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Chocolate – A Wonderful Treat or Wonder Drug?

women eating chocolate

Almost everybody loves chocolate, but they see chocolate consumption as a hidden pleasure. Chocolate is bad for you, they think. Jam packed with calories, sugars and fats, it is something that you shouldn’t eat. However, is there any truth in that? It is certainly true that you shouldn’t eat chocolate all day every day, but did you know that it is actually very healthy stuff? When eaten in moderation, naturally. The biggest chocolate benefits are found in dark chocolate, the darker the better. The benefits are so big, in fact, that you should eat some dark chocolate every day. Do remember that the more processed chocolate is, the fewer chocolate benefits it contains, so stick to the dark stuff as much as possible. Let’s take a look at all the chocolate benefits you will have access to just by eating some dark chocolate every day.

Antioxidants
Cocoa is full of flavanols. Flavanols are antioxidants and they combat the body’s free radicals. Free radicals are known to cause cancer, so as such chocolate can prevent the onset of cancer. Chocolate is such a good cancer fighter that doctors advise people to eat it. This is also true for blueberries, tea, red wine and garlic. Chocolate reduces inflammation and it inhibits the division of cells. It is believed that it helps to fight cancer in many other ways too, and scientific research into these properties is ongoing.

Blood Pressure
It has been proven through numerous scientific studies that chocolate lowers blood pressure. This means that it can present serious illnesses, including heart disease and strokes. This, in turn, means that you could save the health system millions!

Lower LDL (bad) Cholesterol
Chocolate also lowers the LDL cholesterol. LDL cholesterol is the bad type of cholesterol, which leads to clogged arteries. Chocolate is said to lower it by as much as 10%.

Anti-Depressant Properties
Chocolate is full of serotonin. Anti-depressants, as well as certain club drugs like XTC, are designed to release serotonin into the brain, causing feelings of happiness and even euphoria. Endorphins are also released when eating chocolate, which increases the sensation of pleasure. It is no wonder, when you consider this, that chocolate is known as an aphrodisiac too. The anti-depressant properties in chocolate are believed to be the reason why so many people automatically reach for chocolate whenever they feel a bit down or low.

Less Tooth Decay
Chocolate is also an excellent product for the prevention of tooth decay. This is because it contains theobromine, which fights streptococcus mutans, which leads to tooth decay.

Longer Life
Overall, eating dark chocolate every day will increase the duration of your life, which is one of the most amazing chocolate health benefits. In fact, this is true regardless of which types of chocolate you eat. Furthermore, people who have been studied and who ate dark chocolate or other chocolate types every day of their lives were found to have fewer incidents of illness and stronger immune systems. This has been proven through scientific studies, including some on indigenous tribes, where raw cacao is consumed regularly, including the Kuna tribe in Panama. Another piece of evidence is that Jeanne Louise Calment, the oldest woman to have ever lived on record, at 2.5 pounds of dark chocolate each and every week of her life, for as long as she could remember. She died aged 122.

There are a number of reasons for all these benefits. Firstly, cacao is full of magnesium, which regulates our digestive system, neurological systems and our cardiovascular system. Too many people are magnesium deficient nowadays, which can be remedies by eating more chocolate. Cacao also cleans up our arteries, leading to fewer incidents of heart disease. Chocolate benefits also include that it is excellent for the brain, protecting it from damage after a stroke and improving memory functions.

{ 1 comment… add one }
  • 0mar zaru February 9, 2009, 10:23 pm

    Can’t live without it and have to live with it (chocolate)

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