflammation.
The latest data shows that 96% of UK adults are getting less than the recommended 30g fibre a day. That’s not great for our guts, which rely on fibre to thrive, and people with endo need extra gut support already so a lack of fibre isn’t going to help the situation (though you may find you need to tailor your fibre sources if you have IBS or SIBO).
Chia seeds are a great source of low FODMAP soluble fibre, and one chocolate mousse provides you with 7g of fibre, almost a third of your recommended daily allowance!
Additionally, a major study of 10,000 people found that eating 30 or more plant foods a week helps to create a healthier and more diverse microbiome. This recipe offers you 3 of your 30 already, and with herbs, spices, olive oil, fruits, veggies, beans/legumes, teas and coffee and whole grains all counting, you can easily top up your levels further. For extra guidance on how to reach your 30 a week, check out this article by The Gut Health Doctor or this one by Zoe.
And thanks to our specific ingredients of dark chocolate and chia seeds, this recipe is also high in polyphenols. Polyphenols are types of antioxidants found in certain plant foods that not only reduce inflammation levels and improve overall health, but they are also an absolute favourite food (prebiotic) for our gut microbiome, which means they can support our good gut bugs to thrive.
But why does this matter for us endo folk?
Research is finding a strong correlation between microbiome disturbances and endometriosis development, such as reduced levels and variety of good gut bugs and higher levels of pathogenic (bad, infectious), opportunistic (in high numbers, can cause problems like inflammation) gut bugs, as well as gut bugs linked to elevated oestrogen levels. These microbiome differences have also been associated with higher IL-8 levels, a type of inflammatory cytokine shown to be involved in the development of endometriosis.
Polyphenols and prebiotic fibre are like gut bug boosters - the more we provide to our good gut bugs, the more they grow and outnumber the bad guys. This helps to bring the gut back into harmony, which can improve gut symptoms and intestinal inflammation and whilst we need to do more research, could even help us fight endo.
These prebiotic fibres help us to increase our production of gut friendly fats, called short chain fatty acids, which are made when good bacteria consume fibre. Research shows that people with endo may be low in short chain fatty acids, especially one called butyrate. Butyrate is a short-chain fatty acid produced by our gut microbiome, and has been found to be low in people with endo. Butyrate has a range of benefits for endometriosis and gut health (so therefore, can help us tackle endo belly) such as reducing intestinal inflammation, improving insulin sensitivity, preventing leaky gut, promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria and inhibiting the growth of harmful bacteria. Butyrate inhibits our inflammatory immune response to lipopolysaccharides (LPS), LPS are toxins that come from certain bacteria, and have been shown to be heavily involved in endo pathogenesis, so by improving our fibre levels, we may actually be improving some of our defences against endo.
May help with constipation
The viscous fibre in chia seeds helps to provide bulk to stools, which aids with constipation, a symptom many people with endo and Intestinal Methanogen Overgrowth suffer with. Additionally, the fats from the chocolate and chia seeds can help trigger large bowel motility, as can the naturally occurring caffeine in the chocolate - so if you’re struggling with constipation in your luteal phase, or just generally, this mousse may very well do the trick. Learn how to use chia seeds for constipation here.
Rich in period and hormone supportive minerals.
Chocolate and chia seeds are rich in minerals, making this chocolate mousse:
Iron
A recent major study of over 43,000 endo patients found that we have a six-fold increased risk of iron deficiency. SIBO could be a player here, as it inhibits iron absorption but it could also be from heavy menstrual bleeding, restricting red meat and other factors.
Iron plays a major role in preventing fatigue, and yet many of the clients who I work with, come to me with significantly low levels. Supporting healthy iron absorption and intake is a key part of beating endo fatigue and recovering from heavy blood loss and low levels can cause brain fog, extreme tiredness, heart palpitations, dizziness, muscle weakness and depression to name a few.
Healthy iron levels are also essential for ovarian function, which is key to producing healthy amounts of sex hormones and low levels are associated with menstrual irregularities and fertility problems.
Additionally, low iron levels are linked to ADHD development and can worsen ADHD symptoms, and ADHD is a condition which many people with endo struggle with.
Magnesium
Research has shown magnesium to be an effective treatment in preventing dysmenorrhea (period pain) because it reduces inflammatory prostaglandins that are the drivers of both endo and period pain. One study showed that six months of magnesium treatment reduced prostaglandin F2a by over half! In fact, in recent research, magnesium is being explored as a dietary treatment for endo and a higher intake of magnesium rich foods was associated with a lower risk of endo. Additionally, magnesium helps to regulate our sex hormones, and as result, is a recognised treatment for preventing PMS.
Zinc
Low levels of zinc have been linked to endo, and research has shown it can significantly reduce period pain thanks to its anti-inflammatory benefits. It additionally supports follicle development and ovulation, while deficiency has been linked to infertility.
Calcium
Low levels of calcium have been repeatedly associated with increased PMS symptoms and research has shown that treatment with calcium supplements can reduce the syndrome and even period pain because low levels of calcium can cause more contractions. Calcium may also be a supportive option for PMDD.
