Chocolate is one of the world’s greatest comfort foods, it is the go to when life takes a bad turn, an easy gift for just about anyone, a satisfying, addicting treat that uplifts our moods.
Now too much of anything is never good for us, but there’s a whole list of the medically proven ways that chocolate, dark in particular is really good for us.
Even though research is ongoing, experts have already found a whole host of benefits such as chocolate being good for the brain, heart, and circulation. It has also been suggested that chocolate can be beneficial to major conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and autism.
With Easter just around the corner, and all that chocolate awaiting us, let’s explore 10 convincing reasons as to why you should eat MORE chocolate!
A study in Finland says that the stress of expectant can be reduced through consuming chocolate which is subsequently a lot better for a pregnancy. The study also found that babies of mothers who consumed chocolate during pregnancy smiled a lot more than babies who were from non-chocolate-eating parents.
Studies in Finland, in particular, have found through testing that the consumption of chocolate lowers the risk of suffering from a stroke. The researchers found that a staggering 17 per cent average of men in the group they tested had a lower risk after consuming chocolate during the study.
High consumptions of cocoa have been found to reduce the levels of ‘bad’ cholesterol and actually raise the levels of ‘good’ cholesterol. This ultimately can potentially reduce the risk of health issues such as cardiovascular disease.
The flavanols in dark chocolate are thought to reduce memory loss in elderly people. Dark chocolate has also been found to be beneficial in treating brain injuries like concussions, because of the anti-inflammatory qualities it contains.
Dark Chocolate is full of minerals which are extremely beneficial to us. Minerals such as zinc, selenium, and potassium are in bars of dark chocolate which have a percent of cocoa over 70. The 100g bars of dark chocolate also provide 67 percent of the RDA of Iron.
Everyone can relate to chocolate making them feel better. This is actually because chocolate contains phenylethylamine (PEA), which is a chemical that encourages your brain to release feel-good endorphins, quite like when you’re falling in love.
A study has found that dark chocolate can actually help to restore the flexibility of arteries, while white blood cells are also being prevented from sticking to the walls of blood vessels- both in which are common causes of artery clogging.
It is true! Chocolate can actually help you lose weight! A neuroscientist Will Clower says that if you consume a small square of chocolate melted on the tongue 20 minutes before a meal triggers the hormones in the brain that tell you you’re ‘full’, which ultimately cuts down the food you consume during the meal. If you finish the meal eating a small chocolate can subsequently trigger snacking, so beware!
It may sound a little backward, but cocoa has actually been shown to improve insulin sensitivity. So in turn, dark chocolate which is high in cocoa, if eaten in moderation, may be able to delay or prevent the onset of diabetes.
