5 very good reasons why chocolate isn't so bad

1. Chocolate helps you lose weight

Eating a small piece of dark chocolate is the quickest way to kill your cravings plus dark chocolate is high in fiber which will help keep you full & satisfied longer.

"Dark chocolate is bittersweet. Whereas sweet stimulates appetite, bitter actually suppresses it."

-Dr. David Katz MD, MPH, director of the Yale Prevention Research Center

2. Chocolate keeps you from looking older

Dark chocolate is high in antioxidants (about 8 times as more than strawberries) which helps protect your skin from sun damage but…

This does not mean you can get away with not putting on any sunscreen.

3. Chocolate is a natural anti-depressant

Chocolate makes your body release the 'feel good' hormones endorphins & serotonin and believe it or not A study out of the University of Sussex found chocolate to be better than kissing!

"There is no doubt that chocolate beats kissing hands down when it comes to providing a long-lasting body and brain buzz.

"A buzz that, in many cases, lasted four times as long as the most passionate kiss."

-Dr. David Lewis

4. Chocolate is good for your teeth

Chocolate contains theobromine which helps prevent tooth decay by killing the bacteria that causes tooth decay.

5. Chocolate helps you live longer?

There's no concrete evidence to support this but Jeanne Louise Calment who is the world's longest lived person Lived to be 122 years old and she ate 2½ pounds of dark chocolate per week but…

To get all the benefits of chocolate

Make sure you eat the dark chocolate that is at least 70% cacao like Black Panther Extreme Dark Chocolate (88%), Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate 72% Cacao or Lindt Supreme Dark Chocolate 90% Cocoa and…
You want to avoid the processed sugary milk chocolate (like snickers, 3 musketeers, etc.) that does not have all the fiber, healthy fats & antioxidants dark chocolate has that's good for helping you lose weight, get better skin & teeth and…
Just because dark chocolate is good for you doesn't mean you can go crazy and eat as much of it as you want because calories are calories and if you eat too much of anything (healthy or not) you'll gain weight.

Top 5 Chocolate Myths and Facts…

1. Myth: Chocolate is an aphrodisiac

Fact: Studies have revealed that the average person has the same neurological response to chocolate as they do to seeing photos of a person they are in love win.

Chocolate stimulates the release of the chemicals phenylethylamine (PEA) and anandamide in the brain. PEA increases the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine within the brain, and is found to naturally surge throughout the brain during orgasm.

Anandamide actives the cannabinoids receptors found throughout the brain which have been shown to heighten sensitivity and create overall feelings of well-being.

2. Myth: Chocolate causes acne

Fact: This is a myth that your parents have probably been telling you since you're a prepubescent teen. Yet, a number of different studies have found that there is in fact no direct link between acne and chocolate (or any other food for that matter).

The fact is, everyone reacts to foods they put into their body differently. If you stop eating chocolate for 2-4 weeks and see no change in your degree of acne there is absolutely no reason to remove this food from your diet.

3. Myth: Chocolate is high in caffeine

Fact: This simply isn't true. While it is true that coffee can give you a slightly boost in energy when eaten, this is more a result of the high sugar levels than anything else.

An average serving of chocolate actually has about the same amount of caffeine as a cup of decaffeinated coffee. While it may give you a short rush of energy, it shouldn't be looked to as a source of the sustained energy provided by caffeine.

4. Myth: Chocolate has no nutritional value

Fact: Recent studies of dark chocolates have found that the actually contain a relatively powerful antioxidant. Antioxidants play a very important role in removing free radicals from your body (molecules found throughout the body that can damage various structures, such as DNA, by stripping electrons from them).

Chocolate is also a solid source of iron, copper, zinc, and magnesium, which are all minerals your body needs to function properly.

5. Myth: Chocolate is bad for your cholesterol levels

Fact: Actually, a study conducted in 1988 by David Kritchevsky, Ph.D has shown that, despite it's high percentage of saturated fat, chocolate actually does not have a negative impact on your overall cholesterol levels.

This study was the result of a thirty year-long longitudinal study conducted at the Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology at the University of Pennsylvania when it was discovered that the saturated fats found in cocoa butter behave different than other, more common, saturated fats.

Make sure you also see…

There is 1 comment

Ian Roach

In reference to Myth #3, I'm pretty sure chocolate has zero caffeine (unless it's added by the manufacturer). It does have the stimulant that you mentioned earlier, theobromine. It's an important distinction because stimulative effect theobromine is said to be less jittery than caffiene.

April 05, 2013