The Low Down on Chocolate
aster is here! This is one of my favourite times of the year. Spring is on its way, tulips are blossoming, the kiddies are excited, and the Easter Bunny came and he brang chocolate – lots of it! Lucky for us – chocolate can actually be very healthy. Now I know what you’re thinking – “No way!! Chocolate?” Yes, my friends. Chocolate!
Just to be totally clear and totally honest, we need to talk about the kind of chocolate that is best for us. In general, you want to eat an unprocessed chocolate that is free of preservatives, additives and excessive amounts of refined sugars. Dark chocolate is the magical chocolate that I’m talking about with at least 75% cocoa. However even having said that: everything is about moderation and eating the standard, milk chocolate bunnies from time to time never hurt ANYONE!
Here are some of the benefits of healthy chocolate (dark):
- Raises endorphins – it stimulates happy hormones, which make us feel good!
- Lowers estrogen – it can lower the bad type of estrogen floating around our bodies. This calms down PMS symptoms and decreases annoying breakouts.
- Benefits your heart – dark chocolate is full of flavanoids an antioxidants, which protect the heart from free radical damage.
- Lowers blood pressure – the flavanoids in dark chocolate help to lower blood pressure
- Lowers cholesterol – dark chocolate has been shown to decrease cholesterol by 10%
- Benefits your Brain – eating dark chocolate could prevent memory decline
Here are the benefits of all chocolate (dark, milk, white):
- Tastes delicious – taste is a huge source of pleasure and pleasure is a really important phenomenon for us to experience, often.
- Sanity – it’s totally okay to allow ourselves to have treats and indulge in foods that don’t necessarily have tangible health benefits; our bodies can handle it and sometimes we drive ourselves insane trying to be “healthy” – which in and of itself isn’t healthy
SO do it! Enjoy Easter! Indulge in some chocolate without feeling guilty about it. I know I will!
