chocolate magic

today's lesson: dark chocolate (70% cacao or greater) really does calm an incessant cough.

for more than a week, i've been battling an annoying, persistent dry hack that stuck around after my cold hit the road.

i tried everything i could to get it to simmer down -- cough medicine, cough drops, tea, hot baths and hot showers, cayenne pepper and honey in everything... but nothing worked.

within about 20 minutes of waking every day, i'd have my morning smoker's-cough-like attack. then, throughout the day, for the entire day, every day: on-and-off coughing ranging in intensity from mild to "good grief, what the hell did you inhale?!".

yesterday, i'd about hit my limit. i was tired, my muscles were sore, i wanted the coughing to end.

then i remembered that dark chocolate contains some kind of compound that will actually subdue the cough reflex. i googled, read about theobromine and decided to try it.

the only (70%) dark chocolate i had on hand was the wedding-favour bar i'd saved from peaches and herm's nuptials back in october. i'd put the bar in the fridge at the time, reasoning that i'd keep it in case i ever needed it to -- you got it! -- cure a cough.

well, that time had come!

so, i cracked open the bar, broke off three squares and ate them.

and, no lie, my cough VANISHED within about 20 minutes.

i couldn't believe it.

i ate those three squares just after 4pm and my cough was barely existent until about 8pm. when it started up again, i ate three more squares and it settled down shortly thereafter.

here's the thing, though, and the most valuable part of this entire lesson:

1 oz. of 70% cacao dark chocolate has about 40mg of caffeine.

i did not know this until this morning, looooooong after i'd already downed several ounces of the chocolate magic.

do you see where i'm going with this?

I WAS  W-I-D-E  A-W-A-K-E  FOR ALMOST THE ENTIRE NIGHT.

but... i didn't cough.

and my cough's been fairly quiet today, as well.

maybe it's a placebo, maybe it's because i was just too wired to cough, i dunno.

but it worked.

and i am relieved.