7 Health Benefits Of Chocolate

The only catch is that it has to be dark chocolate; the higher the cacao percentage the better. And also, it’s healthier if you stick to eating just one or two pieces a day. But apart from that, go wild. Here are 7 health benefits you can enjoy as a result of eating chocolate.

1. It can help you lose weight

Chocolate doesn’t have to be a reason for weight gain believes neuroscientist Will Clower. In his book Eat Chocolate, Lose Weight, he explains how eating a piece of dark chocolate 20 minutes before and five minutes after a meal can cut your appetite by an impressive 50 percent. According to Clower, this is because chocolate triggers the hormones that tell your brain “I’m full.” However, remember that this applies to cacao-rich dark chocolate only. Milk chocolate would raise your blood sugar levels and leave you craving the stuff even more.

2. It gives you brain power

Chocoholics are the smartest people around. Or at least they should be, thanks to the flavanol content of the snack. Teamed with reports that it also helps to improve blood flow to the brain, it appears that dark chocolate makes excellent brain food. So much so, that researchers have even put its properties to the test with Alzheimer's patients. In a trial published by Nature Neuroscience, it was discovered that “high-flavanol intervention was found to enhance dentate gyrus (DG) function” - DG being the region of the brain in which “function declines in association with human aging.” Although the study explains, while the flavanols have the potential to perhaps aid those with Alzheimer's, it can’t prevent the disease entirely.  

3. It promotes gorgeous skin

Flavonoids are pretty powerful. Without you realising, they get to work on your skin, acting as a filter to harmful UV rays and protecting you against sun damage. That’s not to say you should skimp on the sunscreen - always apply when out in sunlight. What’s more, as we know all too well, dark chocolate is a great stress reliever, which also helps keep the skin young, fresh and fine-line free.

4. It’s nature’s tastiest medicine

Dark chocolate is an illness-battling allrounder, with evidence to suggest that its high antioxidant content has the potential to lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and improve blood flow. It’s believed that the flavanols found in dark chocolate can stimulate the endothelium (the lining of the arteries) to produce nitric oxide, which in turn relaxes the arteries and as a result, lower blood pressure. This relaxing effect may be minimal, but every little helps.  

5. It gives you an energy boost

If you’re trying to drink less coffee but struggle to get through the day without your caffeine hit, dark chocolate could be the answer - there is 43mg of caffeine per every 100g.

A recent study from London’s Kingston University also suggests that dark chocolate could be useful for athletes. Thanks to dark chocolate’s ability to improve blood flow (and in turn, carry oxygen to the muscles at a faster rate), those involved within the project were able to cycle further and faster. Skip energy bars and try a little dark chocolate.  

6. It helps you live longer

If the age of Jeanna-Louise Calment is anything to go by, including cacao in your diet can be a very good thing. To date, she is the oldest ‘verified’ person to have ever lived, reaching her 122nd birthday. Jeanna’s secret? She loved chocolate. Keeping everything we know about the health benefits of dark chocolate in mind, there’s a strong possibility that the antioxidant hit of our favourite snack helped her attain that record-breaking age. Was it the chocolate’s heart-helping nutrients that did the trick? Who knows, but whatever it was, it worked. Rumour was that she was also a fan of olive oil and riding her bicycle - a combination which clearly kept her fighting fit until 122 years old.    

7. It makes you happy

Science agrees that chocolate makes you happy, and not just because it tastes amazing. There are chemical components within chocolate that make it irresistible, such as phenylethylamine - an organic compound that when released in the body stimulates a similar feeling to that of falling in love. It also acts as an antidepressant when combined with the dopamine that exists naturally in the brain. Along with its theobromine and tryptophan content (other properties of chocolate that promote happiness and stimulate a natural, albeit weak, high in the body); it’s easy to see why chocolate is considered a certified mood booster.