Five Reasons Why Chocolate is Good For You

It may seem a bit strange to hear, but chocolate can actually be good for the health. One usually thinks of this high calorie food item as something that should be generally avoided - just a treat for special occasions. But it has been proven time and time again that chocolate can bring about numerous health benefits. Dark chocolate is especially advantageous as it contains higher levels of cocoa and less sugar.

Chocolate is rich in magnesium and potassium. It also contains several vitamins like B1, B2, D and E. Due to the presence of phosphate and the other minerals, many researchers do not think that chocolate leads to tooth decay.

It contains flavonoids which produce nitric oxide - keeping blood vessels elastic and preventing blood pressure from rising. It also helps in balancing the levels of certain hormones in the body. Flavonoids also act as antioxidants. It is interesting to note that there is a significant amount of antioxidants found within dark chocolate, about eight times more than strawberries.

Not only does it stimulate the production of endorphins in your body, which makes you feel happiness, but it also contains the neurotransmitter serotonin which acts as an anti-depressant to get rid of any negative feeling. Chocolate also contains other substances that act as stimulants such as caffeine and theobromine.
Having chocolate before meals can actually help reduce calorie intake instead of increase. This is because indulging in a cup of hot chocolate before having a meal can reduce the appetite.

Dark chocolate is good for the heart and the cardiovascular system in general. If you are suffering from high blood pressure, then it may help in reducing that. It also reduces the "bad" cholesterol (LDL cholesterol) by as much as ten percent.

All these benefits show that in a reasonable quantity, chocolate is not a food item to stay away from. Containing about 250-300 calories in one bar, it may not be the healthiest snack available, but it certainly does not deserve the bad reputation it has.

Check out my other blogs at Airbrush Makeup Traning where you will find the latest information on Airbrush Makeup

I'm a full time student and live with my husband Brad and 2 year old baby girl Yoli. We have 2 cats and I've always been fascinated with the makeup and beauty industry. I love to do research on a number of topics, beauty and makeup being my favorite.