For those of you who have been told in the past that chocolate is fattening and bad for your health, well do I have good news for you? Chocolate is made from plants and not manufactured from synthetic substances. This means it has health benefits, many of which are comparable to those of dark vegetables. Flavonoids contained in chocolate act as antioxidants, which protect the body from premature aging and heart disease, which are caused by free radicals. Dark chocolate in particular contains a large number of antioxidants. In fact, it contains many times more antioxidants than can be found in fruit such as strawberries.
Dark chocolate is also very beneficial for the heart and keeps the cardiovascular system running optimally. In addition to keeping the heart working, dark chocolate lowers blood pressure. In fact, people suffering from high blood pressure have been known to use dark chocolate as a sort of medication to relieve this condition. A surprising benefit of dark chocolate is that it can help to lower the bad LDL-cholesterol levels by up to 10%! It must be good news for many of us who have to rely on expensive cholesterol medication to prevent us from experiencing heart attacks or strokes.
New discoveries about the benefits of chocolate are being made regularly and some are still undergoing testing to confirm the benefits of eating dark chocolate. Some of these discoveries include; cacao (from which chocolate is made) contains antibacterial agents that can offer protection against tooth decay. Of course this does not help when eating milk chocolate, which contains heavy levels of sugar. Dark chocolate contains Phenyl Ethylamine, which is a mild mood elevator. A surprising discovery made about this temptation, is that drinking a cup of hot chocolate before meals may actually diminish appetite and can help you lose weight. Imagine that! Losing weight by consuming chocolate. It must be paradise on earth!
Despite serious misconceptions and untruths told about chocolate, here is some more good news. Studies have shown that chocolate does not cause or play a role in causing acne. Chocolate is not addictive and does not cause bad cholesterol. Eating chocolate does not make you high, unless of course you eat over 25 pounds of the stuff in one serving. As you can imagine, this is a highly unlikely task. There is a word of caution though for migraine sufferers. Chocolate may induce headaches, depending on the amount that is eaten and personal circumstance. Milk chocolate should be avoided as they contain high levels of calories as well as saturated fats and sugars, which are obviously not good for you.
Please do not feed chocolates to your pets as it contains a stimulant called Theobromine, which they are unable to digest and can be poisonous. Dark chocolates contain high levels of the substance and are therefore more dangerous to animals than milk chocolate.
Who knew that chocolate could be so healthy for us? It certainly makes life more pleasant and interesting. However, it is important to eat in moderation as with everything else.
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