Who Says Chocolate Is Bad For Your Health?
While we may have been taught since a very young age that all chocolate is bad for you, it’s okay to indulge your sweet tooth once in awhile, for holidays or otherwise. Chocolate is a universal taste among human beings, and some say that nine out of ten people like chocolate – and the tenth is lying.
Why does chocolate have such a negative reputation as an unhealthy food, and do we really need to feel guilty about eating it? Fortunately, the answer is that it’s not inherently bad for us as we’ve been led to believe. If the chocolate consists of 70% cocoa or higher, it’s actually good for us. However, whether or not it’s truly healthy depends on the quantity and the quality of the chocolate you eat.
There are actually several health benefits of eating chocolate. You may feel like you get a “rush” when eating it, and that feeling isn’t just in your imagination. Chocolate contains a phyto-nutrient that acts as an endorphin in humans, giving us a pleasurable feeling similar to the “runner’s high” that a long-distance runner sometimes feels.
Chocolate could very nearly be considered an antidepressant, so it’s no wonder that people feel the urge to indulge in some chocolate when they’re feeling down. A study conducted in Switzerland showed that eating 40g of dark chocolate per day decreased the presence of stress hormones in the blood stream, making them more resilient against the effects of stress.
There have been many studies conducted on the impact of chocolate on health, and the results have shown that it can actually have a positive impact. A Swedish study found that people who ate chocolate at least twice a week after having a heart attack increased their chances of survival three-fold over an eight-year period.
By the same token, a study conducted in Canada showed that risk of stroke was decreased in individuals who consumed chocolate on a weekly basis versus those who didn’t.
The health benefits of chocolate come from flavinoids. These compounds, found in cocoa, act as a potent anti-oxidant in humans. They have also been shown to prevent oxidative damage to our genetic material, or DNA. This means that chocolate could potentially function as an anti-aging compound.
So don’t feel guilty about eating a little chocolate on Easter, or any other day, for that matter. Of course, it’s still best to eat chocolate in moderation; a full bar every day is too much. You’ll also want to find chocolate composed of 70% cocoa or more, and organic chocolate is great if it’s available to you.
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