It's Okay to Love Chocolate!

Chocolate. Considerably one of the most incredible food inventions to date. (I'd say peanutbutter ties... Because the peanutbutter-chocolate combo takes the cake!) It's delicious in any form - candy bar, hot drink, cold shake, or drizzled over fruit. Typically, this picture to the left would depress me, because you'd think something that wonderful would be a big No to your diet... but did you notice the title of this blog? "It's Okay to Love Chocolate!"? I wasn't kidding! In fact, I want you to love chocolate. I want you to have it every day! Here's why...

(picture taken from ReadersDigest.com)

Flavonols: Chocolate is rich in flavonoids, which means it has strong antioxidant properties. The flavonoids in chocolate are called flavonols, and they're more present in dark chocolate. This is because milk chocolate, syrups and sweetened cocoa powder are all more manufactured, thus losing some of their natural properties.

These flavonols have a wide variety of positive affects to the body. For instance, it promotes nitric oxide activity, which is said to play an important role in cardiovascular health. My freshman year biology professor told us of one experiment, and I found it in this website. A group of people living in Kuna, Panama would cultivate cacao beans (the bean that chocolate hails from) and would incorporate it into their daily diets. Studies showed these people had relatively low blood pressure, and once they left their home, thus not having daily doses of chocolate, would see a significant rise in blood pressure.

Blood Flow: Along with lowered blood pressure, the flavonols help a better blood flow. It helps prevent blood platelets from sticking together, forming clots. These clots impede good blood flow. Poor blood flow increases the risk of strokes and heart diseases. In the website I mentioned earlier, they discussed a study that showed consumption of flavonols act similarly to low-dose aspirins. (This doesn't mean to replace chocolate with aspirin! I just thought it was neat...)

Antioxidants: I want to be a little more specific with chocolate's antioxidant power. It has higher Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity (ORAC) values than most foods. (ORAC values measure how powerful an antioxidant a substance is. An antioxidant is a substance that inhibits oxidation or reactions promoted by oxygen and peroxides, and that include many held to protect the living body from the deleterious effects of free radicals. Examples include beta-carotene, vitamin C, and alpha-tocopherol. Taken from ProHealth.com)

Relaxation: I always need more of this, so imagine my excitement when I found research that says chocolate promotes relaxation! The stimulant tryptophan lessens anxiety by producing a neurotransmitter called serotonin. It also produces endorphins, which relieves pain and tension in the body. Chocolate also has anandamide, which mimics cannabinoid (stimulant in marijuana) and promotes relaxation. Don't let the cannabinoid-like affect worry you - research says it will take a 130 pound person eating 25 pounds of chocolate to get the "high" affect you would get after smoking.

Ok, so now that you know its benefits, here are some things to consider when buying chocolate.

- Choose dark chocolate. This is because it is less manufactured than milk chocolate. Also white chocolate doesn't apply to these benefits, so only buy it if you're craving it. Choose unsweetened cocoa powder over sweetened for the same reason as choosing dark chocolate. I always think the more natural the product is, the healthier it's bound to be.

- Choose richer, creamier chocolate. Yeah, that sounds odd but think about it this way. If you eat it slowly, as you should, you'll be doing a lot. You'll be enjoying that chocolate a lot more, and you'll actually momentarily satisfy your chocolate craving. Also, the price may be a psychological way of not indulging.

To incorporate it into your diet in different ways, think of these things. I put an amazing recipe in the previous blog, Triple Chocolate Cookies (have you tried it yet?!). A fun way is fondue! Heat up some of that dark chocolate and dip your strawberries in them. I talked about how great strawberries are in one blog, now you can double up the benefits! Chocolate protein shakes for breakfast will not only wake you up, but give you a good amount of protein for the day. Have fun incorporating chocolate into your diet!