Who said life had to be boring? Don’t eat this, do eat that! 2 of my favourite things are Chocolate and Wine, usually consumed together. BUT not all is lost as you’ll soon discover, there are surprising health benefits of dark chocolate, and red wine is actually supposed to be rather good for us too.
Several of the health benefits of chocolate demonstrated by research projects are that chocolate helps to improve mood, ease depression and can also improve heart or cardiovascular health.
Chocolate Improves Mood and Eases Depression
Early research on chocolate, such as the study on “The effects of nutrients on mood” published in the May 1999 Journal of Public Health Nutrition by researchers David Benton and Rachael T Donohoe, has demonstrated that eating chocolate helps to improve our mood. Chocolate improves mood by increasing the release of endorphins and boosting serotonin and endorphin levels in the brain; this mood boost may be part of the reason that people consume chocolate to ease depression. It has a similar effect on our brains as sex but unlike that chocolate is acceptable any time of the day and wherever you are.
One simple way to enjoy chocolate is as a cup of Healthy Hot Chocolate, of course, just spooning out of a jar and adding hot water to it really isn’t all that exciting but made with real melted chocolate and milk all warmed together in a pan is a far more luxurious treat. Making a real hot chocolate from scratch really isn’t very hard as you’ll see from this recipe.
Heart Benefits of Chocolate from Flavanoids
America’s Doctor, health and heart expert, Dr. Mehmet Oz recommends dark chocolate as a wonderful dessert that may benefit the heart, because of vitamin-like substances called flavonoids found in chocolate.
Flavanoids help to dilate the arteries of the blood, which can benefit the heart. According to studies, flavonoids protect the heart and the vessels by defending against oxidation (serving as antioxidants), improving endothelial function and reducing the tendency of blood to clot. The flavonoids cardioprotective effects come through improved platelet function and decreased hypertension overall reducing the risk of heart disease.
Choose Dark Chocolate for the Health Benefits
There are three types of chocolate: milk, white and dark chocolate. Of these three types of chocolate, dark chocolate has the most health benefits over the other types of chocolate, milk or white chocolate. Dark chocolate contains the most flavonoids and antioxidants of the three types, with two to four times the amount of flavonoids than milk chocolate.
When looking for a dark chocolate for the health benefits, experts recommend choosing a chocolate variety that is at least 70% cocoa or more. Many of the chocolate manufacturers are now listing the amounts of chocolate on the labels to make choosing a health chocolate an easier task.
Recommended Amounts of Chocolate
Nutrition, health and medical experts agree that a small amount of dark chocolate can be included as part of a healthy diet.
When adding dark chocolate to a diet for the health benefits try to:
* Choose dark chocolate for the health benefits.
* Select chocolate that is at least 70% cocoa, or more.
* Eat chocolate in small amounts
* Savour the chocolate as it is consumed.
* Limit chocolate to 7 ounces per week.Research has shown that chocolate helps to improve mood, ease depression and can improve heart health. Dark chocolate can be a healthy treat for most people when enjoyed in moderation so although there are better food choices out there for us, all does not need to be lost and some of the naughtier treats can actually be rather beneficial to our health.
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Which is your favourite chocolate: White, milk or dark?
