Chocolate's healing power

Jan 22, 2013

Irresistible chocolate. It’s bitter. It’s sweet. It’s delicious. It’s also good for you. Years of research has shown that eating small amounts of chocolate every day is good for your health. Such a sweet revelation! We always knew something as divine as chocolate had to have some benefit.

Apart from the pure physiological pleasure of eating it, chocolate contains potent natural antioxidant compounds and high levels of magnesium which are good for your heart and blood vessels. Of course, that doesn’t mean you can splurge on hot fudge sundaes, brownies, and chocolate chip cookies – the extra fat and calories in those foods outweigh any health benefit. In most research studies, consuming moderate amounts of dark chocolate or chocolate made from cocoa powder has been shown to have the most benefit.

“Chemically speaking, chocolate really is the world’s perfect food.” ~ Michael Levine

Here’s a few reasons why you might want to eat chocolate:

• People who eat more chocolate have about 30% less heart disease and strokes compared to people who don’t eat chocolate.
• People who eat chocolate more than five times per week had 50% less heart disease than people who don’t eat chocolate.
• Chocolate lowers all the big heart disease risk factors: cholesterol, blood pressure, and inflammation.
• People who ate chocolate more than twice per week had over 30% less atherosclerotic plaque – one of the main causes and symptoms of heart disease – no matter their sex, age, calorie intake, smoking or diabetes status.

And… here’s some more good news for chocolate lovers. It’s no accident chocolate elevates mood. Chocolate stimulates the release of endorphins, natural hormones produced by the brain, that generates feelings of pleasure and promotes a sense of well being. Along with Theobromine, the primary alkaloid in cocoa solids and chocolate and partly responsible for chocolate’s mood-elevating effect, it also contains Tryptophan, an amino acid required by the brain for producing Serotonin – the brain’s “happy” chemical. Higher levels of Serotonin equals more feelings of happiness.

Still considering giving anything other than chocolate for Valentine’s Day?