IMPORTANT NOTES TO HELP YOU TAILOR THIS RECIPE TO YOUR OWN BODY AND NEEDS (AND TASTEBUDS!)
Everything you’ve said about blood sugar and processed foods, does that mean I can never have my favourite treats again?
Absolutely not. I am all for ‘worth it moments’. Enjoy our fav foods, whatever they are, in moments when we really desire them. But I am a health coach, and my goal is to minimise your symptoms and lower things like oxidative stress and inflammation that could contribute them, so I am going to encourage snacking smarter and leaning on healthier treats on a day to day basis, and that’s way these recipes are for. So you can have your cake, and eat it!
Milk quantity and type
This mousse sets better and tastes better (richer, sweeter) with 400ml of milk, but I am using a travel blender at present, which is a weak ass b*tch and couldn’t hack it, so I had to add an extra 50ml. Start with 400ml and see how you get on.
In terms of milk, I used soy for extra protein, but that is high FODMAP, so you may do better with a lower FODMAP milk like almond or lactose free, if you tolerate it.
Just avoid oat or rice, which increase the glycemic index of this mousse.
Optional add in: cacao powder
This first time I made this, I added in 1 tbsp cacao and it set with a rich, thick and airy texture, and I preferred it, but it was very rich, so may not be for you. Additionally, the combination of cacao powder and dark chocolate made too much for you from a histamine or FODMAP perspective.
Optional add in: dates
I wanted this recipe to be easy, with minimal ingredients, so I am relying on the sugar in the dark chocolate to provide the sweetness, but if that’s not enough for you, feel free to add in one or two medjool dates, which will add a fibre and mineral boost! Blend well to get smooth!
Is this recipe low FODMAP?
If you stick with a low FODMAP milk, like almond milk, you use 150g chocolate not 200g, you also stick to 1/6th of the recipe per serve, then this will most likely be low FODMAP. Why most likely? Because 85% dark chocolate is low FODMAP at 20g, but this will give you 25g per serve, so you’ll just be outside of that, but there’s no information on Monash (the creators of the FODMAP diet) about what would count as an amber or red serving of dark chocolate.
Why do you make so many recipes low FODMAP?
The low FODMAP diet is being shown in the research to be one of the most effective dietary interventions we have for symptom relief in endo (esp. for those with IBS issues). That doesn’t mean you have to do it, and if you do, it should be done under supervision of a doctor or low FODMAP trained professional, but some people may be on the diet already, so I like to tailor to as many people as possible. It also means this recipe is less likely to trigger bloating (though that’s not guaranteed, because everyone is different).
Is this recipe suitable for SIBO?
Everyone’s triggers vary with SIBO, but this recipe is low FODMAP so can help reduce bloating and flares.
Further resources
If you’re struggling with your endo symptoms or gut health, you might find my courses and one to one coaching helpful. You can find out more here. I’ve also got endless podcast episodes on endometriosis and SIBO.
Menstrual Phase Anti-Inflammatory Dark CHocolate CHia Mousse
Ingredients:
150g nut butter (I used peanut, but any will work, just be aware of FODMAPs if that’s a concern for you)
120g rolled oats
100g medjool dates
50g flax seeds, ground
50g pumpkin seeds, ground
30g cacao powder (about 4 tbsps)
6 tbsps water
1 tsp vanilla extract (optional, I skipped it)
To top:
Topping:
75g 85% dark chocolate
1 tsp nut butter
Flaky sea salt, to taste
Makes: 5 flapjack bars
prep time: 15 minutes
chill time: 1 hr 15 mins
Method:
Break up the dark chocolate and gently melt over a low-medium heat in a double boiler.
Grind the flax and pumpkin seeds in a spice or coffee grinder until a meal forms, and combine in a bowl with the cacao powder and oats. Stir well to incorporate and break up any cacao lumps.
Destone the dates. In a food processor, blend the dates, water and nut butter until a caramel forms.
Empty the caramel into the dry ingredients and with a large spoon, or your hands, stir to combine. This will take some time and work to come together, and you will be tempted to add more water, but I promise you, it does come together! If in doubt, get your hands in there and start pressing it together until a dough forms. If it really is too dry and crumbly, add 1 tbsp water a time until a dough forms that holds together.
Press firmly down into a loaf tin lined with baking paper.
Add a tsp of nut butter to the melted chocolate, and stir well. Pour over the flapjack dough.
Leave to chill in the fridge for 10-15 minutes, then transfer to the freezer for one hour.
Slices into five bars and top with flaky sea salt.
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Need more help or want to learn how to work with me?
Ways to work with me:
One to one coaching info and application
Live and Thrive with Endo 2.0 DIY online course
Endo Sessions: Single and mini-package one to one endo coaching
SIBO Sessions: Single and mini-package one to one SIBO coaching
Masterclasses in endo nutrition, surgery prep and recovery and pain relief
This EndoLife, It Starts with Breakfast digital cookbook
Free resources:
This podcast!