Chocolate, the misunderstood health food
Five Good Reasons You Shouldn't Put Down the Chocolate Bar
1. Antioxidants:
Dark chocolate is high in antioxidants which destroy the free radicals your body digests or is exposed to in the environment.
Free radicals come from pollutants in the air, medicines and processed food. It's no wonder we haven't been taught more about free radicals as they are the cause of heart disease and different types of cancer.
2. Healthy Heart:
Are you getting to the middle ages in life and worried about your blood pressure? Well if you eat dark chocolate on a regular basis you can actually lower your blood pressure. This beats taking blood pressure medication every morning.
Take it upon yourself to have a nice chunk of dark chocolate as desert after dinner instead of ice cream. Preventative actions are always a plus.
3. Increased Energy Level:
Dark chocolate contains caffeine which is a great pick-me-up in the morning or after a long day. Instead of grabbing a cup of coffee, consider picking up a nice dark chocolate bar.
Make sure the chocolate is pure and not full of fat because then you will be paying for it later on at the gym.
4. Feel Happy:
If you break down a dark chocolate bar you will find serotonin, which is a chemical your body produces that makes you feel happy.
By eating the chocolate you are automatically increasing your body's levels of serotonin which will inevitably make you feel a little better. It's no wonder we love this stuff!
5. Ditch a Cough:
Dark chocolate has been found to contain theobromine which is a new and more effective cough suppressant to codeine.
With this in mind a chunk of dark chocolate bar on your way to bed when you have a cough sounds great. Maybe chocolate before bed is not such a bad thing after all?