Benefits of (dark) chocolate

 

It may come as no surprise, but I- just like many other people – get sudden cravings for chocolate once in a while.

Some people get them once a blue moon and others have them all the time.

 

When I get my chocolate cravings- which luckily I do not often get – I tend to OVERDO it. I just end up eating 20kg chocolate (maybe a little exaggeration but you get what I mean)

Therefore today is dedicated to chocolate, dark chocolate that is, so that hopefully next time we will be able to limit ourselves to a bit of dark chocolate instead of whatever type of chocolate we can get our hands onto.

 

FIRST: why you should eat dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate

In short: dark chocolate generally contains less sugar than milk chocolate, and if you chose a cocoa percentage of 70% and higher, it will taste more bitter and often make you eat less than you would if it was sweet.

 

 

NOW: the actual benefits

 

1. It is nutritious
   Dark Chocolate contains both fiber, iron, magnesium, copper, manganese and zinc
2. It has a boatload of antioxidants
   Actually both cocoa and dark chocolate have weirder variety of antioxidants than most other foods
3. Might lower blood pressure
   Because of the biological compounds in here. It is just a small decrease though, and some studies showed it DID, but others showed it DIDN’T, so take it with a grain of salt.
4. May reduce risk of heart disease
   Some of the compounds found in here can also cause much less cholesterol to lodge up in your arteries, which will result in lower risk of heart disease.
5. Might protect your skin from the sun
   This is because the flavanols in chocolate improves blood flow to the skin, increases hydration and skin density and therefore protects against sun damage.
   Just DO NOT forget to wear sunscreen guys, chocolate does not count as sunscreen (that is a sentence that I thought I would never say, haha 😉 )
6. Can improve brain function
   This is also caused by the increased blood flow
7. Contains anti-inflammatory properties
   Inflammation is a natural immune response from the body, but it is not healthy to have chronic inflammation since that can cause type 2 diabetes or arthritis. 

 

At this point, you know why you should eat dark chocolate, so go have fun with it 😉

 

 

As a disclaimer: this month’s Goodiebox review has been postponed to next week, due to a laaaaate delivery (shame on you Goodiebox/deliveryman)

 

 

I hope you all have a happy life, one day at a time!