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WINDSOR, Ont. - Here's a reason for women to indulge a passion for chocolate: Jamieson Laboratories, a naturopathic health products manufacturer, has developed a chocolate bar that can alleviate some symptoms of premenstrual syndrome ( PMS). The PMS Support line, a collection of 15 chocolate bars " infused with natural botanicals," claims to help relieve physical and emotional symptoms of PMS. It should be on the shelves of select stores across Canada within days.
The company is Canada's largest manufacturer and distributor of natural health care, vitamin and nutrition products....

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It's hard to accept a story that seems little more than an advertorial for a new product. This article reports on the benefits of a chocolate bar that alleviates the symptoms of PMS and while that might be heartily welcomed by many women who may want to relieve their symptoms this way any information on the underlying science behind the treatment is missing. Does a test of this product on 12 women constitute good backing for this product? If the women did benefit, how did they benefit, and by what measures? And was there a control group of women eating non-enhanced chocolate bars to compare against? We don't know as the article skims over these important details. Perhaps this is a lazing-at-the-beach summer story designed more to titillate an audience and spark demand for a product and we shouldn't be so harsh. At the same time, the unanimous endorsements of 12 women is hardly a reason to get too excited about any clinical qualities the bars may have.

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