Food & Recipes

Ditch the diet: Ten health benefits of chocolate and why you SHOULD eat it

If You feel guilty about eating chocolate, you shouldn’t – as there are many health benefits in the tasty treat.
When it comes to chocolate. It is very difficult to control the temptation. You just cannot resist it. 

Chocolate is actually healthy. The sugar content used in chocolate recipes is the culprit. just reduce the sugar and you are good to go. In fact chocolate taste better without sugar. though little bitter but the original taste.

Coco is a natural fruit grown in India and amazon and you know fruits are always healthy. If consumed moderately chocolate helps us in many ways

Here are Ten health benefits of chocolate and why you should eat it.
1.Keeps your Heart healthy

You heard it right. Its good for your heart. Several studies reveal that the flavonoids in chocolate can help your veins and arteries to stay supple.

Multiple Studies over millions of  participants who were given a few servings of dark chocolate a week. The results showed that their risk of getting a heart attack was reduced by about 35% while the chances of getting a stroke were 29% less when they had a moderate consumption of chocolate.

2. Keeps Alzheimer at Bay

There is a myth that your memory weakens as you grow older. The fact is keep your brain active and you will never get Alzheimer. However chocolate can keep your brain young and improve your memory as you grow older.

Flavonoids plays the role here which acts as an anti ageing agent. but again added sugar and other ingredients reduces the benefits which we can get from pure coco

Participants were given 500 mg  hot cocoa drink as an experiment and to everyone’s surprise They benefited from increased flow to the brain as a result and were better at coping with difficult math equations.

3. Enhance your Mood

Next time you want your wife to cheer up, offer her some chocolate The cocoa polyphenols  have a beneficial effect on the mood and keeps you calmer and happier. Chocolate lowers your risk of depression

Cocoa polyphenols enhance positive mood states but not cognitive performance: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial
4. Dark chocolate is good for your skin

Save the money you spend in parlor. Instead have dark chocolate.  Dark chocolate (without Sugar)  has multiple beauty benefits. It can boost your skin’s moisture, protect from sun damage and reduces wrinkles. … Rich in vitamins, iron and calcium, chocolate nourishes your skin from the inside out to replace lost moisture.

Unlike Parlors the results lasts long. Just add dark chocolate in your diet. so next time dont be guilty of having a chocolate shake or biting a big bite of dark chocolate.  its good for you. (however make sure you consume chocolate without added sugars)

High in Antioxidant chocolate keeps your skin smooth and supple. dark chocolate also protects your skin against harmful UV rays.  Thus saving you from skin TAN and may be skin cancer.

5. Dark chocolate controls your blood pressure

You may be aware that the right amount of NO (Nitric Oxide) in your body can help your nerves to relax. That will, in turn help to take some of the pressure off them and the result is a lower BP count.one of the benefit of the  dark chocolate. I suggest avoid commercially baked chocolate cakes as commercial products have high amount of sodium which can trigger high BP. bake your own cookies/cakes at home and enjoy the health benefits.

checkout the video on baking your own chocolate cookies.

Home made chocolate cookies

6. Chocolates releases endorphins

Endorphins are brain happy hormones and keeps you high. Endorphins keeps you happy and productive and keeps boredom and depression at bay.

Normally endorphins are produced after a hard sweaty workout, or may be a jog or excitement or after a sex.

The great advantage of chocolate is that flavanols can also help in endorphin production without having to run a marathon! Endorphins are good for you which can trigger a positive feeling in the body.

7. Chocolates may help you sleep better

Though caffeine in coffee can keep you up at night but chocolate is not caffeine. The dark chocolate soothes your nerves and makes you calm and helps you sleep better. have a hot chocolate drink before you go to bed and see the difference yourself.

Studies were conducted on several insomniac patients across the globe and it was found that adding dark chocolate to their diet helped them cope with their sleep better.

try it out and let us know in comment box below.

Certain foods can help induce sleep and chocolate is one of them. Chocolate can boost serotonin, which can help you sleep. But too much of anything to be avoided.Anything which is good in moderate amount can be harmful if consumed too much same is true for chocolate.

8. Dark Chocolate Can help Improve HDL Cholesterol

Chocolate has been shown to prevent the oxidization of LDL cholesterol, which is one of the greatest contributors to artherogenesis.

Your diet is an especially important factor in your risk for atherosclerosis, and heart disease generally. If dark chocolate can help prevent arthegenesis it is good news for people who want to improve their HDL cholesterol and lower their LDL cholesterol.

when you eat chocolate you smile its natural which is very good for your heart. make sure its pure dark chocolate and not loaded with butter and sugar.

9. Dark Chocolate are Powerful Source of Antioxidants.

The raw unprocessed cocoa beans are among the highest-scoring foods that have been tested for rich source of Antioxidants.

Dark chocolate is loaded with organic compounds that are biologically active and function as antioxidants such as polyphenols, flavanols and catechins.

Antioxidants leads to slow aging. so wanna look young with good looking skin. add dark chocolate to your diet.

What Is Dark Chocolate?

Dark chocolate is produced by adding fat and sugar to cocoa. It differs from milk chocolate and there are no milk or milk solids in dark chocolate. its bitter in taste but sugar balances the taste.

Usually the simplest way to know if your chocolate is “dark” or not is to select one with a 70% or higher total cocoa content.

Consuming chocolate with a higher cocoa content is associated with several health benefits mentioned above.