Here are 9 reasons to add dark chocolate to your list of healthy foods:
1. Heart Health:
Chocolate has tremendous cardiovascular benefits due to the flavonoids found in the cacao. The benefits to the heart are a result of the increased flexibility of the arteries and veins. In a Swedish study of over 31,000 women, the results showed that over a 9 year period, eating one or two servings of dark chocolate a week reduced their risk of heart failure by a third.
In another study, conducted over a long term in Germany, it was discovered that blood pressure, and heart attack risk was decreased by 39% when the participants consumed a square of dark chocolate a day.
It has also been shown that chocolate and exercise work extremely well together. A study coming out of Australia, shows that blood pressure-raising effects during exercise, on individuals that were overweight, were reduced after consuming chocolate. On a happy note: chocolate has 5 times the flavonoids when compared to an apple.
2. Assists with Weight Loss
Dark chocolate is a great addition to any weight loss plan, as it helps decrease cravings for salty, sweet, and fatty foods. So enjoy a square or two, and know you are doing your body, and weight loss plan good.
3. Happy Kids
Dark Chocolate is a great food to eat while pregnant. Pregnant women admitted that eating dark chocolate helped them handle stress better. It was also found, in a Finnish study, that the children smiled more, and were happier in general.
4. Prevention of Diabetes
According to Claudio Ferri, M.D., a professor at the University of L'Aquila in Italy, "Flavonoids increase nitric oxide production. And that helps control insulin sensitivity." It was shown in a small study out of Italy that participates who consumed a candy bar size of dark chocolate daily for 15 days, saw a drop of nearly half in their potential for insulin resistance.
5. Stress Reducer
This should be our new mantra. when times get tough the tough grab the dark chocolate. It was shown in a study out of Switzerland that when people, who are very anxious, consumed an ounce and a half of dark chocolate once a day for 2 weeks, their stress hormone levels were radically reduced, and partially mitigated the metabolic effects of stress.
6. Protection from the sun
A three month English study found that dark chocolate, with high levels of flavanols, showed that the subjects skin took twice as long to develop that red effect that indicates the beginning of the sunburn. NOTE: look for dark chocolate that states it has high levels of the healthy flavanols.
7. Brain Power Boost
Feeling not only a little stressed, but also need a little brain power boost? Grab a little dark chocolate as it has been shown to improve alertness and performance by boosting blood flow to the brain for 2-3 hours.
8. Relief from coughs
Dark Chocolate contains a chemical called theobromine, which can help quiet coughs almost as good as codeine. According to Professor Maria Belvisi, from Imperial College London and Royal Brompton Hospital says, "Not only did theobromine prove more effective than codeine, at the doses used it was found to have non of the side effects. Normally the effectiveness of any treatment is limited by the dosage you can give someone. With theobromine having no demonstrated side effects in this study it may be possible to give far bigger doses, furthering increasing its effectiveness". Have a cough...grab the chocolate!
Dark chocolate, for many reasons, is a great addition to your diet. Enjoy a square, or two, and know that you are doing your body good. My favorite dark chocolate is IsaDelight Plus. IsaDelight Plus, which also comes in milk chocolate, contains added ingredients like green tea extract, amino acids, antioxidants, B vitamins and minerals, that all work together to ease those cravings. Enjoy!
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