Do you know that studies conducted have revealed good things about chocolate? Yes, that sinfully delicious treat that sends thrills of pleasure through me whenever I see them in their lovely wrappings. It makes me feel so good that dark chocolate contains more health benefits than white chocolate and milk chocolate. I absolutely love dark chocolate! Unfortunately white chocolate and milk chocolate have higher fat content and less health benefits.So those of you who love white chocolate, beware!
Dark chocolate, also considered as bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, has been found to be very beneficial for people. I've condensed the benefits below:
1. It has serotonin which brightens up your mood and keeps you on a positive mindset throughout the day. That is why your mood becomes visibly improved after a bar of chocolate on a bad day. ( I can chomp on a lot more but my sugar levels do not permit me to pig out!)
2. It helps to reduce the risk of getting heart diseases. The flavonoids in cocoa, a basic ingredient of chocolate lowers high blood pressure and keeps body fats from blocking the arteries. It also improves the flexibility of your blood vessels and eases the circulation of blood in our system. Wow, isn't this great news? There's more!
3. These flavonoids also contain antioxidants that reduce the risk of cancer. Antioxidants are essential for the body to fight the free radicals that cause heart ailments, cancer and other types of diseases.
4. Chocolate has nitric oxide that helps in blood pressure maintenance and heart sustenance. Another plus factor!
5. Chocolate has vitamins that are important for our bodies to function properly. It has components of Vitamins A, B1, C, D E and minerals such as potassium, calcium, iron
6.Chocolate has caffeine, theobromine, tyramine and phenylethylamine that contribute to decrease of fatigue and give an extra boost of energy needed to get through the day. Absolutely great! We can cut down on tea and coffee.
So eat your dark chocolate without feeling guilty because the antioxidants also help
in reducing pain and stiffness caused by arthritis. You also get better sleep.
Psssst....you won’t become a diabetic if you eat dark chocolate. It is low in carbohydrates. Better still there are now sugarless chocolates!! I go for these and everytime I see sugar free dark chocolate, you can be sure they will be in my shopping cart.
However, the health benefits of chocolate should not start you eating loads of chocolate now. As in all things, excessiveness is not healthy and moderation is key.
So let's enjoy our dark chocolates. We can always sweat off the extra calories if we ate more than we should have.
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